Why calculate your heart rate if you decide to go in for sports

What is heart rate and why should it be considered

Heart rate (HR) is the number of times your heart beats per minute. Normally, heart rate and pulse - the oscillations of the walls of the arteries - coincide at rest, therefore, below we will use these terms as synonyms.

Heart rate calculation is needed for novice athletes to select the intensity of training. It is difficult for beginners to determine how fast to run, burpee or swim to get the full benefit of the activity and achieve specific goals.

There are pulse zones in which certain changes occur with the body: mainly fat reserves or carbohydrates are burned, the muscles lack or lack oxygen, acidosis occurs, or "acidification" of the muscles.

By setting your goals, such as burning as much fat as possible or building endurance, you can keep your heart rate in the ideal zone to reach your goal.

How to calculate your resting heart rate

To measure your resting heart rate, you need to put your fingers on your wrist, neck, or temple, turn on the stopwatch and count the number of beats in 10 seconds, and then multiply this value by six.

The rate of heart rate at rest is 60–100 beats per minute. Your heart rate can drop below 60 beats per minute with certain medications, such as beta blockers. In this case, this does not indicate a disease. Also, the heart rate may be lower in trained athletes.

When measuring, it is important to take into account that heart rate can vary depending on various factors:

If you are hot, your heart rate may increase by 5-10 beats per minute.
If you measure your pulse immediately after a little activity (for example, after getting up), it may be slightly increased for 15-20 seconds.
The heart rate depends on the emotional state: if you are very upset or, conversely, happy, your heart may beat faster.
The pulse may rise during illness, such as a cold.
Taking hormonal drugs can raise or lower your heart rate.

How to calculate your target heart rate

First you need to determine your maximum heart rate and heart rate reserve. Since it is rather difficult to calculate the maximum heart rate during exercise, a simple formula is used for this:

220 - age = maximum heart rate.

220 - 28 years = 192 beats per minute.

Also, to calculate the target heart rate, you need to determine the heart rate reserve:

Maximum heart rate - heart rate at rest = heart rate reserve.

192 beats per minute - 82 beats per minute = 110 beats per minute.

Before calculating the target zone, here is a table of approximate intensity zones.

Intensity zones	Intensity (% of maximum heart rate)
Recovery zone	50–60%
Zone of easy activity	60–70%
Aerobic zone	70–80%
Anaerobic zone	80–90%
Maximum effort	90–100%

Depending on what kind of workout you decide to do, take a percentage from the table and substitute it into the formula for calculating your target heart rate.

Resting heart rate + 70% heart rate reserve = target heart rate.

82 + (70% × 110) = 82 + 77 = 159 beats per minute.

That is, a heart rate of at least 159 beats per minute will allow a 28-year-old to remain in the aerobic zone.

What happens to the body in different heart rate zones

Here's a description of the heart rate zones from Training With 5 Exercise Heart Rate Training Zones by Sally Edwards, famous triathlete and author of books on training and heart rate.

50-60% - a zone of warm-up, activity for health. By being in this heart rate zone, you strengthen your heart and lower your cholesterol levels. You improve your health, but not your physical fitness. In this area, warm-up and cool-downs, as well as training for people with cardiovascular problems, are usually carried out.
60–70% - moderate activity. The activity in this zone feels quite comfortable, but the body is already starting to waste its fat reserves. Some people call this fat burning zone because 85% of all calories burned come from fat.
70-80% - aerobic zone. In this area, you improve your functionality. The number and size of blood vessels, the volume of the lungs and oxygen consumption, and the size of the heart increase, you become stronger and can exercise longer. The body continues to burn fat, but now they are burned somewhere in half with carbohydrates.
80–90% is the anaerobic threshold. In this area, your body no longer has enough oxygen to supply the muscles with energy (aerobic metabolism), so chemical reactions are triggered in the muscles that help produce energy without oxygen (anaerobic metabolism). Upon reaching this threshold, you will soon feel a burning sensation in your muscles due to the acidic pH balance shift. You won't be able to stay in this zone for long as muscle fatigue will force you to lower your intensity. Training in this zone will increase your endurance.
90-100% - maximum effort. You can find yourself in such a heart rate zone, working to the limit of possibilities. It is most often used during interval training, when the extra effort is very short and ends with rest or activity in the recovery zone. Even top athletes can only stay in this area for a few minutes, and beginner athletes will most likely simply not be able to reach it.

In which zone to train

It all depends on your training and goals. Sally Edwards suggests a gradual increase in intensity from beginner to advanced athlete called the workout tree. If the first branch seems too easy for you, go straight to the second. Spend four to six weeks on each branch.

Branch name	Training frequency and duration	Activity type	Workout Description
Base branch	Three times a week for 30 minutes. 10 minutes in the first heart rate zone, 10 minutes in the second, 10 minutes in the third	Walking, cycling, swimming, ice skating	Workouts are slow and comfortable, without muscle fatigue and pain. Develop a basic level of strength and endurance
Stamina branch	Five times a week for 30 minutes. 5 minutes in the first zone, 10 minutes in the second and 15 minutes in the third	Brisk walking, cycling, swimming, light jogging, low-intensity aerobic exercise	The body learns to withstand the load for longer, can provide more oxygen to the muscles. You can cover new distances without sudden surges in your heart rate
Branch of power	Four or five times a week for 30-40 minutes. 5 minutes in the first zone, 10 minutes in the second, 20 minutes in the third and 5 minutes in the fourth	Strength training, hill running, stair climbing are added to the cardio load	This is where you add resistance workouts that will increase strength.

If your goal is to maintain health and fitness, you can stay on this branch. For those who want to participate in competitions and reach a professional level, there is another branch - peak, but such training should be carried out under the supervision of a coach.

How to monitor your heart rate

Tracking your heart rate during training and staying in the target heart rate zone will help the heart rate monitor, which is present in any fitness bracelet. Depending on the bracelet model, heart rate data can be displayed on the device screen or on a smartphone if the bracelet does not have a screen.

When choosing a fitness tracker, remember that some cheap models give a large error during activity: from 5 to 25%.

There are also more accurate chest straps that are attached with an elastic strap with an electrode strip. The sensor data is displayed on the screen of a smartphone or an accompanying device - a fitness watch.

Some models allow you to set a target heart rate and beep when the heart rate is out of the desired zone. So you don't have to periodically glance at your smartphone or watch screen during your workout.

The cost of fitness bracelets and heart rate sensors depends on the model. Here you will find heart rate monitors from 1,000 rubles, and here there are several good options that cost up to 5,000 rubles.