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A heart rate monitor is more than a speedometer that you wear on your wrist to tell you
how fast your heart is beating. Rather, it is a number of different devices all packaged
into a personal training tool. If you are new to heart rate training, get excited.
What you are about to experience has the potential revolutionize your training regimen.
That is power.
When you are using a heart rate monitor, it does not matter if you are working out alone
or with a group, you now have an extremely reliable, precise source of feedback information.
With a heart rate monitor, you are your own best motivator, your own personal trainer,
and your own exercise scientist. This is one of the best workout partners you might ever have.
The heart rate monitor provides a seamless link between your body and your mind. No more wracking
your brain as you try to guess your exercise intensity, no more stopping in the middle of an
aerobic session to search for your pulse, hoping to get a reasonably close count before your
heart rate starts to plummet. For years, professional athletes have had access to this kind
of information, but now this potent training tool is available to all.
Heart rate monitors are for everyone. And now it’s time to take the first step to make your
heart rate monitor work: Strap it on!
Step 1. Watch Your Heart, 24/7
The first day you have your monitor or the first week, wear it around the clock. Learn immediately
to use it as a feedback monitor and look at the stress in your life through your heart’s
viewpoint. Stare at the face of the monitor for a couple of minutes. That icon that is flashing is
beating to the rhythm of your heart. That is your heart actually beating. You are seeing into
your heart, maybe for the first time. What do you see? Is it beating smoothly? Is the number on
the watch face high or low?
After this first 24 hours of cardiac monitoring, you probably can learn a lot about how your
heart responds to different daily activities.
Step 2. Learn to Program the Monitor
Each monitor works differently, and each model has different functions. You want your
heart rate monitor to be your best friend so learn how to program it from the beginning
and become familiar with the different settings. Pay attention to such features as memory,
back lighting, stopwatch, time of day, training zones, out-of-heart zone—alarms, multiple zone
settings, countdown timers, and more.
Step 3. Know Your Maximum Heart Rate
Your maximum heart rate is the highest number of beats per minute that your heart can contract.
Maximum heart rate is different for every individual and it is not related to your age.
Two individuals who are the same age could have as much as a 40 beat-per-minute difference in
their maximum heart rate.
There are four different ways to determine your maximum heart rate:
- Take a test administered by an exercise physiologist or testing facility.
- If you are fit, exercise at your highest intensity to get the biggest number possible to
register on your monitor.
- Estimate your maximum heart rate by using the following calculation:
210 - (half your age) - (.05 x your weight in pounds) + 4 (if male), and + 0 (if female).
Step 4. Use the Five Training Zones
Now that you have your maximum heart rate—the anchor point of setting your heart
zones—calculate each of your five heart zones. Each zone is 10 percent of your maximum
heart rate. See chart below.
Step 5. Start Training in Your Zone
Complete several of your favorite workouts. Wear your monitor. Observe the numbers and get
comfortable with the information that you are viewing. Don’t pass judgment that the number
is too high or too low, just relax, train, and observe. It takes about 40 hours of wearing a
heart rate monitor to feel comfortable with the technology and programming it. It’s your new
training partner and don’t expect it to be easy to use at first. The guarantee: The information that it is providing you, the data about that cardiac muscle, can be used in ways to make you more fit. And chances are you’ll have fun at the same
time.
| Percentage of Maximum Heart Rate |
Heart Zone Name |
Heart Zone Number |
Zone Benefits |
| 90%–100% |
Redline Zone |
Zone 5 |
Becoming most fit |
| 80%–90% |
Threshold Zone |
Zone 4 |
Getting more fit |
| 70%–80% |
Aerobic Zone |
Zone 3 |
Getting fit |
| 60%–70% |
Temperate Zone |
Zone 2 |
Starting to shape up |
| 50%–60% |
Healthy Heart Zone |
Zone 1 |
Starting to get in shape |
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