Our heart rate differs with different activities our body does. We can call these as different heart rate zones. When one is resting, it is natural for the heart rate to be much lower than when one is doing some activity. More on heart rate zones is discussed in the article below. Read on …
Heart rate is defined as, ‘the number of heartbeats per unit of time’. The heartbeats per minute are expressed as ‘bpm’. This technique is used by medical professionals, so that they can diagnose the condition of the patient, especially the heart health. It is also used by athletes for monitoring their heart rate, so that they can derive the best out of their training.
The pulse of the body is used to measure the human heart rate. Different methods can be used for this purpose. The easiest is to count the number of pulses manually. You can also use a heart rate monitor for the same.
Different Heart Rate Zones
A lot of athletes use the heart rate zone to know, if they are indeed training correctly. They make use of maximum heart rate for the same. Maximum heart rate is abbreviated as MHR. It is the maximum at which your heart can beat. The maximum heart rate differs from one person to another. A factor, which is always taken into consideration for calculating the maximum heart rate is age. The resting heart rate chart can be used to know the resting heart rate, which can help determine your general fitness levels compared to your age. The heart rate can be divided into five zones depending on maximum heart rate. Let’s see the heart rate during exercise.
Healthy Zone
The healthy heart zone is a comfortable heart zone. In this zone, the heart rate is around 50 to 60% of the maximum heart rate. Therefore, it is also said to be the best zone to work out in. To know, when you are in this zone is to check if you can converse normally and fully. Remember, in this zone you may require a little more effort to breathe. The best exercise for this heart zone is walking. However, if you walk faster, your heart rate may go higher. Any workout in this zone is not intense and may not help a great deal in cardiovascular training. Although, research points to the fact that the workouts in this zone do help in reducing body fat percentage, cholesterol, and blood pressure. People with cholesterol problems are often recommended exercises like walking, as they use 85% of fat, 10% of carbohydrates and just 5% of proteins to derive energy required.
Fitness Zone
The heart rate in this zone increases to 60 to 70% of the maximum heart rate of the person. When you are in this zone, you will be able to speak small sentences, but you will be breathing very heavily for the same. The number of calories burned in this zone are more, as the form of exercise used is often intense. This is also a good zone for people, who want to burn fat. Like in the healthy heart zone, in this zone again, 85% of fat, 10% of carbohydrates, and 5% of proteins are used to derive energy. so, we could say this is also an ideal heart rate to burn fat.
Aerobic Zone
The heart rate in this zone is at 70 to 80%. The person breathes very hard, and may be able to speak just a couple of words. If endurance is what you look for, then you should train in this heart rate zone. It is also good for circulatory system and helps in increasing heart and lung capacity. In this zone, the body derives around 48 to 49% from fat and the same amount from carbohydrates, the remaining energy is derived from proteins.
Anaerobic Zone
In this zone, the heart rate increases to 80 to 90% of maximum heart rate. This is a high heart rate. The person is gasping for breath and may be manage to speak just one word at a time. Normally, exercises in this zone are a part of circuit training. Maximum number of carbohydrates are burned, which is 85%, followed by fat at 15% and protein at 1%.
Red Line Zone
Here, the heart rate is at 90 to 100% of the maximum heart rate. This is the maximum a person can manage to go. It is best to be in this zone for short burst of intervals in training. However, it is best to talk to your health care professional, before you get into such kind of a training zone. In this zone, 90% of energy is derived from carbohydrates, 9% from fats and less than 1% from protein.
Heart Rate Zones by Age
From the heart rate chart it will be clear, that the heart rate for different age groups is different. You can also calculate your maximum heart rate. The formula, which you can use for the same is 220 minus your current age. The chart below gives the ideal heart rate, which can be used for general guidelines.
| Age | Ideal HR Zone 50 – 85 % | Average MHR 100 % |
| 20 years | 100 – 170 beats per minute | 200 beats per minute |
| 25 years | 98 – 166 beats per minute | 195 beats per minute |
| 30 years | 95 – 162 beats per minute | 190 beats per minute |
| 35 years | 93 – 157 beats per minute | 185 beats per minute |
| 40 years | 90 – 153 beats per minute | 180 beats per minute |
| 45 years | 88 – 149 beats per minute | 175 beats per minute |
| 50 years | 85 – 145 beats per minute | 170 beats per minute |
| 55 years | 83 – 140 beats per minute | 165 beats per minute |
| 60 years | 80 – 136 beats per minute | 160 beats per minute |
| 65 years | 78 – 132 beats per minute | 155 beats per minute |
| 70 years | 75 – 128 beats per minute | 150 beats per minute |
If you are starting out on a new fitness program, it best to talk to your health care professional to know what are the healthy heart rate zones for your case. It is best not to over exert yourself to avoid any kind of complications. Even when you want to move up in heart rate zones, do so after getting a green signal from your health care professional.
