How To (Properly) Calculate Your Target Heart Rate Zone

Monitoring our heart rate during exercise is an excellent way to determine and quantify the intensity of our workout. But what intensity should we be working out at and what is the best way to calculate this? The traditional method of calculating your target heart rate (Percentage of Predicted Maximum Heart Rate) factors in only your age (Predicted Max HR = 220 - Age). For example, world-class ultramarathoner Scott Jurek is 46 years old and therefore has a predicted maximum heart rate of 174 beats per minute (bpm). While using this traditional method, most recommend a target heart rate zone (the zone you want your heart rate in during exercise) to fall between 50-85% of your maximum heart rate. For Scott Jurek, we find his target heart rate zone to be roughly 87-148 bpm. The benefit of this method lies in the simplicity of the calculation. However, there are shortfalls of utilizing this method to calculate target heart rate zones. First, the range of this target heart rate zone is much too large and subsequently not very prescriptive. Second, the low end of this target heart rate zone may not be attainable during exercise, especially in older adults with higher resting heart rates. For example, the predicted maximum heart rate for a 75 year old woman is 145 bpm. Let’s assume this individual has a resting heart rate of 75, which is fairly typical. Utilizing the traditional method results in a calculated target heart rate zone of 73-124 bpm. As you can see, her resting heart rate is higher than the low end of her target heart rate zone for exercise. Therefore, the percentage maximum heart rate method of calculating her target heart rate zone would say she is exercising at rest, which is nonsensical. In other words, the traditional method often prescribes heart rates that are too low when working out at lower intensities, especially in older adults. Third, the traditional method fails to factor in your level of fitness, thus overly simplifying exercise prescription for a variable population. Since the traditional method of calculating your target heart rate fails to factor in your resting heart rate, it will prescribe the same target heart rate zone for Scott Jurek as an age-matched couch potato who smokes two packs per day. You see, as you become more fit, your resting heart rate will decrease as your heart becomes stronger and subsequently more efficient at pumping blood to the rest of your body. A highly trained athlete may have a resting heart rate of 48 bpm while the sedentary smoker may have a resting heart rate of 88 bpm. If they are both 40 years old, the traditional method of calculating target heart rate would recommend exercising between 90 and 153 bpm for both individuals. The traditional method therefore lacks this level of specificity.

So what is a better way to calculate your target heart rate zone? The answer is using the Karvonen method, otherwise known as the Heart Rate Reserve (HRR) method. The Karvonen method factors in both your age and resting heart rate, allowing for a more precise and effective target heart rate zone. The low end of the target heart rate zone tends to be at a higher heart rate than the traditional method of calculating target heart rate zones, while the predicted maximum heart rate is still the same. Those with a higher resting heart rate will see a higher number at the low end of the target heart rate zone as compared to those with a lower resting heart rate, to account for variability in the baseline levels of cardiovascular fitness within the population. Click on the link below to calculate your target heart rate zone using the Karvonen method:

TARGET HEART RATE CALCULATOR

Once calculated, it is recommended that you use this target heart rate zone to monitor your intensity during your workouts, in order to ensure that you are exercising at an intensity high enough to provide a cardiovascular benefit. This will help you get the most out of your exercise routine moving forward.

To find more information on heart rate or how to find your pulse, CLICK HERE.

-Grant Hennington, DPT

How To Set Fitness Goals

Getting fit can be a very good thing, often helping us feel better both physically and mentally. For those of you who want to get fit, do you have a goal in mind? Setting a goal is an important first step in improving your overall fitness. However, setting fitness goals can often feel daunting, as well as a bit trivial. Frequently, clients will tell me they have a goal of getting in better shape. My response: How are you measuring that? Getting in better shape can come in a variety of forms: losing weight, building strength, improving flexibility, running faster, and so on and so forth. All are great things to strive for, but in order for a goal to be effective, it must follow some guidelines. Thankfully, there is an acronym for that (surprise, surprise). It is recommended to set SMART goals when attempting to improve fitness. Here is what that means:

S: Specific

• Any fitness goal you set should be specific. “I want to get in better shape” is not very specific. Rather, “I want to finish a marathon” is more specific. Specific goals help us come up with a more robust plan to achieve said goal.

M: Measureable

• Having a measurable goal will help ensure you know when you have actually achieved the goal. “I want to run a fast marathon” is not all that measurable. How are you defining fast? What is the cut point for fast versus slow? “I want to run a marathon in under 4 hours” is both a specific and measurable goal, allowing me clear metrics to analyze whether or not I achieved this goal.

