Target Heart Rate

[SLICK]

Posted by our ELO at TAZ

What is the Karvonen formula?

By Polar
This formula uses your age and fitness level to determine your target heart rate training zones. It's a more personalized number than the standard equation.

First, you must take your heart rate for three mornings in a row before getting up from bed. Once you have those numbers, take the average of the sum:

Morning 1HR + Morning 2 HR + Morning 3 HR = (X)

(X) divided by 3 = Morning Resting HR (MRHR)

This method is the single best indicator of your state of fitness. Once you have this number established as a baseline, you could use it to understand more about yourself than you can imagine. Take it again every once in a while, at least once every two weeks. As your fitness improves, you will most likely see that number going down. And that's important. It takes time to start losing the weight. Many people quit because they get on the scale and they don't see any difference. This number will tell you that your fitness level is improving. That means the weight should be coming off soon after. By seeing that you're actually improving, you're more likely to stick with it.

Now use your resting heart rate number as follows:

220 minus your age (A) = estimated max hr (HRMx)

HRMx minus MRHR= ©

Now find your personal target zones

© X .60 = (D) D + MRHR = ( ) 60% limit number

© X .70 = (E) E + MRHR = ( ) 70% limit number

Example
Margaret is 40 years old and her morning resting HR average is 58.

220 minus 40 = 180

180 minus 58 = 122

122 X .60 = 73.2 73 + 58 = 131

122 X .70 = 85.4 85 + 58 = 143

Her 60-70% Target Zone would be 131-143

Now use that formula to determine both of your target zones.

[cj1capp]

Originally Posted by SLICK

Posted by our ELO at TAZ

What is the Karvonen formula?

By Polar
This formula uses your age and fitness level to determine your target heart rate training zones. It's a more personalized number than the standard equation.

First, you must take your heart rate for three mornings in a row before getting up from bed. Once you have those numbers, take the average of the sum:

Morning 1HR + Morning 2 HR + Morning 3 HR = (X)

(X) divided by 3 = Morning Resting HR (MRHR)

This method is the single best indicator of your state of fitness. Once you have this number established as a baseline, you could use it to understand more about yourself than you can imagine. Take it again every once in a while, at least once every two weeks. As your fitness improves, you will most likely see that number going down. And that's important. It takes time to start losing the weight. Many people quit because they get on the scale and they don't see any difference. This number will tell you that your fitness level is improving. That means the weight should be coming off soon after. By seeing that you're actually improving, you're more likely to stick with it.

Now use your resting heart rate number as follows:

220 minus your age (A) = estimated max hr (HRMx)

HRMx minus MRHR= ©

Now find your personal target zones

© X .60 = (D) D + MRHR = ( ) 60% limit number

© X .70 = (E) E + MRHR = ( ) 70% limit number

Example
Margaret is 40 years old and her morning resting HR average is 58.

220 minus 40 = 180

180 minus 58 = 122

122 X .60 = 73.2 73 + 58 = 131

122 X .70 = 85.4 85 + 58 = 143

Her 60-70% Target Zone would be 131-143

Now use that formula to determine both of your target zones.

just what i was looking for , thanks

[onemuscledbeagle]

Hey Buds
Just wanted to post this as an alternative to the Karvonen formula. This is the story behind the Rate of Percieved Exertion that we used primarily in cardiac rehab for patients post MI or open heart surgery but it applies to everyone.

The following article, from the CDC, provides an explanation of the Rating of Perceived Exertion (RPE).

Perceived exertion is how hard you feel your body is working. It is based on the physical sensations a person experiences during physical activity, including increased heart rate, increased respiration or breathing rate, increased sweating, and muscle fatigue. Although this is a subjective measure, a person's exertion rating may provide a fairly good estimate of the actual heart rate during physical activity* (Borg, 1998).

Practitioners generally agree that perceived exertion ratings between 12 to 14 on the Borg Scale suggests that physical activity is being performed at a moderate level of intensity. During activity, use the Borg Scale to assign numbers to how you feel (see instructions below). Self-monitoring how hard your body is working can help you adjust the intensity of the activity by speeding up or slowing down your movements.

Through experience of monitoring how your body feels, it will become easier to know when to adjust your intensity. For example, a walker who wants to engage in moderate-intensity activity would aim for a Borg Scale level of "somewhat hard" (12-14). If he describes his muscle fatigue and breathing as "very light" (9 on the Borg Scale) he would want to increase his intensity. On the other hand, if he felt his exertion was "extremely hard" (19 on the Borg Scale) he would need to slow down his movements to achieve the moderate-intensity range.

*A high correlation exists between a person's perceived exertion rating times 10 and the actual heart rate during physical activity; so a person's exertion rating may provide a fairly good estimate of the actual heart rate during activity (Borg, 1998). For example, if a person's rating of perceived exertion (RPE) is 12, then 12 x 10 = 120; so the heart rate should be approximately 120 beats per minute. Note that this calculation is only an approximation of heart rate, and the actual heart rate can vary quite a bit depending on age and physical condition. The Borg Rating of Perceived Exertion is also the preferred method to assess intensity among those individuals who take medications that affect heart rate or pulse.

How to Use the Perceived Exertion Scale

While doing physical activity, we want you to rate your perception of exertion. This feeling should reflect how heavy and strenuous the exercise feels to you, combining all sensations and feelings of physical stress, effort, and fatigue. Do not concern yourself with any one factor such as leg pain or shortness of breath, but try to focus on your total feeling of exertion.

Look at the rating scale below while you are engaging in an activity; it ranges from 6 to 20, where 6 means "no exertion at all" and 20 means "maximal exertion." Choose the number from below that best describes your level of exertion. This will give you a good idea of the intensity level of your activity, and you can use this information to speed up or slow down your movements to reach your desired range.

Try to appraise your feeling of exertion as honestly as possible, without thinking about what the actual physical load is. Your own feeling of effort and exertion is important, not how it compares to other people's. Look at the scales and the expressions and then give a number.


6 No exertion at all
7 Extremely light
8
9 Very light - (easy walking slowly at a comfortable pace)
10
11 Light
12
13 Somewhat hard (It is quite an effort; you feel tired but can continue)
14
15 Hard (heavy)
16
17 Very hard (very strenuous, and you are very fatigued)
18
19 Extremely hard (You can not continue for long at this pace)
20 Maximal exertion