Health:  Knowing Your Target Heart Rate - Part 1

The Secret to Efficient Workouts

Your heart rate can give you a good general picture of your cardiovascular health if you are in relatively good physical condition. It also allows you to track the progress of your efforts with physical fitness. For people who prefer getting the most exercise bang for their intensity buck, knowing your target heart rate (THR) can help give you the most efficient workouts. This range will vary for everyone and knowing yours can benefit you in various ways.

First, knowing your THR range will help prevent you from working out too hard, which only serves to quickly wear you out and limit the length of time you can continue the activity. Currently, the recommended time for aerobic activity is 20 – 30 minutes in your target range. Overdoing it can severely hinder you efforts at maintaining the required level of intensity. On the other hand, if you're not working hard enough, you're failing to achieve the fat burning effects you seek while engaging in cardiovascular exercise.

Second, knowing your THR helps you to control how many calories you burn during physical exercise as well as the residual increase in your overall metabolism. Working out at 90% of your maximum heart rate (MHR) will burn more calories in the shortest amount of time. Working out at this intensity burns less calories from fat, but your body's metabolism is increased long after your workout ends. Conversely, working out at 60% of your MHR will burn more calories from fat but won't have much of an effect on your basic metabolism. Knowing your THR gives you the opportunity to shake up your workouts to reap the maximum benefit of your efforts.

Lastly, as you continue to regularly measure your heart rate during exercise, you will discover that you're able to increase your workout intensity while maintaining the same target heart rate. You should also notice it's easier to complete the workouts and that you're breathing easier throughout. This tells you that you're maximizing your exercise efforts and shows their effectiveness, letting you know your heart is getting stronger.

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Health:  Knowing Your Target Heart Rate Part 2

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