You’ve probably read somewhere that there’s a specific heart rate zone you should be in for the movement you’re doing to count as exercise. And you’ve probably seen that it’s based on a calculation using your age:
Maximum Heart Rate = 220 – your age
Okay... super... now you know what the maximum rate is that your heart can handle before it explodes, but what’s a good range for YOU? Well, that’s not such an easy formula because it depends on several factors such as your age, your level of conditioning, any pre-existing conditions you may have. But generally speaking, these are the ranges to aim for:
Keep in mind that these ranges may not be appropriate for you based on your current diagnoses or level of conditioning. Even your meds can affect this.
Now, what if you’re like me and you have a hard time walking and chewing gum at the same time, never mind walking on a treadmill or elliptical and checking your own heart rate (and no... those sensors on the machines are not accurate)?
For the clutsy-inclined, there is a much easier way! Know your breath! It’s called the Rate of Perceived Exertion (RPE). How strenuous do YOU perceive the exercise to be? A good rule of thumb, when it comes to exercise, the zone, and breathing is to be fairly winded while you exercise. You should be able to carry on a light conversation but not much more than that. If you’re singing along with the Bieber, it’s time to step up the pace. If you feel like you’re about to keel over, it’s time to dial it down a notch or two.
It isn’t going to take as much effort for a deconditioned person to feel winded compared to an advanced exerciser. That’s the cool thing about the RPE - it takes that into account along with those other factors that I mentioned previously.
Now you might be asking, “How long do I have to be in the zone for?” For it to be considered exercise, it needs to be for 10 minutes straight or longer. Your ultimate goal is to exercise for about 150 minutes a week or more. Broken down, that means about 30 minutes each day, 5 times per week. Can I share a little secret with you? There’s research that shows that exercising for more than 60 minutes at a clip has no added benefit compared to exercising for less than an hour. That means that exercise does not need to consume a large junk of your life!
Now remember those 10 minutes I mentioned just a few sentences ago? You can break that 30 minutes down into 10-minute segments throughout your day x3 and have it all count toward those overall 30 minutes. How cool is that??? Spending 10 minutes in the morning before work, 10 minutes on your lunch break, and 10 minutes when you get home has the same benefits as doing 30 minutes in one fell swoop. Or try 10 minutes and 20; 15 and 15 – break it up however it works best for you.
And what’s even cooler is that those 30 minutes don’t all have to be cardio related! Strength training counts in those minutes as well.
So now you have all the information you could ever need on exercise, right? Well, maybe not quite. But you’ve got enough to get you going at least. 😊
I’m looking forward to hearing about your experience! What is your number one take away from this exercise series?
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