Heart Rate (Pulse)
 Heart rate simply the number of times your heart beats in a minute. It is also
often called the "pulse" or "pulse rate."
Heart rate varies depending on what you're doing with your body at the moment (like exercising),
your overall physical condition, genetics, and possibly your age.
Heart rate is also the measure many people use to judge their personal fitness and stamina. They also use their
heart rate during exercise as an approximate measure of how many calories they're burning to meet a weight loss
goal or maintain a certain weight level.
If you haven't been involved in athletics or haven't exercised much before, you'll hear a number of terms
related to heart rate that will probably sound unfamiliar. You may not understand what they mean or what their
significance is. For instance...
Exercise heart rate
All this term basically means is that you can use your heart rate to guesstimate the level of intensity of
your workout at any given moment. You might also use it to judge how many calories you're probably
burning while you exercise. "Exercise heart rate" is simply your heart rate while you're exercising,
or possibly a way of judging what level you've reached in your routine.
Resting heart rate
This one is pretty self explanatory. It's basically your heart rate when you are at rest and not under stress.
Resting heart rate normally ranges between 55-85 times a minute.
Resting heart rate tends to be lower for well-conditioned athletes and people who stay very physically fit.
Resting heart rate tends to get higher with age.
Resting heart rate is also one of the measurements you use to estimate your target heart rate.
Target Heart Rate
Target heart rate is your goal heart rate for exercise training. It's a pre-determined number you try to reach
during exercise, and an estimate of when circulation is working at it's most efficient capacity.
Your personal target heart rate is generally determined by subtracting your age in years from 220 (which gives
you your maximum heart rate--see below) and multiplying the resulting number by 0.65 or 0.70.
Maximum Heart Rate
Maximum heart rate (often called MHR)is the highest number of times per minute the heart is capable of beating
safely. Pushing your heart beyond this number is inviting trouble, because it's as fast as your heart can beat
without going into fibrillation.
MHR varies with age.
As mentioned above, you can get a general idea of your probable maximum heart rate by subtracting your age from
the number 220.
Fat Burning Heart Rate
There are some varying opinions about the value of the so called "fat burning heart rate" or "fat burning
zone."
The debate began in the early 1990's when scientists reported that the body burned more fat during low intensity
workouts than during high intensity workouts. The research seemed to indicate that high intensity activity did a
better job of burning up stored carbohydrates rather than fat.
The conclusion many people drew: low intensity workouts were better for losing weight. Therefore, a low
intensity workout with a lower heart rate (around 50-60 percent of maximum heart rate), would help you lose weight
more efficiently than a high intensity workout with a higher heart rate (65-70 percent of MHR).
Many health experts call the "fat burning zone" or "fat burning heart rate" a myth, but others feel it's a
valuable tool in helping someone attain their weight loss goals.
You can make up your mind for yourself. But no matter what your opinion about the "fat burning heart rate," you
can bet everyone agrees it's a good idea to raise your heart rate well above the resting level through an smart
exercise program several times a week.
Related Information:
Heart
Palpitations
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