OUR HEART AND HEART RATE BASED TRAINING

HEART RATE
WHAT IS IT?
WHAT IS THE IMPORTANCE OF HEART RATE  AND FITNESS.

Medical | Research | Session

If we are an athlete, sports person, a fitness freak or a recreational runner, our aim should be to achieve a healthy heart rate as per our age and current fitness level.

In order to improve our heart health, we must focus on improving our fitness with a STRUCTURED WORKOUT format.

Workout format for all Genre of Fitness Training:

1. Cardio

2. Strength workouts

3. Stretching or yoga.

Why does a runner or a cyclist need strength workouts and yoga?

So that they do not end up loosing muscle mass  and therefore avoid injuries or joint issues.

How do I determine my TARGET HEART RATE ?
(explained more in details towards the end)

You can calculate your maximum heart rate by subtracting your age from 220. For example, if you're 45 years old, subtract 45 from 220 to get a maximum heart rate of 175. This is the average maximum number of times your heart should beat per minute during exercise.

Target heart rate is generally expressed as a percentage (usually between 50 percent and 85 percent) of your maximum safe heart rate. The maximum rate is based on your age, as subtracted from 220. So for a 50-year-old, maximum heart rate is 220 minus 50, or 170 beats per minute.

It is recommended that you exercise within 55 to 85 percent of your maximum heart rate for at least 20 to 30 minutes to get the best results from aerobic exercise. The MHR (roughly calculated as 220 minus your age) is the upper limit of what your cardiovascular system can handle during physical activity.

Resting Heart Rate :

What Is a Normal Heart Rate? 

What's normal depends on your age and activity level, but generally a resting heart rate of 60-80 beats per minute (BPM) is considered to be in the normal range.

If you are an athlete, a normal resting heart rate can be as low as 40 BPM.

Why a Low Resting Heart Rate is a Sign of GOOD Fitness?

Your physical fitness is directly correlated to the strength of your heart. When your heart is in better condition and doesn't need to work as hard to push blood throughout the body and deliver oxygen to your muscles, your fitness improves.

One must workout at 70 to 85 percent of your maximum heart rate during vigorous activity. This is known as your target heart rate. A moderate heart rate falls between 50 and 70 percent of your maximum heart rate.

How & when to check your RESTING HR?

Best time to check your Resting HR is first thing in the morning immediately after you wake up.

If you have a heart rate tracker, it will help you check it with 2 fingers on your pulse.
During the day : do check it after you relax and rest at a place for 20-25 minutes.

_________________________________________________________________

VO2 Max. - Understand it : 
The best indicator of your CARDIORESPIRATORY fitness

The Primary indicator of your Fitness Level / Fitness Age is your VO2 Max, that is the maximal oxygen up-taking capacity of your body.

VO2Max = the maximum amount of oxygen our body (heart, lungs and muscles), can use at the time of any fitness or sports training.

Its measured in ml / bodyweight / min.

VO2 Max is a person's aerobic capability and it can be developed and advanced with monitored and structured training.

Anaerobic training and Structured workouts explained here is the key to enhance and maintain a good VO2 Max.

VO2Max is important to determine the functioning of heart, lungs and skeletal muscles ( that is the peripheral muscles) with the maximum effort in fitness training.

A high VO2 Max means your heart can supply more oxygen to the body organs and muscles in that particular time.

How do you calculate VO2 Max on a treadmill?

Bruce Protocol Formula for Estimating VO2 Max

For men: VO2 max = 14.8 - (1.379 x T) + (0.451 x T²) - (0.012 x T³)

For women: VO2 max = 4.38 x T - 3.9.

The general formula to calculate VO2 Max, you need to input the resting HR and Max HR.
(Maximum HR / Resting HR ) X 15.3 mL / bodyweight / min

HOW TO MONITOR YOUR HEART RATE AND HOW TO MAKE YOUR HEART STRONGER?

BUY A HEART MONITORING DEVICE – A SPORTS WATCH OR HEART TRACKER.

Or start monitoring your breath when you run. 

If you are finding it difficult to breathe or talk to someone while running, you must slow down or take walk breaks.

