I’m always telling you that in order to see results, you have to push yourself to be uncomfortable during your workout. Doing this will speed up your metabolism, and cause signals to be sent to your body that changes need to be made; like becoming stronger and leaner.
To most of you, saying this does the trick, but a lot of you still are looking for a more definitive ‘how hard to push’??
In order to see results, you have to push yourself harder each day. The trick with this is that each time you push (outside your comfort zone), your body repairs and grows back stronger. Which makes you more efficient and effective! So you have to progressively up the ante each time to see the same results 🙂
To measure your output, I look at heart rate. Many of you may know simple ways of obtaining your heart rate, but since everybody is different, I wanted to teach you a method of measuring your own heart rate to determine if you are pushing as hard as you need to be.
This method is called the Karvonen Method, and is fairly simple to calculate:
First off, you’ll need to establish your personal Resting Heart Rate (RHR)
The most accurate measure of your RHR is first thing in the morning before you’ve gotten out of bed! Set an alarm to remind yourself (so you don’t get up first) and measure your heart rate for 15 seconds, then multiply by 4; do this twice for accuracy!
Start by Subtracting 220- Your Age; Then Subtract your RHR
Multiply THIS number by the intensity percentage you are shooting for
Low: 65-75% for early AM workouts (barre/yoga/brisk walking)
Moderate: 80-85% for Resistance Training/Toning/Circuit Training
High: 86-90% for Intervals/Springs/HIIT (or my bootcamp class)
Now add back in your RHR; The resulting number is the heart rate you are shooting for!
Example A 30-Year old is doing her early morning brisk walk, and wants to know where her heart rate should be; her resting heart rate is 68 bpm
220 – 30 = 190
190 – 68 = 122
122 * .65 = 79.3
79.3 + 68 = 147.3!
Her Heart Rate should be at about 147 bpm during her early morning brisk walk!
No Comments