Your Target Heart Rate for Running & Weight Loss

Wow, what an amazing day it is down here in Exeter today. A quick morning blog post and then I’m off for some tasty food out in the sunshine and grab some rays and vitamin D. The weather really changes the way I feel!

First of all, sorry for the lack of blog posts recently. It’s because I’ve been working on this weight loss running ebook which is being designed next week so should be ready the week after that. Today I’ve pulled out one of the questions featured in it – the Q&A section is literally packed with some really excellent questions and I know that if you’re thinking about running to lose weight or just want to find out more to help you, you will love it. There’s also beginner running plans and loads of other useful stuff to get you started. Whether you want to run your first 10 minutes, mile or 5k, you’ll be shifting weight quickly. But remember, it needs to be coupled with good nutrition. Ok, here we go…

Question: I’ve heard about using my ‘target heart rate’ for training. What is it and how do I use it?

Answer:

Exercising within a target heart rate zone is an easy way to monitor how much effort you should be putting forth when you run. When using this method, your body is telling you, via your pulse rate, when you should back off a little or when you could pick it up a notch. So what is a target heart rate?

In the medical world, the easiest way to get a picture of what your heart is doing at this very moment is to measure your pulse, that is, the number of times your heart beats per minute. When resting, your heart should beat between 60 and 100 times per minute. Any rate over or under that indicates a problem. Generally. Well-trained athletes may have a natural resting heart rate below 60 beats per minute, and that’s ok. Your doctor will determine if your resting heart rate is in the appropriate range.  If you monitor your heart rate during exercise, you will get a pretty good picture of the demands you are placing on your body. A ‘target heart rate zone’ is the range of heart rates that indicates you are exercising at a level that is enough, but not too much.

Finding and measuring your pulse is easy enough, it just takes some practice. There are two places on your body that you can easily find a pulse while exercising: 1. the palm side of your wrist, below the thumb and 2. your neck, just below your chin, on either side of your wind pipe. To find your pulse in either area, press lightly with the tips of your index and middle fingers until you feel a beating with those fingers. This is your blood pumping through your veins. Once you have found that pulsation, count the number of times you feel a beat in 15 seconds. Multiply that number by 4 (4×15=60seconds), and you have the number of times your heart beats in one minute.

“Ok, I’ve found my pulse- now what?” Now we crunch some numbers. To find a target heart rate zone, you first need a maximum heart rate. In general, you can get your maximum heart rate by subtracting your age from 220. For example, a 40-year-old’s maximum heart rate would be 180 beats per minute (220-40=180). I say ‘in general’ because some cardiac medications can lower your maximum heart rate. So here’s the disclaimer for this article: always consult your doctor before starting an exercise program. When exercising, you want to be in a heart rate zone of 60-85% of your maximum heart rate. For a 40-year-old person, this zone would be 108-153 beats per minute (180×0.6=108; 180×0.85=153). If you’re just starting an exercise program, aim for the lower end of your target heart rate zone (60%). Gradually build up to maintaining activity at the higher end (75%). Eventually, you may feel comfortable at the 85% rate.

You may want to think about getting yourself a good heart rate monitor such as the

Key points:

-Your target heart rate zone is the range of heart rates that indicates you are exercising at a level that is enough, but not too much.

-There are two places to find your pulse while exercising, your neck and your wrist.

-Your maximum heart rate is 220 minus your age.

-Your target heart rate is 60-85% your maximum heart rate.

The best way to measure your heart rate is with a good quality heart rate monitor such as the Polar F6 – if you’re serious about running and tracking your heart rate zone then this is a good option, although there are plenty of other makes available.

While I’m on the subject of cool gadgets for running, the Nike + Sports band seems to be the new cool. Nike + is put into special shoes (or a holder on the front of your existing shoes) which then tracks how far you’ve run. You can also track pace, time and calories burned. You then plug it into your computer and can track your times. I’ve used it and it’s pretty awesome.

If you’d like more free running tips and want to know when Running For Weight Loss: Ultimate Beginners Guide is released please enter your details below: