Why monitor heart rate during training?

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Monitoring heart rate during training is a useful tool in determining the intensity of a specific exercise session. Heart rate, or more importantly, percentage of maximum heart rate, is used to determine which body systems are being trained and improved during a particular exercise. Monitoring heart rate during training is the easiest and most reliable way to measure an athlete’s intensity level during training outside of the lab.

Heart rate monitoring is used by many different types of athletes, from long-distance runners and cyclists to swimmers and skiers. Any exercise that lasts longer than two minutes is considered aerobic. Aerobic exercise differs from anaerobic exercise in that the muscles use oxygen, while the muscles run out of stored glycogen during anaerobic exercise. This means that if the exercise being performed lasts more than a couple of minutes, the muscles require oxygen provided by the heart to continue working. The number of times the heart beats per minute (heart rate), compared to the athlete’s maximum heart rate, is an excellent indication of how hard the athlete is working.

The easiest way to determine your maximum heart rate is by using the following formula: Maximum heart rate = 205.8 – (0.685 × age). Therefore, a 20-year-old athlete should have a maximum heart rate of approximately 192 beats per minute (BPM). The most complicated and accurate method of determining maximum heart rate is through the use of a cardiac stress test, which involves the use of an electrocardiogram (EKG) machine in a laboratory setting. Heart rate monitoring during training can be accomplished most easily and effectively using a wearable electronic heart rate monitor.

The percentage of maximum heart rate is the measurement used to prescribe the intensity of the exercise. There are three main facets of aerobic performance that an athlete would typically seek to improve, including aerobic endurance, lactate threshold, and maximum volume of oxygen, commonly known as VO2 max. Aerobic endurance represents a low level of exercise intensity that is sustained for a prolonged period of time and can be improved by maintaining 70-75% of maximum heart rate for the duration of the exercise. An athlete’s lactate threshold is the point at which lactate clearance equals lactate production, and should be performed at 80-90% of maximum heart rate. VO2 max. An athlete’s is the maximum capacity of an athlete’s body to transport and use oxygen during exercise, and only occurs at or near the athlete’s maximum heart rate, typically a maximum heart rate of 95-100%.

Monitoring heart rate during training is an effective and simple way to gauge the intensity of any aerobic activity. When an athlete’s maximum heart rate has been determined and the above heart rate training techniques are employed, the athlete’s overall aerobic conditioning will be greatly improved. This is also a great way to determine peak performance for anyone doing aerobic exercise.

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