What is this about Maimum Heart Rates?

So I figured I would clear up a little bit of information regarding the difference between your maximum heart rate and your suggested target heart rate during exercise.

There really is no perfect formula to figure out where you should be and this article is strictly to be used as a guideline only and not as gospel. You should always consult your physician and even schedule an actual stress test if you are looking for as close to a perfect assessment as possible.

In easy terms your maximum heart rate is the beats per minute rate at which your heart should not exceed during strenuous exercise. Your target heart rate, sometimes referred to as your training heart rate, is the rate that your heart beats during aerobic exercise that gives your heart and lungs the most benefit from the exercise being performed. This rate can vary greatly given a person's current fitness level, age and gender.

The average healthy heart beat is between 60-80 beats per minute and tends to increase with age. Also the more physically fit you are the lower this will be. This allows the heart to save up energy for the times it is performing at higher rates during aerobic exercise. By lowering it's heart rate, the heart is saving up reserves for the times it is stressed and needs the extra power to handle the demand of strenuous activity. So if you are a sedentary person, your resting rate may be a lot higher than an Olympic athlete.

As stated before the most accurate way to determine one's MHR(maximum heart rate) is with a stress test. This is usually given at a sports medicine clinic or doctor's office. The subject will be hooked to an EKG and have their heart monitored during strenuous exercise performed on a treadmill. There are some guidelines to get you started, however, and I listed the most common method for determining you MHR below.

The most common formula not allowing for any variation :

MHR = 220 − age

Although no "acceptable" formula currently exists, the most widely used at the current time that allows for the prediction of VO2max(the maximum capacity of an individuals body to transport and utilize oxygen during exercise, reflecting the physical fitness of the individual.) and for figuring out training heart rates

The best formula of those examined to date is:

MHR = 205.8 − (0.685 × age)

Other things you must know is the target heart rates as well as your recovery rates. This additional information will help you determine your level of fitness and help you make the correct personal assessments when performing higher intensity workouts.

Your recovery heart rate is the heart rate measured at a known period after stopping your activity. It is usually measured one minute after your activity has stopped. The faster your heart returns to the your resting rate prior to the exercise the healthier and stronger your heart is. I always suggest you take the rate over the period of one minute intervals and see how it drop in a three minute time period, recording at each minute passed.

Your target heart rate (THR) is the rate that you should be shooting for during the continued activity to give your heart and lungs the most benefit from the aerobic exercise being performed. This range varies based on your current fitness level, age and even gender.

I've listed below the Karvonen method of calculating you THR. Intensity of the workout is considered when using this formula. You also need to determine as accurate as possible MHR to use this formula. The THR can be calculated by using a range of 50%–85% intensity.

The Karvonen method factors in Resting Heart Rate (HRrest) to calculate Target Heart Rate (THR):

THR = ((HRmax − HRrest) × %Intensity) + HRrest
Example for someone with a HRmax of 180 and a HRrest of 70:50% intensity: ((180 − 70) × 0.50) + 70 = 125 bpm85% intensity: ((180 − 70) × 0.85) + 70 = 163 bpm

There are many great heart rate monitors you can purchase that will help you determine your ongoing rate during your workouts, some that you need to place you fingers on two buttons and some that measure it consistently and continue to assess the rate during your entire workout. If you can not afford one you can take your own pulse rate at the radial or wrist location for ten seconds and multiply the result by 6.

Again...always listen you your body, not your mind, as your mind will always quit long before your body does!

Calories In = Calories Out

Just wanted to share a nutrition concept.

Most people who are looking to lose weight think the answer is a lower calorie, starve myself diet. What they are really doing is setting themselves up for not only failure but a relapse. How many times have we "dieted" only to give up and put more all the weight and then some back on?

So, why is that we can lose so much weight so fast on this concept of basically starving ourselves, only to regain the weight, sometimes only "eating what everyone else is"?

The body is comprised of two main elements. Fat and lean muscle. We all want to get rid of the fat because that's what makes us not only look, well, fat, but also is the contributor to so many health problems. Here is the nuts and bolts of why this happens.

When we starve ourselves in an attempt to lose weight, or even inadvertently by just not making the time to eat, we end up starving the muscles in our bodies as well. When the body thinks it isn't getting enough food, it will go into a protective mode and begin storing everything it can. This is why when you diet by drastically lowering you caloric intake, it works for a few weeks then stalls. At that point you are given a choice, give up and gain the weight back or drop the calories even more to regain more weight loss.