Heart rate monitoring should be through out the session. Learning to listening to heart, be it any activity, running, HIIT, swimming or cycling – is extremely tricky and important.

_________________________________________________

How do I define my Fitness Age with a healthy Heart Strength?

Fitness Age is a concept, that we must understand and focus on as the core for our training.

Focus to achieve your fitness age as lower than your actual age.

Structured workout with adding anaerobic training along with frequent rest periods will help you achieve a healthy fitness age.

Because of the increase in the usage of cycling and recreational running in our society and surroundings, we are obsessed with the pace or mileage achieved with cycling or running.

Fitness age is not managed by covering more mileage. Its directly proportionate to your Heart Health. And you achieve a good heart health with regular Structured workouts.
___________________________________

How to Lower the Resting Heart Rate ?

Lowering the Resting Heart Rate is an important aspect to manage a Healthy Heart.

And how can we do that?

Step 1 : Regular workouts: 

The easiest and most effective way to achieve a lasting lower heart rate is to do regular exercise. 

read it, its not more but regular and structured workouts with regular resting and cross training sessions.

A Structured workouts has a balanced focus on Cardio, Strength workouts and yoga.

Step - 2 : Hydration : Avoid dehydration during the workout and during the day too.

When the body is dehydrated, the heart has to work harder to stabilise blood flow. 

Throughout the day, drink plenty of sugar- and caffeine-free beverages, such as water and herbal tea.

During the workout, make a pattern to have 1,3 sip after every 10-15 min.

______________________________

ANAEROBIC INTERVAL TRAINING / HIIT (HIGH INTENSITY INTERVAL TRAINING) :

what is that and how does it improves our heart strength?

Anaerobic interval / HIIT workouts = train our heart in minimum supply of oxygen = improved VO2Max = improved Heart Health

High Intensity Interval Training is the key to improve our fitness levels and at the same time it helps build up the muscle mass also.

HIIT / Interval training : 

1. Sprinting

2. Stairs running

3. Interval Brisk walking

4. On spot anaerobic workouts : burpees, mount climbers, jump squats, jump lunges, skipping – where we challenge our heart rate for a short duration.

Anaerobic Interval Training / HIIT format can be : 

30 sec to 1 min

1-5 min break

repeat 5-10 times.

Here we train our heart to get strong and at the same time giving regular recover period also.

Pointing out few examples of ANAEROBIC – HIIT again : 

Sprinting

Bodyweight workouts – high intensity done with minimum rest periods – jump squats, jump lunges, spot fast jog, burpees, mountain climber, stairs running etc.

Do these workouts and then you will notice a sharp increase in your heart rate while training.

This is where you are training your heart to perform in a lower supply of oxygen and in turn improving your VO2 Max.

HIIT = increase in heart rate = lower supply of oxygen = increase in Vo2Max = improved fitness age = improved heart rate.

A Good Vo2 Max shows that your heart health is strong and heart is oxygenating the blood and muscles more effectively.

HEART ZONE – 

As per our age, there are various zones defined for our training.

ZONE 1 – WARM UP

ZONE 2 – WARM UP

ZONE 3 – AEROBIC ZONE

ZONE 4 – AEROBIC ZONE 

ZONE 5 – ANAEROBIC ZONE

Our focus should be to remain within Zone 4 while training.

We can reach till zone 5 while doing Anaerobic Training.

Focus should be to achieve an average heart rate as per our age.

Focus should be to achieve as low resting HR as 50-60.

Calculation or YOUR MAXIMUM HR :

70 to 80 % of (220-your age )

try to be within this zone while running or cycling or working out. 

In running, gradually your pace will improve by staying within this HR Zone.

In a 1 hour workout / run, the heart rate should be managed as : 

1. Warm up and cool down – 50-60 % of your range – it should be 5 min each.
2. Sustainable pace – 60-70% of your range – it should be 30 min. you can do a combination of run and walk or a very easy mode run or easy mode workout.
3. A little high 70-80 % - for 10 min.
4. And in extreme Anaerobic mode – 80 % and high – for 2 min.

