What is a Target Heart Rate Zone?

So if you have been around enough exercise nuts or even if you have hopped on a treadmill once or twice, you have probably heard the term “target heart rate” flung around a couple times. You may have wondered to yourself, what on earth is a target heart rate, and what is its relation to fitness?

Well target heart rates are very important when it comes to losing weight and generally staying in shape. In losing weight it is important to stay at a certain level of intensity, and knowing the target heart rate zones can help you moderate how intense the work outs you are doing are.

Target heart rate can be found using the karvonen formula or a target heart rate calculator, both of which can be found online. Some treadmills and other exercise machines may assist you in finding these values as well. Target heart rate zones range from sixty to one-hundred percent of your maximum heart rate.

A low intensity zone is anywhere from sixty to seventy percent of your maximum heart rate. This zone is typically considered something of a warm up zone and can be a good place for beginners to start because it helps develop aerobic fitness for more intense exercise.

Moderate intensity is anywhere from seventy to eighty percent of your maximum heart rate. This intensity can help you in improving your body’s ability to transport oxygen throughout your body and conditioning your heart.

A high intensity zone is anywhere from eighty to ninety percent of your maximum heart rate and will definitely take you out of your comfort zone. This zone will allow you to burn more calories while improving your VO2 Max and raise your anaerobic threshold.

Maximum effort is ninety percent to one-hundred percent of your maximum heart rate. You can reach this zone by doing all-out sprints or very high intensity interval training. Most people can only sustain this level of effort short periods of time.

So there you have it, the different target heart rate zones. Figure out what it is you are trying to achieve in your workouts; hop on your treadmill which, depending on the brand, may assist you in figuring out your target heart rate; figure out the zone you need to be in; and go for it!