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Rocco: Listen to your heart rate |
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Written by Rocco Castellano
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Thursday, 08 March 2007 |
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Q: At my gym I see and hear different things about cardio training heart rate and fat burning heart rate.
If you are trying to lose weight and/or inches, which heart rate level is best or produces faster results? When you aren’t on cardio equipment, is there anyway to judge approximately what level you are at without a heart rate monitor?
Stacey
A: I know it gets crazy listening to people at the gym because most of the time they are full of shit and this could be one of those times.
Heart rate monitors were invented to help you gauge how hard you’re working and maintaining that workload throughout your aerobic workout and, in most cases, it works if you do the math correctly.
The formula for finding your max heart rate, 220 minus your age, multiplied by 75 percent, seems like an easy formula but it’s usually off by about 10 and sometimes up to 25 beats, depending on your fitness level.
The better shape you’re in the more it’s off, but if you’re a certified couch potato it may not be the smartest thing in the world to get your heart rate up that high either.
My favorite indicator when exercising away from the gym and doing aerobic exercise is the conversation test.
If you can hold a conversation as if you were sitting in a chair then you are obviously not working hard enough. If you can’t hold a conversation at all and you feel as if you can’t catch your breath, then you are training too hard. When exercising, you should be able to speak with labored breathing and still be understood.
If you don’t have any friends to exercise with, then find some. It always helps to reach your goals when there’s someone beside you. If you’re not that social... then get THAT social. It will be better for your health in the long run (no pun intended).
Good luck and keep those questions coming.
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Rocco Castellano is the co-founder of askROCCO Media, which provides boot camps, seminars, media content and online fitness services at askROCCO.com. He is certified by the National Academy of Sports Medicine and has written “askROCCO Uncensored v1” available at bookstores. Ask your personal
fitness questions at askROCCO.com or his his blog.
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