EXAMPLE:

Suppose you are running at your favourite and target pace of 5 or 6 or 7.

You have successfully achieved that.

But your HR was above your prescribed HR.

Here, you may have achieved your desired Pace, but your Heart Rate was not what it should have been.

So work reverse. Start running within your HR zone and then try to understand now what your pace is.

FAT BURNING ZONE :
OTHER BENEFITS OF HIGH HEART RATE OR HIIT TRAINING :

Fat Burning Theory says that you must workout as HIIT and remain in 70-80% of your max Heart Rate.

Aerobic metabolism produces the most energy and can use the widest range of fuels, such as sugars, fats, and even proteins. 

When you do so, your body looks to get energy from the Fat stored in the body, instead of the Glycogen stores.

Body burns more body fat when your heart rate is high. But that doesn’t mean that one should start training endurance activity on higher heart rate

High heart rate should be maintained for a short duration supported by recover period.

How to Find the INTENSITY / MHR Zone OF YOUR WORKOUT?

• Few HR BASED POINTERS as per my experience and study :
  
  
  How to Find the INTENSITY OF YOUR WORKOUT?
  
  
  1. If you are SEDENTARY, with NO ACTIVITY. 57% to 67% of your MHR.
  
  
  2. MINIMUM ACTIVITY ZONE. 64% to 74% of your MHR.
  
  
  3. If you workout sporadically. 74% to 84% of your MHR.
  
  
  4. If you workout regularly. 80% to 91% of your MHR.
  
  
  5. If you train @ high Intensity. 84% to 94% of your MHR.

MAXIMUM HR

Your Max HR is not an indicator of your FITNESS LEVELS.

Your MAX HR doesnt rise as your Fitness improves OR you get STRONGER.

However knowing your Maximum HR will be helpful too know your TARGET HR.

How do you judge a sustainable and high pace when you don’t have any HR instrument?

Sustainable pace : You are capable to talking with someone.

High Pace : You get breathless or find it difficult to talk.

Latika Goel
Practising Psychologist & Lifestyle Trainer
Founder of Fitness World LetzBFIT with Latika
Author of a Book on Strength Fitness

 

https://www.youtube.com/c/LatikaGoel/videos
https://www.facebook.com/LetzBfit
https://www.linkedin.com/in/latika02/

Blogs : https://latikagoel.blogspot.com/

 

Subscribe to my Youtube channel to stay in touch :

https://www.youtube.com/c/LatikaGoel/videos

 

 The above matter is the original script of LetzBFit, Letzbfit with Latika.

Any copy of the above matter is now allowed.

 

#letzbfit #letzbfitwithlatika #kyaaajaapneworkoutkiya #uthojaagodaudobhaago #latzpsychology #positivepsychoogy #heart #heartrate #heartratetraining #worldheartday

CYCLING AND ITS BENEFITS

Medical | Research | Session | Training

Cycling had been an integral part of our Society commute since many generations.

These days, its been adopted as a Fitness Training by most of the Fitness Enthusiasts and Athletes.

CYCLING – AND ITS BENEFITS.

 

1.   Cycling is a very good cardiovascular workout that can also be converted as a mobility strength training if adopted wisely.

2.   Cycling can be a good form for cardio and endurance training .

3.   A very good Stress busting Fitness Activity.

4.   Helps in reducing body fat but is beneficial only if  it is clubbed with a strength training to focus on the muscle mass.

5.   Strengthen bones and is easy on the joints improving joint mobility.

6.   A very good function workout that improves the posture if done in the right format.

7.   Beneficial to reverse Lifestyle Medical Conditions like – Diabetes, Fatty Liver, etc.

 

 

Cycling can be adopted as :

1. Cross Training – to beat the saturation of your regular workout pattern.

2. To train an impactful lower body interval training.

3. A very good muscle conditioning workout for Hip Flexors, Quadriceps and Hamstrings.

4. An Active rest day easy training to keep up the blood circulation as a help to recover the body from the intense workouts.

5. Always club cycling with some form of Strength workouts and Stretching in order to achieve optimal results.

Since cycling is majorly focused on the Lower Body Strength, it is advisable to focus on other forms of workouts also to focus on Muscle strength and not ONLY Cycling.

