If you have ever exercised on a treadmill, stationary bike, or other piece of gym equipment, you may have noticed the built-in heart rate function, but do you understand what this information means?
How Does Exercise Affect Heart Rate?
Monitoring your heart rate is a reliable way to assess the intensity of your workout, which means how hard your body is working when exercising. A normal resting heart rate for adults sits between 60 and 100 beats per minute. Knowing your resting heart rate will allow you to calculate your maximum heart rate, which will vary depending on your age and level of fitness.
A rough formula for calculating your maximum heart rate is 220 beats per minute minus your age. So if you’re 25, your maximum heart rate will be around 195bpm.
You can measure your heart rate during exercise by taking your pulse or wearing a heart rate monitor.
Knowing your maximum heart rate means you can calculate which heart rate zone you are in when exercising and adjust the intensity to reach the zone you are aiming for.
Even better, many of the pieces of home exercise equipment available from BeFit Hire have built-in pulse grips or heart rate monitors, making it easy to track the intensity of your workout.
Your heart rate can be affected by the weather, caffeine, medications, smoking, the time of day, hormones, anxiety, or stress so tracking your heart rate is a great way to ensure you are exercising at the right intensity to achieve your fitness goals.
The five target heart rate zones are:
1. 50% to 60% of your maximum heart rate is the moderate activity zone. This is the ideal zone if you’re new to exercise.
2. 60% to 70% of your maximum heart rate is the weight management zone. Working out in this zone will help you burn fat and strengthen your heart.
3. 70% to 80% of your maximum heart rate is the aerobic zone. This zone is excellent for your heart and respiratory system and will help you improve your endurance and cardio fitness.
4. 80% to 90% of your maximum heart rate is the anaerobic threshold. This is a high-performance training zone and is something to aim for as your fitness improves.
5. More than 90% of your maximum heart rate is the red line zone. Athletes who are extremely fit will work out in this zone, but only for short periods of time.
Measure your heart rate during exercise quickly and easily by hiring home fitness equipment from BeFit Hire. Our range includes treadmills, manual and programmable cross-trainers, upright and recumbent exercise bikes, rowing machines and back inversion tables.
Operating for more than 50 years now, BeFit Hire offers the safety and convenience of exercising on professional equipment in your own home. Every piece of BeFit Hire equipment is tested, cleaned and disinfected prior to delivery, with free delivery available to most of metro Adelaide and Melbourne for most hire periods.
Free delivery is available to most of metro Adelaide and Melbourne for most hire periods, so please get in touch today.
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