Heart Rate Monitor Interval Training is the key to training smarter, not just harder—helping you balance workout intensity and recovery for maximum results.
When you work out, your heart is pumping blood that carries oxygen to your muscles and brain. Your heart and how fast or slow it pumps this blood through your veins is an important part of working out. Some people use heart rate monitoring as a way to efficiently measure how hard they are working out.
To learn more about heart rate monitor interval training, check out our guide below.
What is Heart Rate Monitor Interval Training?
Heart rate monitors are devices people use to detect and track your pulse rate. These devices are usually wearable and are highly accurate. People use heart rate monitors as a tool to help them train successfully. With heart rate monitors, you can train smarter rather than harder.
You can use heart rate monitors to gauge how hard you are training. With heart rate interval training, men keep their heart rate within a set range during a workout to optimize their aerobic exercise. Only elite athletes could train this way before heart rate monitors were easily available and affordable.
Recently, heart rate monitor training has been on the rise, especially for runners. With heart rate interval training, you can create a workout schedule that's all about balance. You build days where you do intense workouts and then days where you do gentler workouts.
Heart rate training can also help with recovery. It allows you to better evaluate how hard you are pushing yourself. This type of workout can help you to avoid overtraining.
What Type of Heart Rate Monitor Should You Use?
There are lots of types of heart rate monitors on the market to choose from. This tech measures your beats per minute (BPM) and can be worn on your chest, arm, wrist, or finger. Chest strap heart monitors use electrocardiogram (ECG) to measure heart rate. These often are used in conjunction with sports watches, bike computers, fitness apps, or gym equipment.
They measure your heart rate in real-time. For a chest band to work, you generally need water or a conductive gel to make it easier for the device to detect your heart's electrical current. Chest bands give the highest accuracy, as long as you use them correctly.
Arm straps and fitness watches use photoplethysmography to measure your heart rate. Two major arteries in your forearm and wrist provide blood flow to the skin. These optical devices use infrared light to see how your arteries expand as blood pumps through. These devices can track your pulse rate and estimate your blood oxygen levels.
Although wrist and forearm wearables are typically very accurate, if you use your arms for exercise activities, this can cause inaccurate readings.
Even more recently, there are smart rings that you can wear on your finger to detect heart rate. These devices also use optical detection to measure your heart rate. Since these devices are newer, there isn't as much data on whether or not they are as effective as the other devices listed above.
You can choose from these different types of wearable heart monitors based on how you plan to use these devices and how accurate you need them to be.
Terms to Know for Heart Rate Monitor Training
Before you start training using a heart rate monitor, it is vital to know the different terms used to talk about your heart rate. Here is a list of key terms to familiarize yourself with before beginning training:
Resting Heart Rate
This is your heart rate when you are inactive. A variety of factors such as age, gender, and medications you take affect this number. A highly fit person has a resting heart rate of around 60 bpm. However, normal resting heart rates can range between 60-100 bpm. Some devices will record this number for you.
If it doesn't, you will have to determine this number on your own by taking your heart rate when you are in a period of rest. The best time to take measurements for your resting heart rate is first thing in the morning before you get out of bed.
Maximum Heart Rate
This measurement is the fastest rate at which your heart can beat while meeting your body's oxygen needs. Your maximum heart rate (HR max) is important to setting your aerobic capacity. Your aerobic capacity (VO2 Max) is the amount of oxygen you can consume. High aerobic capacity is associated with a reduced risk of cardiovascular disease, heart attack, and death.
Your age, gender, and other factors also affect your maximum heart rate. Many people determine the maximum heart rate by taking the number 220 and subtracting how old they are to arrive at their estimated highest heart rate number.
Another way to estimate your max heart rate is to check your heart rate as you perform an exercise at the highest level you can. For example, you could run as fast as you can for 3 minutes. Then, rest for 3 minutes. Next, run as hard as you can again. The highest reading from your second run should be your maximum heart rate. It is best to check your maximum heart rate in the activity you plan to train in.
You may also need to recheck your maximum heart rate periodically. It naturally decreases as you age and may also increase slightly as you train. As you train, remember that you do not need to increase your maximum heart rate. A better indication of fitness is a lower resting heart rate.
If you are a serious athlete or you are working out professionally, you can get a stress test by a cardiologist to determine your maximum heart rate.