 

Cycling : Stationary vs Outdoor

Stationary (Indoor) Spinning :

1.   Works on the Hamstrings.

2.   A very good cardiovascular workout \along with mobility strength conditioning.

3.   If done in a smart way (various poses – standing, straight sit, forward bend, carry weights in hands) – It gives amazing results in form of a whole body cardio and strength training.

4.   Safer than Road / Outdoor Cycling. Doesn’t require all the gears usually required when cycling outdoors.

Outdoor Cycling :

1.  Works on the Hip Flexors and Quadriceps as the effort    
     is more against the wind.

2.  Outdoor cycling (with gears) can do wonders with the strength conditioning on the top gears and can do a great interval training in fresh air.

 

 

Cycling vs Running

 

Cycling and Running both are an excellent form of cardio workouts.

 

Along with Fat loss it also strengthen our HR (Heart Rate) if done in a smart combination.

Running burns more calories as it carries the whole body weight and uses more muscles. Cycling at the same time is very easy on the joints providing a good cardio workout.

If you Cycle on a stationary bike, you can challenge the intensity of the workout with the weight of the wheel and the formations of postures while spinning. In order to work on more muscles and gain more benefits.

 

If you cycle outdoors, even then you can challenge a good high intensity workouts with help of gears. So It becomes a very good option for cardiovascular and muscle conditioning workout.

 

Be it Running or Cycling, you must structure the workout routine with Whole Body Strength Training as Cycling works largely on your lower body.

 

VERY IMPORTANT :
HOW TO STRENGTHEN YOUR HR WITH CYCLING

In order to understand this, we first must have the basic idea of what a healthy HR is and how should we monitor and make it stronger.

 

For an active person,
HR = 220 – her / his age
Maximum HR should reach while training depends on the method of training.
Maximum HR zone shouldn’t be more than 70-80 % of your HR.

So the Question arises,

So how do we monitor and achieve it?

We must include Interval, HIIT or speed training in our schedule in order to challenge our HR – once or twice in a week.

 

How do we do that with cycling?
1. If you are using a stationary cycle, you may do a good interval training or a challenging session with weights in hands. This will challenge your HR and strengthen it.

 

2. If you are training outdoors, you must include speed intervals and use gears instead of only cycling at an easy pace.

Latika Goel
Practising Psychologist & Lifestyle Trainer
Founder of Fitness World LetzBFIT with Latika
Author of a Book on Strength Fitness

 

https://www.youtube.com/c/LatikaGoel/videos
https://www.facebook.com/LetzBfit
https://www.linkedin.com/in/latika02/

Blogs : https://latikagoel.blogspot.com/

 

Subscribe to my Youtube channel to stay in touch :

https://www.youtube.com/c/LatikaGoel/videos

 

 

 

 

 The above matter is the original script of LetzBFit, Letzbfit with Latika.

Any copy of the above matter is now allowed.

 

 

#letzbfit #letzbfitwithlatika #kyaaajaapneworkoutkiya #uthojaagodaudobhaago #latzpsychology #positivepsychoogy

RECOVERY OR OXYGENATING YOUR BODY

RECOVERY IS AN IMPORTANT ASPECT OF TRAINING

It is always a superb feeling after you do any intense workout.

You feel happy, satisfied and stronger.

After that intense workout, now it's your turn to payback to your body by giving it time to recover and support it by recovery stretches.

PURPOSE OF THIS BLOG :

SLOW DOWN in order to SPEED UP.

If you wish to achieve your Health Goal - Be it - reversing any medical conditions, running, cycling, weight loss or muscle gain - You must learn to slow down in order to speed up and get optimal benefits.

The purpose of this Blog is : 
To help understand the importance to slow down in order to keep going fast and strong.
Avoid Over Training and maintain your Fitness Levels.

To Avoid Injuries.

To talk about the pointers for those you ignore rest in their training.

It in turn may impact their Heart Rate and May give them injuries.

