Author: Ali Horsfall Posted on December 21
What is the aerobic heart rate zone? Learn how heart rate training can maximize your workout results.
Aerobic heart rate zones are a feature of many exercise programs, but what are they and how do they help you become healthier? We already have the answer.
According to the American College of Sports Medicine, whether you want to run steadily or increase the rowing frequency on the rowing machine at home, exercises that make your heart beat can improve your cardiorespiratory health, increase endurance and burn calories. But how do you know if you have put in proper effort during the exercise? When using heart rate as a training tool, what is the best place to get the most benefit?
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In this article, we will study the role of heart rate in the exercise process, and explain how training within the aerobic heart rate zone can improve fitness, and how to incorporate them into aerobic exercise. This is the key information and the science behind it, so you can enter the area.
The heart rate increases during physical activity, which means that the heart performs more beatings per minute to meet the needs of delivering oxygenated blood to the surrounding body and working muscles. According to the American Heart Association (AHA), regular exercise can increase heart rate and has many long-term health benefits, including improving blood circulation, lowering blood pressure, lowering "bad" cholesterol levels, and reducing the risk of heart disease and stroke.
The heart is a muscle, and exercising to regulate it to work more efficiently will also lower your resting heart rate (RHR), which is a sign of good health. The normal RHR range of adult men and women is between 60-100 beats per minute. A study published in the journal Heart in 2013 found that elevated RHR is not only an indicator of poor physical health, but also a cause of death Risk factors.
Using heart rate as a training indicator is an effective way to improve health-this is not a new concept. According to the American Sports Commission (ACE), this is an accurate way to measure the intensity of your body's work during exercise to obtain related cardiovascular benefits without stressing your system.
As MayoClinic explained, the higher the exercise intensity, the higher your heart rate, but training within the heart rate zone allows you to make a consistent and controlled effort for your exercise. This means that you can increase your heart rate to a certain level within a set time, depending on your goals and current fitness level.
Whether it is one of the best rowing machines or an exercise bike for sale, you can achieve different levels of intensity by incorporating exercise machines into your work.
WithU’s fitness coach Omar Mansour told Live Science: “The cardiopulmonary heart rate zone is based on the percentage range of the maximum heart rate (MHR), which is the maximum number of beats per minute that the heart can perform under pressure before exercise.”
There are five aerobic heart rate zones, classified according to exercise intensity from lowest (1) to highest (5):
This area requires minimal effort and can be used for warm-up and relaxation, or for active recovery sessions. When exercising for long periods of time at low intensity (LISS aerobic exercise), you are usually at the upper end of this area. "This is a good range for improving overall health before exercising in higher heart rate zones," Mansour said.
Also called "temperate zone". "60-70% of physical activity helps to increase endurance and put the body into fat burning mode-in this area, 85% of the calories you burn come from fat," Mansour explains. When maintained at the lower limit of this range, exercise can be maintained for a longer period of time.
This is the best area for improving health and building muscle strength. 70-80% of MHR's exercise is aerobic exercise, which means that the body uses oxygen as fuel instead of other energy sources. It is an effective heart rate zone for improving cardiorespiratory function-the ability to absorb and transport more oxygen to the surroundings of the body, so you can exercise for longer periods of time over time.
"Performing short, vigorous exercise in this area is considered anaerobic exercise-a process in which the body uses glucose stored in the muscles instead of oxygen as fuel," Mansour explained. "Anaerobic exercise helps to strengthen muscle mass, increase the body's resistance to lactic acid accumulation, promote metabolism and increase speed and strength."
According to ACE, anaerobic training can also enhance the effect of post-exercise excessive oxygen consumption (EPOC), which means that you continue to burn calories during post-exercise recovery.
"Exercising in this area is very challenging-it can only last for a few minutes, if not a few seconds," Mansour said. Elite athletes train in this area to increase the development speed of fast-twitch fibers.
Your target heart rate is a range of numbers that indicates how fast your heart should beat during moderate to high-intensity physical activities-think of it as the sweet spot so you can reap the benefits without getting tired. According to the AHA, this is approximately 50-70% of the MHR during moderate-intensity exercise and 70-85% of the MHR during strenuous exercise.
"Your target heart rate zone depends on various factors, such as your age, the type of activity you are doing, and your overall fitness goal, but generally for most aerobic exercises, a good goal is 60-80% Category," confirmed Mansour.
To determine your target heart rate, the first step is to calculate your MHR. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends this simple method:
220-your age = MHR beats per minute (bpm)
"Once you know your maximum heart rate, you can calculate the heart rate range in beats per minute for each training zone," Mansour explained.
The following is the calculation method, taking a 30-year-old person who exercises 70-80% of MHR as an example:
Target heart rate = 133-152 bpm
To monitor your heart rate during exercise, use a fitness tracker to make sure you reach the target heart rate zone.
Government guidelines recommend that all adults do at least 150 minutes of moderate-intensity or 75 minutes of vigorous-intensity aerobic exercise every week. Mansour told LiveScience, “Including various intensity zones in your exercise plan will ensure that your heart is at its maximum. In good condition."
A review article published in the Department of Physiology and Cell Biology in 2019 confirmed that challenging the heart through physical activity can reduce cardiovascular risk factors and improve cardiovascular function by inducing changes in oxygen delivery, vasculature, peripheral tissue, and inflammation .
Mansour said: “Cardiovascular exercises such as running, rowing machine or cycling will all pump blood to your heart.” When performing these for at least 30 minutes, your goal should be 60-70% of the MHR. "If you are exercising shorter and faster, you want to reach 70-80% aerobic heart rate zone and above to ensure that you work hard enough. During a high-intensity HIIT (high-intensity interval training) course , You will inevitably exceed this peak, and your heart rate will drop again during recovery.” High-intensity exercise can be balanced with low-intensity exercise. In this case, your heart rate remains at 50-60% of MHR -Such a long walk.
"If you stay consistent, you will find that your resting heart rate will drop over time. This shows that your health is improving and your body is easier to exercise," Mansour added.
If you have health problems, please consult your doctor before starting a fitness program. It is also important that no matter what the number on your heart rate monitor is, if you feel dizzy or chest pain at any time during exercise, you should stop.
Ali Horsfall has nearly 15 years of journalist experience and has written for national print publications and lifestyle brands, including Women and Family, Women, Women themselves, BBC Magazine, Mothercare, Grazia and The Independent. She currently focuses on health and fitness content and likes to share the best expert advice on staying healthy.
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