Train with your heart

Jan 5th, 2015

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Category: Fitness

Train with your heart

Professional Footballers. Rugby players. Tennis players. In fact any athlete who demands achieving peak physical fitness finds them an essential partner in their training.

I give you the heart rate monitor.

So why don’t you?

You wouldn’t drive your car without a speedometer or cook without a temperature gauge so why not monitor your body while training in the same way?

I’ve used and trained clients incorporating heart rate technology for over ten years and have found monitors an invaluable training tool for progress.

So if you’re in two minds whether to use heart rate technology or stick to plain old guess work, here are a few reasons to adopt a strategy that you’ll never regret using;

1. You’ll be able to establish your maximum heart rate.

This is how to do it….

A combination of short interval runs will give you the best maximum heart rate reading. Run as fast as you can evenly for three minutes (ideally on a treadmill), rest with two or three minutes gentle running, and then repeat your three-minute maximal run. During the second run you should get a higher value though use your monitor to take readings throughout it, as your heart rate may peak before the end.

This reading will open up a realm of training possibilities to establish different training zones to improve different areas of performance.

2. Heart rate training sets a tangible training goal for each workout.

For weight loss, you can give yourself a target calorie expenditure per workout.

For example, I always set clients with a weight loss goal of at least 500 calories per day which over seven days will equate to a loss of the equivalent of 1 lb. of body fat. In conjunction with dietary intervention, this fat loss will be substantially more.

The FIT1000 boot camp record is an astounding 1259 calories in a 60 minute boot camp session and members of the FIT1000 team regularly achieve counts of 1000 calories or more without as much effort as you think!

3. You’ll get tangible reinforcement that your training is actually working and you’ll get to know your body.

With training, the cardiovascular system becomes more efficient therefore reducing resting and exercising heart rate relative to what you are performing which is clearly visible with a monitor.

4. For runners especially, it’s an essential training aid to to establish your target zones.

You’ll be able to set heart rate targets for interval training enabling accurate improvement zones and train your lactate threshold to be more efficient at running at higher intensities.

This all adds up to improved performance, goal orientated training and real results.

how heart rate zones work

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