When we train on a regular basis, there is Lactic Acid Formed in our Muscles, there is Co2 Deposit in our lungs and there is Free Radicals and Toxins in our Gut.

We need to get rid of these on a regular basis in order to maintain and improve Fitness Levels.

MEANING & BENEFITS OF RECOVERY :

Recovery is not equal to staying idle.

Its a process where you Relax your Muscles.

Its a process where you flush out the CO2 from the lungs and blood stream.

Its a process to Stretch the TIGHT MUSCLES in order to maintain and improve your Fitness Levels.

Its a process to learn to be RESILIENT and balance high and low impact workouts.

Its a process to get your HEART STRONGER by giving it time to rest and relax.

Its a Process that helps you Maintain your FITNESS LEVEL as its important to slow down in order to keep going strong.

Its a Process where you Avoid INJURIES.

WAYS to RELAX AND RECOVER from your regular training : 

Easy Yoga Stretches :
You breathe in Oxygen and get that to the muscles and blood stream.
Adopt the poses as per your body flexibility and strength.

Its should be the relaxing poses and not tough ones.

Adopt the yoga poses with expert guidance - in sync with your regular Training pattern.

Breathing Workouts :

Very effective workout to Increase Blood Oxygen Levels.
Stick to basic Breathing workouts :
1. Deep Breathing.
2. Anulom Vilom.
3. Kapal Bhati.
4. Bhramari.
Try to master these breathing process and increase the time  - 5 to 15 minutes.

Cross Training - Cycling or Swimming or Walking : 
If you are a runner, cycling can be a cross training for you.

But Cycling can also be a very good workout - So do define the intensity of cycling and do it easy.

Walking is the best workout and the best recovery if you are training with Strength Workouts and are into HIIT and Running Mode.

Weekly Detox of your Gut :

A Healthy Gut is the root reason behind a Healthy Lifestyle and is a one of the reason behind your Fitness level.

When we train, when we workout, when we eat food, when we are exposed to the surroundings, there is free radicals and toxins deposit in our system. 

We need to push out and flush out those toxins and free radicals from our Gut in order to have a healthy Gut.

Warm Shower : 
Releases the LACTIC ACID formed in the muscles.

Avoids Acid Reflux due to that acid.

Have a warm shower after your workouts and on the recovery day too.

Oil Massage : 

To stretch and relieve the Tight Muscles.

To release Lactic Acids in the muscle.

To oxygenate the muscles.

Few examples of Recovery Yoga Poses.

One of the best stretches is to perform at lest 10-20  SURYANAMASKAR with each stages holding for at least 10-20 seconds.

More correct the posture, more OXYGENATED your body would feel.

Other beneficial stretches are : COBRA, MOUNTAIN, CHILD POSE : Hold each for 10-20 seconds and repeat at least 5-15 times.

SUPERMAN POSE, DANURASANA, MARCHING, PAWAN-MUKTA ASANA, WORRIER POSE, LIZARD POSE, holding each posture for at least 10-20 seconds.

It's recommended to hold each pose for few seconds and breathe so that oxygen is circulated in your muscles. Muscles get deprived of oxygen after an intense workout and starts to fatigue. In order to soothe them, it's very important to stretch and rejuvenate your body so that it can recover, get rid of the fatigue and get ready for the next workout session.
RECOVERING OR OXYGENATING YOUR BODY.

RECOVER WELL and Keep your body Happy :)

Latika Goel
Practising Psychologist & Lifestyle Trainer
Founder of Fitness World LetzBFIT with Latika
Author of a Book on Strength Fitness

 

https://www.youtube.com/c/LatikaGoel/videos
https://www.facebook.com/LetzBfit
https://www.linkedin.com/in/latika02/

Blogs : https://latikagoel.blogspot.com/

 

Subscribe to my Youtube channel to stay in touch :

https://www.youtube.com/c/LatikaGoel/videos

 

 

 

 

 The above matter is the original script of LetzBFit, Letzbfit with Latika.

Any copy of the above matter is now allowed.

 

 

#letzbfit #letzbfitwithlatika #kyaaajaapneworkoutkiya #uthojaagodaudobhaago #latzpsychology #positivepsychoogy