Heart Rate Zones

When we do different kinds of activities, the heart rate zones are different. When one is resting, it is natural for the heart rate to be much lower, than when one is doing some activity. Scroll down for more information.

Heart rate is defined as, 'the number of heartbeats per unit of time'. The heartbeats per minute are expressed as 'bpm'. This technique is used by medical professionals on the patients, so that they can diagnose the condition of the patient, especially heart health. It is can also be used by athletes for monitoring their heart rate, so that they can derive the best out of their training. The pulse of the body is used to measure the human heart rate. Different methods can be used for measuring the heart rate. The easiest is to count the number of pulses manually. You can also use a heart rate monitor for the same.

Different Heart Rate Zones

A lot of athletes use the heart rate zone to know, if they are indeed training correctly. They make use of maximum heart rate for the same. Maximum heart rate is abbreviated as MHR. It is the maximum at which your heart can beat. The maximum heart rate differs from one person to another. A factor, which is always taken into consideration for calculating the maximum heart rate is age. The resting heart rate chart can be used to know the resting heart rate. The heart rate zones can be divided into five zones depending on maximum heart rate. Let’s see the heart rate during exercise.

Healthy Zone

The healthy heart zone is a comfortable heart zone. In this zone, the heart rate is around 50 to 60% of the maximum heart rate. Therefore, it is also said to be the best zone to workout in. To know, when you are in this zone is to check if you can converse normally and fully. Remember, in this zone you may require a little more effort to breathe. If you wonder, which is the exercise that you can do in this heart zone, the answer is walking. However, if you walk faster your heart rate may go higher. Any workout in this zone is not intense and may not help a great deal in cardiovascular training. Although, researches point to the fact that the workouts in this zone do help in reducing body fat percentage, cholesterol and blood pressure. People with cholesterol problems are often recommended exercises like walking, as they use 85% of fat, 10% of carbohydrates and just 5% of proteins to derive energy required.

Fitness Zone

The heart rate in this zone increases to 60 to 70% of the maximum heart rate of the person. When your are in this zone, you will be able to speak small sentences, but you will be breathing very heavily for the same. The number of calories burned in this zone are more, as the form of exercise used is often intense. This is also a good zone for people, who want to burn fat. Like in the healthy heart zone, in this zone also 85% of fat, 10% of carbohydrates and 5% of proteins is used to derive energy. This is also the ideal heart rate to burn fat.

Aerobic Zone

The heart rate in this zone is at 70 to 80%. The person breathes very hard, may be able to speak just a couple of words. If endurance is what you look for, then you should train in this heart rate zone. It is also good for circulatory system and helps in increasing heart and lung capacity. In this zone, the body derives around 48 to 49% from fat and the same amount from carbohydrates and the remaining from proteins.

Anaerobic Zone

In this zone, the heart rate increases to 80 to 90% of maximum heart rate. This is a high heart rate. The person is gasping for breath and may be able to speak just a word at a time. Normally, exercises in this zone are a part of circuit training. Maximum number of carbohydrates are burned at 85% followed by fat at 15% and protein at 1%.

Red Line Zone

Here the heart rate is at 90 to 100% of the maximum heart rate. This is the highest a person can go. It is best to be in this zone for short burst of intervals in training. However, it is best to talk to your health care professional, before you get into such kind of training zone. 90% of energy is derived from carbohydrates, 9% from fats and less than 1% from protein.

Heart Rate Zones by Age

From the heart rate zones chart it will be clear, that the heart rate for different age group is different. You can also calculate you maximum heart rate yourself. The formula, which you can use for the same is 220 minus your current age. The chart below gives the ideal heart rate, which can be used for general guidelines.

Age

Ideal HR Zone 50 - 85 %

Average MHR 100 %

20 years

100 - 170 beats per minute

200 beats per minute

25 years

98 - 166 beats per minute

195 beats per minute

30 years

95 - 162 beats per minute

190 beats per minute

35 years

93 - 157 beats per minute

185 beats per minute

40 years

90 - 153 beats per minute

180 beats per minute

45 years

88 - 149 beats per minute

175 beats per minute

50 years

85 - 145 beats per minute

170 beats per minute

55 years

83 - 140 beats per minute

165 beats per minute

60 years

80 - 136 beats per minute

160 beats per minute

65 years

78 - 132 beats per minute

155 beats per minute

70 years

75 - 128 beats per minute

150 beats per minute

If you are starting out on a new fitness program, it best to talk to your health care professional to know what are the healthy heart rate zones for your case. It is best not to over exert yourself to avoid any kind of complications. Even when you want to move up in heart rate zones, do so after getting a green signal from your health care professional.