| By :
Roger Brown
Before 1990, it is safe to say the most folks working out did not monitor their heart rate. While certainly watches with pulse rate functionality were available, they were not widely used because they were not all that accurate. With the advent though of gymnasium based workout systems like stationary bike Spinning, a whole new era of people monitoring the health and the electronic equipment needed to do that has entered the foreground. This has led to a fitness revolution because people are able to closely monitor what their heart rate is during exercise. Previously, that could only be done in a doctor's office, but now you can do that anytime day or night just by looking at your watch! Watches with pulse rate features allow you to measure how accurately you are staying in the zone you intend to during your workout. The objective of course is not to work out to intentionally or not intensely enough, but just the right intensity for a longer period of time. How critical is your MHR, or maximum heart rate? Really, knowing what your heart rate is in any particular time is a waste unless you have done some homework on what you're pulse rate needs to be while you're working out at a specific activity. The way to do that is to start with a formula. For most men, subtracting their age from the number 220 gives a fairly accurate estimate of what maximum heart rate should be for them for women, the number to subtract from his 206 - meaning their heart rates during the same intensity workout will be a lot less. In other words, if you're 50 years old and you are a male, your maximum heart rate on your heart rate watch would be approximately 170 beats per minute. For a 30-year-old female however, the maximum heart rate would be approximately 176 bpm. Hold on there though! What is the best heart rate to maintain during exercise? Of course depending on the intensity of the effort, Spinning classes need to be done at approximately 65% of your maximum heart rate. However, if you are pushing your max on an "aerobic" day, the instructor may have you push all the way up to 92% of your maximum heart rate for an extended period of time. Does your resting heart rate really matter? If you're a really fit individual and have gotten in the zone for your workouts, there's a little more complicated formula that you can follow that involves understanding your RHR, or resting heart rate as well. You can get your resting heart rate by taking your pulse right after you get up in the morning. Using watches with pulse functions makes this all very simple to do.
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