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Chances are you know how to find your pulse: It’s pretty basic. But what’s the
deal with peak, resting, and recovery heart rates? Don’t know? Don’t fret.
This comprehensive guide will clue you in to the bigger picture when you’re talking
heart rate training.
Adaptation. The body’s ability to encounter stress and become stronger.
Aerobic. With or in the presence of oxygen; an exercise program at a low enough
intensity to keep you and your muscles from running out of oxygen. The muscles produce
lactate (a product of the body’s metabolism) but at a relatively low rate so the
body can dispose of it.
Aerobic Capacity. The ability of the body to remove oxygen from the air and transfer
it through the lungs and blood to the working muscles.
Anaerobic. Without oxygen; exercise characterized by short-spurt, high-intensity
activities where the muscles briefly operate at an oxygen deficit.
Anaerobic Threshold. A level of intensity that can be maintained for about 30 minutes.
The point at which your body is producing more lactic acid than can be metabolized,
also known as the “lactate threshold.”
Average Heart Rate. The mean heart rate during an exercise period.
Base. Extensive training at an aerobic intensity to build endurance and prepare the
body for harder training efforts or racing. A training term for the fitness level required
to exercise for a relatively extended duration without tiring.
Bonk (Hit the Wall). Running out of glycogen during a long endurance event.
Symptoms are lightheadedness, dizziness, and drastically lowered performance.
Carbohydrate. A basic source of energy for the body, which, when broken down, become
a main energy source for muscular work.
Cardiac. Pertaining to the heart.
Cardiac Output. The amount of blood the heart can pump on one minute.
Crossover Points. Those heart rates where your metabolism shifts fuels (for example,
from burning fats to burning carbohydrates).
Electrocardiogram (EKG or ECG). A record on a graph of the heart’s electrical
activity and heartbeat patterns. EKG’s are often recorded during exercise stress tests
on the treadmill or stationary bike.
Exercise Heart Rate. The number of beats per minute you are experiencing during a
workout.
Fat. Concentrated sources of energy for muscular work. They are compounds containing
glycerol and fatty acids and may be saturated or unsaturated.
Glycogen. A complex sugar that the body makes from carbohydrates, which breaks down
into glucose and is used as brain and muscle fuel.
Heart Rate. The number of beats or contraction cycles your heart makes per minute,
measured by the electrical impulses emitted by the heart during this process.
Heart Rate Function. The different type of features that a heart rate monitor provides,
such as time of day, training zones, and stopwatch, among others.
Heart Rate Monitor. An electronic device that measures the electrical activity of the
heart and displays it.
Heart Zones. A range of heartbeats usually 10 percent of your individual maximum sports
specific heart rate. There are 10 different heart zones.
Intensity. The degree of energy, difficulty, or strength, as related to a workout.
Intervals. A series of repeated exercise bouts with specific rest periods between.
Lactic Acid (lactate). A product of the body’s metabolism—the harder the
exercise, the more lactate the body produces. High levels of lactate production can’t be
sustained for long periods of time.
Lacate Threshold. See Anaerobic Threshold.
Limits. The dividing lines of a heart zone—the top of a limit is the ceiling and
the bottom of a limit is its floor.
Macrocycle. In a yearly training plan, a period of about eight to 12 weeks of specific
training (for instance, gradually increasing intensity and distance).
Maximum Heart Rate. The greatest number of beats per minute possible for your heart;
this number is highly individualized and varies with fitness, age, gender, and other factors.
Metabolism. The chemical changes in the body’s cells by which energy is provided
for vital processes.
Microcycle. In a yearly training plan, a short period, usually four weeks. Typically,
workout intensity and duration increase for three weeks, then are reduced for a week for rest
and recuperation.
Mitochondria. Strings of carrier molecules within the cell; they act like tiny energy
factories, taking fuel and uniting it with oxygen for muscular combustion in muscles.
Overtraining. The result of too much intensity and distance in training or racing.
The body is unable to recover from the stress. Symptoms of overtraining often include poor
performance, irritability, digestive problems, apathy, lowered sex drive, and disrupted sleep
patterns.
Overuse. Training too hard, to the point of stress or injury.
Peak Heart Rate. The highest heart rate number reached during any one-workout period.
Pulse. The regular throbbing felt in the arteries, caused by contractions of the heart
(not the same as electrically measured heart rate).
Ratings of Perceived Exertion (RPE). An objective measure of exercise intensity. RPE
scales generally range from 1 (at rest) to 20 (as hard as you can go). Some RPE scales use a
numerical system from 1 to 10.
Recovery Heart Rate. The difference in the heart rate after a set post-exercise rest
interval.
Resting Heart Rate. The number of heartbeats per minute taken at rest, often immediately
upon waking. It’s a measure of fitness—well-conditioned athletes typically have low
resting heart rates of 40 or 50 beats per minute.
Strength. Maximum forces or tension that a muscle can produce against resistance.
Target Heart Rate. A heart zone that is variable and set for the specific workout.
Threshold Heart Rate. The heart rate number at a crossover point between different
exercise intensities. Example: The anaerobic threshold heart rate is the heart rate at the
crossover from aerobic to anaerobic metabolism.
Training. Any sustained cardiovascular exercise at a heart rate or intensity level
sufficient to result in metabolic adaptation in the muscles involved.
Ventilation. Movement of air into and out of the lungs in the process of introducing
oxygen to the blood.
VO2Max. The maximum amount of oxygen the tissues can process at high levels of exercise
intensity. Measured in an exercise physiology lab on a treadmill or stationary bike.
(Synonymous with “maximum oxygen consumption” and “maximum oxygen uptake.”)
Workload. The amount of work performed in a given time, often measured in watts.
Zones. Varying levels of intensity, as measured by heart rate. Athletes exercise in
specific zones to accomplish certain
goals.
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