If you aren’t heart rate training you’re aimlessly training! You see heart rate training determines what intensity you should be exercising at and this will vary depending on your fitness goals. Not to mention that the only way to create a more efficient fat burning body is to exercise using your heart rate as a guide for intensity. Exercising along with consuming the correct nutrients and hemp products (visit neoteric nutra for more information) helps prevent health issues in the future such as heart disease and joint problems.

So what exactly is heart rate? It’s the number of times your heart beats per unit of time; generally expressed in beats per minute. The heart rate can vary based on the body’s oxygen need and the more fit you are the less your heart will need to beat per minute while in a resting state. Here are four types of heart rates you should be familiar with; once you’ve read through the definitions, identify yours and write them in the blanks.

Types of Heart Rate (HR):

  • Resting (RHR) = heart rate while completely at rest but awake, generally taken first thing when you awake before you get out of bed. Typical RHR for adults range between 60-80 bpm. Lower than 60 can indicate bradycardia (low heart rate) and higher than 100 can indicate tachycardia (high heart rate). Note, the more fit you are the lower your RHR.
  • Ambient (AHR) = heart rate while at rest and sitting.
  • Maximum (theoretical and true) (MHR) = theoretical is 220-Age & true MHR is pushing yourself to a true maximum exertion and recording your HR.
  • Recovery Heart Rate (Recovery HR) = the change in your heart rate after you stop exercising. A higher RHR indicates better fitness levels.

Identify Your Heart Rates:

RHR _________

AHR _________

MHR (theoretical) _________

Recovery HR _________

VO2 max testing is the most accurate way to determine your heart rate training zones! This type of test analyzes how your body utilizes oxygen to metabolize fat and carbohydrates for energy. As a result, the VO2 max testing will reveal your target heart rate and then we use this value to create individualized heart rate training zones and then a cardio program based on your body’s performance during cardiovascular exercise.

If you do not have this type of testing available to you, you can still determine your training zones by using the Karvonen Method. This equation uses one’s theoretical max heart rate as well as resting heart rate to determine different training zones. There is an important caveat, however: If you are currently taking a beta blocker or any other type of blood pressure medication that significantly lowers the heart rate, the Karvonen method should not be used to determine your target heart rate. This is because the Karvonen method was developed to assess the healthy person who is not taking any medication that would lower his/her heart rate. So take your MHR and RHR values determined earlier to calculate your training zones:

Karvonen Method Results

Fat-burning zone
(MHR – RHR) X 50% + RHR = ____________
(MHR – RHR) X 60% + RHR = ____________

Fit zone
(MHR – RHR) X 60% + RHR = ____________
(MHR – RHR) X 70% + RHR = ____________

Threshold zone
(MHR – RHR) X 70% + RHR = ____________
(MHR – RHR) X 80% + RHR = ____________

Resting & Max HRs
Max heart rate (bpm)__________
Resting heart rate (bpm)__________

Training Zones
Fat-burning zone (bpm)______________
Fit zone (bpm) ______________
Threshold zone (bpm) ______________

It is important to understand that I have adapted the percentages above from what has generally been accepted for calculating similar training zones. Through my experience in working with the general population, I’ve discovered that using 50-60 as the percentage in the Karvonen method to determine the fat-burning zone is an excellent starting place for most individuals. (Occasionally, I’ve even used a training zone of 40-50 percent for the fat-burning zone for individuals who have an extremely low level of fitness.) Beginning at these lower intensities tends to foster longer commitment, less burnout, fewer injuries, and greater weight loss initially. Three training zones are more than enough to get you started, but as you increase your fitness and your body’s overall ability to burn fat during exercise, it may become necessary to calculate more training zones. Now that you know your different HR zones, try one of these heart rate training workouts:

Pyramid Workout

Total Workout Time = 55 min.

  • 15 min Fat Burning Zone
  • 10 min Fit Zone
  • 5 min Threshold Zone
  • 10 min Fit Zone
  • 15 min Fat Burning Zone

Half & Half Workout

Total Workout Time = 30-60 min.

  • Half of time in Fat Burning Zone
  • Half of time in Fit Zones