As soon as you decide to drop the calories even more, your metabolism, the fiery furnace inside your body, slows even more. Your body then begins to take away lean muscle for fuel, saving the stored fat for protection. You may lose more weight, but it won't be from fat loss! Think of your metabolism like a wood stove. If you don't frequently add fuel(wood), the fire will eventually go out. Food is our fuel and it needs to be continually added to our wood stove to keep the fire burning. At the same token, if we overload our stove with too much fuel at once it can also have a adverse effect on how hot the fire burns.

So we end up in an endless cycle. As we lower our calories in drastic measures, we in turn lower the metabolism. This will cause the body to store everything and then take from our bodies the energy it needs to survive, robbing from lean muscle. When our muscle mass shrinks, our metabolism slows even more. Remember, the more lean muscle we have, the more we burn fat. Larger muscle require more energy, thus burn more calories.

In order to achieve a successful nutrition plan you must base it on calorie deficits. This means the calories you burn each day must be more than the calories you consume. This is done one of two ways. Either lower the calories you take in, something we see ends the wrong way, or increase the amount of calories you burn each day.

No one ever said being in shape and having a healthy lifestyle was easy. There is hard work involved. But what are the rewards? Remember to eat healthy foods, divide your food intake into 6 periods of consumption throughout the day, exercise regularly and stay off the scale. You can lose fat without actually losing weight. Muscle takes up a third of the space on our body as the same weight in fat. You may even gain a few pounds at first but remember, as the muscles get bigger and stronger, they become fat fighting machines. Soon you will be able to eat more and not gain weight, your metabolism will raise and you will exceed any fitness goals you may have set for yourself.

A good guideline to setting yourself up is to figure out what best suits you for your age, current weight and body fat percentage. There are plenty of good online calculators for determining your current caloric needs for maintenance. Once you find that out, implement and exercise plan, and get yourself in a calorie deficit. You should shoot for 15-20% lower calories than your maintenance level. This is a small deficit but the weight you loose will be close to 100% fat loss and your lean muscle will remain intact. The American College of Sports Medicine states that the minimum caloric intake for women should never drop below 1200 per day, men 1800. They also stated that a caloric deficit should never go further than 1000 calories. Another thing to remember is one pound of fat is equal to 3500 calories per week. If your maintenance calories are 2500 per day and you drop it by 500 per day, you will lose about 3500 calories in the week, thus one pound of fat.

So get on track. Get a fitness plan. Start out small and work up but get that needed extra exercise. Even if it is a half hour brisk walk around the block, do something! Find your maintenance level for your caloric intake, and get into a small deficit and watch that fat melt off you. Remember it is a process. To quote Tony Horton, "Rome wasn't built in a day and neither is your body!"

Here is a good online free calculator to help you.
Calorie Calculator

Feel free to stop by my website and see what programs can work for you!
J-Squared Fitness


One last thing...this is only a guideline. What may work for some may not work for others. I in no way claim to be a medical professional nor do I claim to have all the answers. Always consult you doctor before going on any program and be sure you are doing what works for you.

Today was week 3 Day 2 in my current workout format using Beachbody's P90X+ with Tony Horton. This program is designed to be used after familiarizing yourself with the original P90X program. I personally have gone through 2 cycles of the P90X program and for about the last couple months have been doing rigorous training following cross-fit stylized workouts as well as some heavier power lifting.

Just recently, as stated this being week 3, have I begun the P90X+ regimen and to say the least it delivers. I enjoy it because it seems to be designed more toward a cross-fit mentality, something I really enjoy. I have also begun using the awesome fitness and nutrition guide that somes along with the Club Membership with Beachbody.

Sure..you can sign on as a free player and enter to win in WOWY, the online super gym that pays you back for basically working out. What monthy dues at any other guym gives you that opportunity? I think to get the most out of your club membership you should sign up for full membership. You get to hear great trainer tips from the Beachbody trainers including Tony Horton, as well as a ton of fitness and nutrition information that is not offered as a fre player.

Don't delay...sign up now by going here

Join a community of like minded people looking to improve their health and fitness and become accountible for your own with the support of friends and coaches who want to see you succeed!

This is my first blog to this area. This blog is intended to be a place where I record my continued progress and dedication to living a healthy lifestyle.

I have been actively using Beachbody products to help me succeed for close to two years at the time of this post and just recently decided to become an Independant Beachbody Coach so I could try and help others find the vision and determination to succeed.

I am currently enrolled in a Certified Personal Trainer Program and will be certified through NCSF upon my completion of the program. I hope that I can help you become who you want to be and bring happiness to you in the way of a nea healthy lifestyle!

Please do not be afraid to reach me by sending me an email at jdfett@msn.com or giving me a call at (508)423-9829. Visit my website for all your Beachbody needs at www.jsquaredfitness.com and I look forward to bringing you a new outlook on life and the meaning of truly living happy!

With HEalth and complete fitness you can accomplish anything!