Heart Rate Zone Training [Simplified] 🏃❤️

Heart Rate Zone Training [Simplified]

You own one of the world’s best training tools: your heart. While not new, training using your heart rate as a guide isn’t always used to its full potential. I want to change that.

Heart rate training is about using your heart rate to tell how hard you are training. Knowing it allows you to meet your goals quickly and safely. I’m going to walk you through some numbers. You can’t utilize heart rate training without doing some math. You’ll need to know your maximum heart rate (MHR), your resting heart rate (RHR), and your heart rate reserve (HRR) to find your target zones.

FIND TRAINING PROGRAMS TO BOOST YOUR HEART RATE.

Calculating Your Heart Rate Zones

Calculating your heart rate zones is easier when broken into steps. Here’s how you can do it:

 

Step 1: Find Your Maximum Heart Rate (MHR)

 

Use this formula: MHR = 220 – your age

Example: If you’re 40, your MHR is 220 – 40 = 180 bpm

 

Step 2: Determine Your Resting Heart Rate (RHR)

 

Your RHR is how many times your heart beats per minute when you’re completely at rest. Find it by identifying a quiet location and remaining calm. Feel your pulse on your wrist or neck (or use a smartwatch or heart rate monitor). Count the number of beats in a minute, e.g., 70 bpm (we’ll use this number in the next step).

 

Step 3: Calculate Your Heart Rate Reserve (HRR)

 

Use this formula: HRR = MHR – RHR

Example: If your MHR is 180 bpm and your RHR is 70 bpm: HRR = 180 – 70 = 110 bpm.

Step 4: Find Your Target Heart Rate Zones

 

Heart rate zones are based on percentages of your HRR.

 

Use the formula:

 

(HRR × % intensity) + RHR = Target Heart Rate (THR)

 

Heart Rate Zone Breakdown (with Example)

 

Bet you never thought you’d use so much math in training, right? We’re almost done. This is where heart rate zones come in handy. Let’s go back to our 40-year-old with an HRR of 110. Using the Heart Rate Zones formula, we can train by intensity.

 

Zone 1 (50-60% intensity)

 

(110 × 0.5) + 70 = 125 bpm (low-end)

(110 × 0.6) + 70 = 136 bpm (high-end)

 

Zone 2 (60-70% intensity)

 

(110 × 0.6) + 70 = 136 bpm (low-end)

(110 × 0.7) + 70 = 147 bpm (high-end)

 

Zone 3 (70-80% intensity)

 

(110 × 0.7) + 70 = 147 bpm (low-end)

(110 × 0.8) + 70 = 158 bpm (high-end)

 

Zone 4 (80-90% intensity)

 

(110 × 0.8) + 70 = 158 bpm (low-end)

(110 × 0.9) + 70 = 169 bpm (high-end)

 

Zone 5 (90-100% intensity)

 

(110 × 0.9) + 70 = 169 bpm (low-end)

(110 × 1.0) + 70 = 180 bpm (high-end)

Use Zone 1 for Recovery 

This is the zone you want to use for warming up and cooling down. Zone 2 is for light cardio.

On days where I’m struggling for motivation, I get my heart rate into my Zone 2 and go out for a light jog. Zone 3 is where you’ll be for most worthwhile workouts. Bump up to Zone 4 or 5 for quick bursts. This will really help you cut fat and increase your endurance. Knowing your zones makes a big difference in the results you’ll see in your workouts.

  • Zones 1-3: Great for fat burning, endurance, and cardiovascular health.
  • Zones 4-5: Used for high-intensity training and short bursts of effort.

Track your zones; reach your goals.

Increase Your Anaerobic Threshold (AT)

By using heart rate training, you can boost your fitness levels and increase your athletic performance. One of the main ways of doing this is by increasing your AT.

Experts call it by many names: Lactate Threshold, Ventilatory Anaerobic Threshold, Onset of Blood Lactate Accumulation, Onset of Plasma Lactate Accumulation, Heart Rate Deflection Point and Maximum Lactate Steady State. 

FIND TRAINING PROGRAMS TO BOOST YOUR HEART RATE.

.Basically  lactic acid builds up in the muscles and starts causing fatigue. Improving AT is important for athletes. Endurance runners focus on this a lot. The higher your AT, the longer you can run before burning out. The better the body can rid itself of lactate, the more energized it will be. Increasing your body’s threshold is the goal. Here’s how to get started using AT in your training:

Get on a treadmill or other cardio machine. 

  • Start with a moderate speed. 
  • Slightly increase the speed every minute or two.

Monitor the intensity.

  • As the speed increases, listen to your body. 
  • Once you feel you’re running at in Zone 3 or 4 (or somewhere between 70 to 80%intensity), start paying close attention to your heart rate.

Find your steady-state rate.  

  • Keep moving. You find your steady state by working at a pace you can sustain. 
  • If your heart rate increases, lower the speed to where it’s remaining stable, but you’re still at a moderate speed.

Here’s an example? You’re on the treadmill. Tedd Lasso’s on the TV. Roy Kent is yelling “Whistle!” across the pitch (like literally saying the word whistle — you’ve got to watch it if you haven’t started).

You laugh then relax and increase your speed until you’re running at 140 BPM. You hold it for three minutes. Still 140 BPM. Too Easy. Again. You go up to 160. Three minutes. Again. You increase the intensity and can’t maintain 170 BPM without your heart rate going up in the three minutes. You try 165 and it’s just right.

165 BPM is your steady rate. Train from there and work on increasing your ability to sustain that intense pace. Threshold training is continuous work at, or just below, your AT. Periods of structure, like 4×8 minutes of threshold effort and short recovery, can trigger muscle changes to help them clear lactate more effectively.

High-Intensity Interval Training (HIIT)

HIIT. You know it.

HIIT works above AT and followed by quick recoveries can boost your lactate tolerance and raise AT. This workout works, for example, 6×3 minutes 90-95% of your peak effort. Then rest.

Training in heart zones, using threshold and high intensity intervals, and putting recovery at the front of your plan will help you greatly increase your anaerobic threshold, so that you’re stronger and longer when pushing hard.

Quick Summary

Heart rate training can be used to shave off some pounds and work towards fitness. It consists of computing your Maximum Heart Rate (MHR), Resting Heart Rate (RHR) and HRR to pinpoint Zones 1-5 for different intensity levels.

Zones 1-3 are all about fat burning, endurance, and cardiovascular zones 4-5 are for high-intensity activities and performance.

The higher your anabolic threshold (AT), the better your athletic performance. Heart rate zones allow you to train smarter.

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Gardea Christian

I've spent more than 20 years bringing out the best in individuals, empowering them to transform their lives. With unwavering loyalty and dedication, I guide people through a personalized process that revolves around them. My goal is to equip readers with the necessary tools, support, and resources to achieve and maintain optimal health.

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