Need to Know: Target Heart Rate

This little journey that I am on is teaching me so much!

I know that things have been slow on the blog but I am keeping a note book of all the things that I want to share with you guys.  Please stick around and I promise that you will be glad you did. 

Today I want to share what I have learned about the importance of knowing your TARGET HEART RATE. 

You target heart rate is 50% {low intensity} to 85% {high intensity}of your maximum heart rate. 

Here is a simple chart from the American Heart Association:

MEASURING YOUR HEART RATE
I Wear a heart rate monitor when I work out.  This one...

I really love it! I programed my target heart rate range and at any point during my workout I can touch the top of the watch and get a reading.  

You don't have to have a monitor...
You can just do it the old fashion way.  It's just as effective!

There is more to it than just working out in that 50-85% range. I recently learned that there are "Training Zones".

Did y'all know this?? I did not..

TRAINING ZONES
Warm Up - 50 - 60% of maximum heart rate: The easiest zone and probably the best zone for people just starting a fitness program. This zone has been shown to help decrease body fat, blood pressure and cholesterol. It also decreases the risk of degenerative diseases and has a low risk of injury. 85% of calories burned in this zone are fats!

Fat Burn - 60 - 70% of maximum heart rate: This zone provides the same benefits as the healthy heart zone, but is more intense and burns more total calories. The percent of fat calories is still 85%.

Cardio- 70 - 85% of maximum heart rate: This zone will improve your cardiovascular and respiratory system AND increase the size and strength of your heart. This is the preferred zone if you are training for an endurance event. More calories are burned with 50% from fat.

You can customize your workout based on these ranges and what you hope to gain.  I personally spend an hour in my target heart rate. I spend about 15 minutes in Warm Up, 15-20 in Fat Burn and then about 30 in Cardio...more if  can!

OK. That's what I have learned! 

**Information for this post was compiled from lots of googling, wikipedia, The Walking Site, and Real Simple Magazine!