Why is that useful?
Beginning runners aim to reach a certain point where they don’t have to stop and can continue running at a nice pace. You can use a heart rate monitor to determine this pace.
Exercise strengthens the most important muscle in your body: the heart. Your heart rate indicates whether a certain effort requires too little or too much of you.
Reach your goal sooner
The consequences of a too high heart rate are the risk of overload and injuries. And the consequence of a too low heart rate is no improvement in your condition.
To know whether a certain heart rate is high or low for a given effort, a heart rate monitor offers a solution. Not only do you exercise more effectively and safely, but you also reach your goal sooner because you don’t waste time.
Types of heart rate monitor
There are different types of heart rate monitors from a number of brands on the market. A heart rate monitor consists of two parts: a chest strap (which you wear on bare skin, just below the chest) and a wristwatch (which measures your heart rate zone). The chest strap contains sensors, which you must pre-wet with water.
A basic model only shows what your heart rate zone is at that moment; a more advanced model can tell you exactly when your heart rate is too high for your intended training goal and the number of calories you burn.
Determine heart rate zone
You can determine your heart rate zone in four ways. But first you need to estimate your maximum heart rate. Your maximum heart rate is the maximum number of beats per minute that your heart cannot exceed, even if you exert yourself more. You can estimate your maximum heart rate by using the following formula: maximum heart rate = 220 – age.
Four ways to determine your heart rate zone:
1. Age Formula
HR max = 226 -/- your age (possible deviation: 10 to 20 beats per minute. The lower limit of this heart rate zone is 65 percent of your maximum heart rate and the upper limit 85 percent, but you can adjust that depending on the goal of your training (see table).
2. Carvone Formula
This takes into account your age, your resting heart rate and your maximum heart rate. Karvonen formula: %((226-age) – resting heart rate)+ resting heart rate = heart rate during exercise.
Example: You are 55 and your resting heart rate is 50 beats per minute and you want to train at about 70 percent of your maximum exercise intensity, then your training heart rate is: 0.7 ((220-55)-50) + 50 = ± 130.
You can also determine a heart rate zone by calculating a lower limit and an upper limit.
3. Exercise Test
If the individual heart rate zones need to be determined more accurately, it is advisable to do an exercise test under the supervision of a (sports) doctor. For example, one can take a test in a sports laboratory, in which the effort is gradually increased to the maximum.
4. Special heart rate monitor
Heart rate monitors that, based on your warm-up (approximately 5 minutes), automatically determine your personal heart rate zone based on your fitness for that day. The heart rate monitor then calculates which heart rate is best for you to exercise that day and gives a beep when you are above or below this.
