Road Bike Source

Welcome to part two of this series on using your heart rate to exercise properly. This part is fairly long but I think the information is worth the time it will take to read it.

In part one of this series I discussed what maximum heart rate is and how it relates to developing a zone based training program. Now that we have an idea of how training using your heart rate can help us achieve our fitness goals we need to find out what our specific “zones” are. We do this by performing some basic tests to give us an idea what our maximum heart rate is. We then use this maximum to construct the training zones that we can use in our exercise program. Once again I must emphasize:

Please Remember: You should always check with your doctor before starting any exercise program.

OK, now that I have gotten through that disclaimer again we can proceed

In order to accurately determine our maximum heart rate we need to actually do some physical activity. Depending on your exercise experience there are a couple of different ways to do the test.

The exception, and this is important, is if you have been inactive for an extended period or have never exercised. If that describes you then you can get an estimate by:

Subtracting your age from 220.

(For example, I am 44, so my max HR using this formula is 177 (220-44=176). This will get you started. Once you have been working out for a while you can use one of the other methods to verify your number)

Sub-Max Testing

If you have some, but not extensive, experience exercising use this method:

This first method is a good place to start if you are new to exercise (within the first 6 months or so). If you are more experienced you may want to skip down to the “Full-Max” section. Depending on your level of fitness you will adjust your results by adding a different number to your results to get your maximum heart rate. Here are the three levels of fitness (aerobic, not muscular) to use:

1. Low- if you do not exercise at all, or if you have not exercised recently (last 8 weeks). Remember, you can be thin, have no weight-loss goals, and still be in poor shape.
2. Medium- you walk a mile 3 times a week, or participate in any aerobic activity 3 times a week for 20 minutes.
3. High- you regularly have training sessions that total more than 1 hour a week, or you walk or run at least 5 miles a week.

Ok, here is the “Sub-Max” test:

Use an 8″ step (almost any step in your home or in a club will do) and perform a 3-minute step test. After your warm-up, step up and down in a four-count sequence as follows: right foot up, left up, right down, left down. Each time you move a foot up or down, it counts as one step.

Count “up, up, down, down” for one set, with 20 sets to the minute. It is very important that you don’t speed up the pace–keep it regular. After 2 minutes, monitor your heart rate for the last minute. Add to your last minute’s heart rate average one of the following numbers:

1. Low: +55 bpm
2. Medium: +65 bpm
3. High: +75 bpm

The result should be pretty close to your maximum heart rate.

Full-Max Testing

If you are an experienced exerciser (over 6 months) and you really want to determine your max heart rate you can do one of these “Fun” tests:

Another disclaimer is in order here. These tests are extreme in nature and should not be attempted unless you are in very good shape. Even if you are in good shape you should still verify everything is OK with your doctor before trying these tests.

If your primary form of exercise is running then you can do the “run up a hill ’til you can’t run any more test”. This is pretty basic, all you need is a moderate hill of 400-500 yards long.

1. Warm up for 10-15 minutes at a medium pace.
2. After the warm up slowly build your speed for a couple more minutes until you reach the bottom of the hill.
3. When you reach the bottom of the hill continue to build speed and run up the hall as hard as you can.
4. Fall down when appropriate (when your body tells you it can’t go any more)
5. Take your heart rate or look at your heart rate monitor before you pass out to see the number.
6. If you don’t have a hill you can substitute a treadmill with an incline feature or just go to your local high school track and sprint a lap as hard as you can after building speed over the previous lap or two.

If you do this test properly you will get a pretty accurate number.

If, like me, cycling is your primary exercise, the test is pretty much the same as the running, just substitute a bike for Nike shoes. Here’s how I have done this test outside:

1. Warm up for 20-30 minutes at a moderate pace
2. Do a couple of hard 15-30 second sprints, then recover for a minute or two
3. Find your favorite hill (at least 1/2 mile long) and start riding up it as hard as you can go without sprinting staying seated.
4. When you feel you can’t go any harder sprint with all your effort for 15 seconds, standing is OK.
5. Stop, get off or fall off and check your heart rate.
6. You can do this on your indoor trainer by following the same basic steps, just increase the tension and then stand up and sprint the last 15 seconds.

As “research” for this article I performed this test last Wednesday on my indoor trainer and I made it to 186.

Ok, once you have recovered from the testing you can build your zones based on your max heart rate. We will cover that in part three as well as give you a couple of sample workout programs (for cycling primarily but also running/walking).

Books You May Want To Read

There are a lot of good books out there that can help you develop a training program based on heart rate. Here are a few that I suggest you check out: