Nowadays, a lot of fitness equipment and sports watches are able to track your heart rate.  However, have you ever wondered why?  What can your heart rate tell you about your workout?  What is a good heart rate during exercise?  And what is the fat burning zone?    

Why you need to know your heart rate during exercise?

Basically, if you know how many times per minute your heart is beating (your heart rate), you will have a good idea of how hard you are working during your workout.  If you exercise too hard and your heart rate is too high, you will quickly wear yourself out.  On the other hand, if you don’t put in enough effort and your heart rate is too low, you will not see the benefits of your exercise routine.  So the important thing is to find somewhere in between these two extremes.  It is important to know that you are exercising hard enough to benefit from your effort, but not too hard that you quickly tire out.

So what heart rate should you work at?

In order to see the best results from your exercise routine, experts believe you should be aiming to have a heart rate of between 65% and 85% of your maximum heart rate.  This range is also called your optimum training zone.  Sounds complicated, but it is easy to calculate.

First, you need to calculate your maximum heart rate.  To do this simply take your age away from 220.  So, if you are aged 35, your maximum heart rate will be 220 - 35 = 185.

To work out your optimum training zone, you need to perform a couple more calculations - one to work out 65% of your maximum heart rate and the other to find 85% of your maximum heart rate.

In the above example of our 35 year old, the calculations are:

185 x 85% = 157

185 x 65% = 120

So, this 35 year old should aim to train with a heart rate of between 120 and 157 beats per minute.  If their heart rate was higher that 157, their body would not be able to get enough oxygen quickly enough to cope with the effort and they would easily get exhausted.  If they trained with a heart rate of less than 120, they would not be working very hard and would see little benefit from their exercise routine.

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1 Running.  Great cardio workout and except for the price of a decent pair of running shoes, not very expensive.  However, lack of decent facilities, pot holes in pavements, dogs, dog mess, litter, pedestrians, gangs, traffic and bad weather mean going for a run is not always a pleasurable experience.  They also mean you’re more likely to give it up.  The answer is simple - invest in a treadmill.  Do your running in the comfort of your own home regardless of the neighbourhood and irrespective of how bad the weather is.  Even better, position your treadmill in front of the TV and you’ll be running for hours and you’ll be more likely to keep at it.

2 Skipping.  One of the best cardio routines but only if you do it properly.  Don’t skip like children in the playground.  Do it like boxers.  Try double jumps to improve calorie burn, strength and fitness.  Get a speed rope and try to do the name some justice.  

3 Cycling.  Don’t bother pumping up the tyres on your old Raleigh and trying to take to the road.  You’re more likely to hit pot holes, traffic jams and traffic lights.  The stress will do you no good and neither will inhaling those exhaust fumes.  Instead buy yourself a decent exercise bike, set your goal, put on your iPod and away you go.  Easy.  Make things more interesting by varying the speed.

4 Weights.  No workout routine should be without weights.  Get a multi gym or adjustable dumbells.  Go for heavier weights over number of reps and try to slow it down. Know your limits but try to push them.  You can always do just one more rep.  Weight training is perfect for building up strength and muscle and has some significant health benefits too.

5 Abs. Everyone wants to have abs to be proud of so don’t forget to add these into your routine.  Happy crunching.