What beats per minute should your heart rate be when you are working out your Cardio-respiratory system? Do you know what your heart rate should be to get real progress from your cardio training? Although there are a few ways to find your heart rate zone, we're going to use a simple formula that has been around for years. Here's how we do it: simply take 220 and subtract your age. Now, multiply that number by 0.6. The number you get should be the lowest number of beats for your heart rate when working out your cardio system. For example, if I'm 40, I'll take 220 - 40 = 180. Now 180 * 0.6 = 108. So when I check my pulse, I should not get less than 108 beats in a one minute count. To work in a training zone, you'll want to work around 75 or 80 percent so I would multiply 180 times 0.75 or 0.8. The best way to know which zone to work in is to check with your doctor. Based on this information, I'm going to try to train between 108 beats per minute and 144 bpm.
Now that we have an idea of how fast a healthy heart should be beating when exercising, let's talk about what you'll need. Make sure you have good walking or running shoes, a water bottle to keep hydrated, a watch to check your heart rate and manage time, a towel, and comfortable clothing. Our goal this month is to work out at least 3 days each week and stretch each time we work out. When working out, try to perform at least 20 minutes of cardiovascular training using interval style training. Based on the above figures, I would begin my 20 minutes when my body was warmed up and my heart rate was at least 108 bpm. After 5 minutes I'll spend two minutes trying to get to a speed that brings my heart rate up to 180 bpm. Then I'll let it go back down for 5 minutes. After that, it's back up to speed for another minute or two. Try to get through the cycle at least three times during your training! Of course stretch before and after you exercise. That's our first step to our plan!
Reader's Invitation: We are currently looking for volunteers to follow a fitness plan from February through May 2010. Only people who have seen their physician with in the last two months, or are seeing their physician with in the next month and have been cleared to exercise need apply for the opportunity. If you'd like to be a part of the plan, please contact me at lynnettewoolley@yahoo.com. Participants will have to sign a waiver, have physician's consent form signed, and will need to allow me to come to your home to perform an assessments during February through May. I'm looking forward to working with you!
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