Love the podcast. Keep up the inspiration!

Thank you so much for posting such thorough information. We are very glad to have you as a member of the Biggest Loser Fan Podcast Community!

Cliff

I am a being believer in them but they are only a tool and you really need to understand the information they provide to you for them to be a benefit. I have cut and pasted details below that might help folks gain a better understanding of how to find their ‘target zones’ and customize them a little bit more by factoring their resting heart rate.

Most training schedules incorporate different types of workouts and you have different target zones depending upon the type of workout you are performing. Heart rate monitors can help you stay in that zone so that you can achieve your goal for that workout. Modern heart rate monitors can tell you “duration in zone” – the amount of time you were in your target heart rate zone. Some will even beep when you are above or below your selected training zone. This makes it far more convenient to track your workouts. These heart rate monitors usually have a sensor that mounts around your chest and a computer that mounts in a watch-like case on your wrist.

Target heart rate training lets you track improvement over time. This is indicated by a gradual reduction in your resting heart rate. Another indicator of improvement is that you’ll need to perform at higher levels to perform the same exercise at the same heart rate range as before. For instance, you may find that you need to run on a treadmill at say, 4.5 mph to stay in your target heart range when you first start out. You will find that over time you will have to run at, say, 4.8 mph to get your heart to stay inside your target heart range. Paradoxically, over time, you have to perform at higher levels to exercise the same amount.

Training Zones
60 – 70% Long runs
70 – 80% Tempo runs
80 – 90% Speed work & hill work

CALCULATION OF A TARGET ZONE VALUE
Find your resting heart rate (RHR) by taking your heart rate a few times as soon as you wake up, even before you get out of bed. Take it a few days in a row and average it to get a more accurate estimate.

1. Find your maximum heart rate (MHR) by taking 226 (for women) – age or 220 (for men) – age. There are more accurate ways to find your MHR through testing but this is a good starting point.

2. Subtract your RHR from your MHR to get your working heart rate (WHR)
MHR – RHR = WHR

3. Multiply your WHR by the % you want to figure out.
Example: WHR x 70%

4. Add your RHR back to the % calculation

EXAMPLE:
A 45 year old female with a resting heart rate of 50 & we are finding her target zone of 70 – 80%

1. MHR: 226 – 45 = 181
2. WHR: 181 – 50 = 131
3. 70%: 131 x 70% + 50 = 141.7
4. 80%: 131 x 80% + 50 = 154.8
The range for 70 – 80% = 141.7 beats per minute to 154.8 beats per minute

Hope this helps make things more clear & thanks again for all your motivation & information,
Rachel