Is your workout a waste of time? I often ask myself this question. You know, is what I’m doing enough, or should I be doing something else (like eating cake)? Being efficient is important in general and especially for exercise. No one wants to spend an hour or more in the gym when you aren’t seeing any benefits. You can save time and increase your levels of fitness when considering these questions. Essentially, cardiorespiratory fitness is how well your heart and lungs get oxygen to your muscles, and this is measured by heart rate.
Staying mindful of your heart rate and workout intensity is a great way to measure and improve your cardiorespiratory fitness. When you begin monitoring this, you will see great benefits! If you want to learn more, check out this Wiki article. When you start increasing your workout intensity, you will definitely improve your health and lower your chance of certain diseases. Of course, an added benefit is higher endurance and not being tired as much/easily! So, is your workout good enough?
Cardiorespiratory Fitness (CRF) – Is My Cardio Working?
If you want to see all the benefits of improving CRF, then the first thing you should do is look at how intense your workout is. Do you view your routine as easy? If so, you may want to change it up a bit. CRF is mainly enhanced by performing difficult workouts – you will make your body work hard, use energy, and “learn” how to get more efficient in these activities. But how do you know if you are doing enough?
As stated, your heart rate is the most important measurement to determine if your workout is awesome or if you should be eating cake instead. If you keep track of this, you will be sure to know that you are enhancing your CRF. The US Army uses the Training Heart Rate as the factor of how intense your workout should be. They use several methods to calculate Training Heart Rate, and we’ve listed two to help.
Percent Maximum Heart Rate – Cardiorespiratory Fitness
This method provides an estimate of an individual’s maximum heart rate. All you have to do is some simple math. Subtract your age from 220 then multiply by the number associated with your level of fitness: Poor shape – 70% (.7), Good shape – 80% (.8), Great shape – 90% (.9). Examples of Training Heart Rate calculations using this method:
- 35 years old, poor shape: (220 – 35) * .7 = 129.5
- 28 years old, good shape: (220 – 28) * .8 = 153.6
- 40 years old, great shape: (220 – 40) * .9 = 162
These are examples of how to do a quick and rough calculation on what your heart rate should be when working out. This will tell you if you’re intense enough to see maximum benefits!
Percent Heart Rate Reserve
While the first method is fine, you may be the type of person that wants more accurate calculations! That’s what you’ll get using the Percent HRR. The name of the game is increasing your CRF, so working out at the proper percentages is essential. This will also reduce your chances of hurting yourself if you’re out of shape. You don’t want to be going 90% of your heart rate if you’re not that healthy. Save that for the future!
This method is similar to the maximum heart rate method, but it uses more of a range. We’ll be seeing between 60 and 90 percent, but it’s variable depending on your goals and fitness levels. If you’re somewhere around 75%, you’re doing great at enhancing or maintaining your CRF. The fitter you are, the higher your intensity of exercise. For example, if you are in great shape you may want to use 85%, good shape – 70%, and bad shape – 60%. These are certainly adjustable for your case and goals.
It’s important to realize (and finally getting to our answer to the question), that going below 60% does not do much to increase your cardiorespiratory fitness. Sure, it’s nice to get out and go for a walk, and it’s certainly enjoyable. But if your goal is to increase your level of fitness, you may be wasting your time! You want to be at your fitness threshold to get an efficient workout. To utilize the Percent Heart Rate Reserve Method of determining your level, see the guideline below:
- Using an example of a 28 year old in good shape
- Find your maximum heart rate. Example (220 – 28) = 192
- Find your resting heart rate – do this by determining how many times per minute your heart beats (pulse), and do this while resting (not after any physical activity) – we’ll use mine as an example = 68
- Determine your heart rate reserve. (Maximum Heart Rate – Resting Heart Rate). In our example, 192 – 68 = 124
- Calculate Training Heart Rate. (Heart Rate Reserve * fitness percentage) + Resting Heart Rate. Our example follows: (124 * .7) + 68 = 154.8
So in our example, if you are 28 years and in good shape, your training heart rate should be about 155. As you can see, this result is not much different from what we found in the first method (153.6). Whichever you choose will give you a decent idea of what your intensity should be.
Final:
After determining your training heart rate, be sure to monitor yourself as your workout. Check your heart rate after you’re about 5 minutes into your routine. If you hit the mark, excellent! If you’re too low, then try to up the intensity a bit.
It’s extremely important to stay above 60% to get your ideal training rate. If you go below this, then you quite possibly could be wasting your time! No one wants to work out for nothing. To attain your goals, enhance your overall health, and have better cardiorespiratory fitness, find your training heart rate and go from there. Good luck!
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