The body is an amazing machine that's meant to perform different functions at different levels of exertion. This is the principle upon which heart rate training is based: providing your body with a full workout by giving it stepped levels of exertion with which to perform. Which type of heart rate training you will be able to endure safely depends largely on your current fitness level. Heart rate training is one of the top methods for training for various endurance events, including marathons and cross-country endurance races.
The basics
Essentially, heart rate training consists of four different "zones" or levels of intensity: recovery or energy-efficient, aerobic, anaerobic and red line. These zones are determined by the percentage of your maximum heart rate that you maintain throughout the workout.
It is essential, in most cases, to use a heart rate monitor while doing this kind of training, especially if you're not yet very bodily aware or if you are working toward a specific fitness goal such as fat loss or raising your anaerobic threshold.
Target rates
Your age largely determines your maximum heart rate. The equation generally used to determine your maximum is 217 minus 85 percent of your age. Alternatively, especially if you're in exceptionally good or exceptionally poor physical condition for your age, you can conduct a stress test to find your maximum rate.
Next, you will need to find your resting heart rate by lying down completely relaxed for 20 minutes and then calculating your beats per minute. The rates between resting and maximum will become your training zones, ranging from 60 percent all the way up to 100 percent of maximum.
Variations
Your heart rate can be affected by a number of factors, including normal daily variations. Altitude, dehydration, excessive heat and high levels of humidity can affect the rate. In addition, over time and with an increased fitness level, your resting heart rate will decrease, so you will need to calculate it regularly.
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