Target Heart Rate
This is the range where you should be during moderate activities. It is about 50-85% of your maximum heart rate. This number is different based on your age, but it represents a target heart rate zone you want to achieve while exercising to achieve your fitness goals.
Recovery Heart Rate
After vigorous activity, the amount of time it takes for your heart to reach its resting heart rate is the recovery heart rate measurement. As you become more physically fit, this time will shorten. It is important to also reevaluate your resting heart rate over time, as fitness levels can affect your recovery rate number. Changes in your resting heart rate will affect how you calculate your recovery heart rate.
Heart Rate Training Zones
Heart rate zones are ranges of heart rates for each intensity level you choose to train at. These ranges are calculated using your maximum heart rate. Moderate intensity is 50-70% of your maximum heart rate. Vigorous intensity is 70-85% of your max, according to the American Heart Association.
For people beginning a new exercise program or starting exercise after a sedentary lifestyle, you may want to start in the moderate zone and work up to the vigorous intensity as you become fitter.
There are 5 zones to consider when building or following a Heart Rate Monitor Training program:
- Zone 1: recovery 55-65% HR max
- Zone 2: aerobic 65-75% HR max
- Zone 3: tempo 80-85% HR max
- Zone 4: lactate threshold 85-88% HR max
- Zone 5: anaerobic 90% or higher HR max
A typical training plan will utilize multiple zones during training. You will need to spend different amounts of time in each zone to achieve a balanced workout.
How to Utilize the Heart Rate Zones for Training
Heart rate interval workouts are a way for you to optimize your training session. Each zone represents a portion of your heart rate that you should target to get certain results. Some zones are better for recovery or beginning levels, others are important for training endurance and strength. Together, these 5 zones make up a complete workout that balances both vigorous exercise and periods of rest.
During multi-zone training, you want to aim for a range rather than being glued to looking at your heart rate monitor. High-intensity interval training (HIIT) is a great workout to achieve these heart rate zones. You can also set your devices to alert you when you reach a certain heart rate number so that you can focus on the workout rather than getting the numbers right.
Here is an overview of each zone:
Zone 1
This is the easiest zone where you work out at a low intensity. It is a great zone for a warm-up. It is also great for days when you may feel sick or need extra recovery time. This zone gets your body moving but you have minimal stress and exertion. You can also return to zone 1 during a cool-down period. You should be in this zone about 30-40% of your workout time.
Zone 2
This is a basic effort zone where you are getting the benefits of cardio. If you are working out with a partner, you can still talk while doing this zone. This is a place to stay for longer sessions. This zone should amount to about 40-50% of your workout time.
Zone 3
This zone is about picking up the pace and building up speed and strength. You should be exercising at a steady state and increasing your exercise intensity. This is where you begin to have trouble holding a conversation with a partner. You should only be in zone 3 for around 10-15% of your workout time.
Zone 4
This zone is when you are processing the lactic acid on your muscles to fuel your workout. This training zone develops your body's ability to operate efficiently. Zone 4 should take up only about 5-10% of your workout time.
Zone 5
This is your maximum zone where your body is learning how to be stronger while enduring higher-intensity workouts. It is usually a short burst that occurs towards the end. This is the workout zone you should be in the least—opt for 5% or lower of your total workout time.
When you are starting, it may be beneficial to consult a personal trainer to help you build a heart rate monitor training program. A personal trainer can help you to slowly ease into and increase your training program to reach optimal results. They can also help you to build a program that is sustainable in the long run.
Benefits of Heart Rate Monitor Interval Training
Heart rate monitor interval training has several benefits. It can reduce your risk of fatigue and overtraining. You can recover properly and more accurately track your interval training. It allows you to more efficiently reach a level of exertion that is comfortably hard. You can also use this method to counter external changes that affect a workout such as heat and humidity.
Instead of simply relying on a type of exercise or a way of exercising, heart rate monitoring allows you to still exercise at a high level while your heart works to overcome external factors.
According to studies, working out at intense levels helps to improve heart rate variability, the beat-to-beat variation in adjacent heartbeats, and to improve autonomic functioning and cardiovascular health.
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Conclusion
Heart rate monitor interval training is an effective way to improve your cardiovascular health and build a fitness program that allows you to balance your workout. With a heart rate monitor, you can more easily train to your maximum without overdoing it and also monitor the best heart rates for rest and recovery.
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