A: Achievable

• While it is alright to dream big and set lofty goals for yourself, it is important that you set a goal you can actually accomplish. Setting a goal of running a marathon in 20 minutes is not an achievable goal, as the fastest any runner has ever covered 26.2 miles is 1:59:40. However, many individuals have run marathons under 4 hours and there are numerous training programs out there geared at breaking the 4 hour barrier. If you are brand new to running, this might be a lofty goal, but not necessarily unachievable. The achievability of a goal depends a lot on your level of experience surrounding the activity associated with your goal.

R: Relevant

• Selecting a goal that is meaningful and consistent with your current state of being is critical before moving forward. What would finishing a marathon mean to you? Would achieving a different goal mean more to you? This is very much a values-based criteria geared at helping you figure out the “why” behind the goal you have set your sights on.

T: Timely

• Any goal we set for ourselves should carry with it a deadline in order to help keep us on track. The example of running a marathon tends to be fairly simple, as our deadline is the date of the race. If I have set a weight loss fitness goal, it would be beneficial to set a timetable that is consistent with a healthy rate of weight loss, which tends to be 1-2 pounds per week. Therefore, a safe and timely goal could be “I want to lose 10 pounds in 2 months”.

With any fitness goal you set, make sure to reward yourself along the way, as well as once you achieve your overall target. Setting short-term goals can make loftier long-term goals seem more attainable. It is also recommended to have a contingency plan if you get off track or if a major life event postpones your efforts. In this event, don’t beat yourself up, rather use any disappointment as motivation to set and achieve a new goal that will lead to you achieving your original goal. Fitness goals can be set and achieved at any point in the life cycle so it is never too late to work towards getting fit. Just make sure to keep them SMART.

-Grant Hennington, DPT

Getting Back To The Basics For Health & Wellness

Raise your hand if you think you get enough exercise per week. Now raise your other hand if you think you get enough sleep per night. Are both your hands up? If yes, kudos to you, as statistically you are in the minority among adults in the United States. If no, where do you think you are lacking? According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) adults need at least 150 minutes of moderate-intensity exercise per week and at least 7 hours of sleep per night. For those of you with both hands up, are you meeting these recommendations or do you need to put a hand down? The health benefits of regular physical activity are numerous and well documented, with exercise being linked with reduced risks of cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and several types of cancer. And we also know insufficient sleep has been linked with many chronic diseases, such as diabetes, heart disease, obesity and depression. Getting the picture? If you were to think of exercise and sleep as prescription drugs, they would be some of the most safe, effective, and affordable drugs in history, without the significant side effects of common pharmaceuticals. Exercise and sleep also appear to be equal opportunity interventions, as the health benefits apply to both men and women of all ages, races, and ethnicities, according to the CDC. Unfortunately, approximately one-half of adults in the United States do not get enough exercise per week and one-third of adults do not get enough sleep per night. This could partially explain why nearly two-thirds of adults in the United States are overweight or obese.

So why do we have such an inactive and sleep deprived population? Most of us could carve out 30 minutes per day for 5 days each week and tuck ourselves in 30-60 minutes earlier each night. So what’s the hold up? For one, starting to exercise regularly and sleep more requires behavior change, which can be difficult to initiate and stick with. Beginning an exercise program is often uncomfortable and unpleasant, especially if you are typically sedentary. The good news is there are several gentle forms of physical activity that fall in to the “moderate-intensity” category, according to the CDC:

• Walking

• Swimming

• Going for a bike ride

• Yoga

• Dancing

• Yard work

• Water aerobics

As you can see, there is no need to take up running or team sports if you want to get fit. It should also be noted that each form of exercise does not need to be performed all at once, as three separate bouts of walking for 10 minutes per day would count for 30 minutes and carries with it similar health benefits. An added perk is that regular physical activity has been linked with improved quality of sleep so you can be working on both aspects of health and wellness with one deed. What a deal!

So, if you find yourself not feeling well as of late, check in to see if you are meeting your basic physical activity and sleep recommendations first and foremost. If you are not, try to work up to it and see if it helps before turning to sophisticated and expensive tests, treatments, and/or procedures. If you are getting 150 minutes of exercise per week and sleeping 7+ hours per night, but are still not feeling well, then it may be appropriate to seek out an evaluation by a medical professional.

For more information regarding physical activity and sleep from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, click on the following links:

CDC Physical Activity Basics

CDC Basics About Sleep

-Grant Hennington, DPT