Heart Rate While Running

While I was getting ready to head to the gym last night, I saw my girl Lauren Graham on E! News.   She was talking about how using a heart rate monitor helped her so much in losing those last couple of pounds. She said that she works at 65% to 85% of her maximum heart rate.  That got me thinking, what heart rate zone do I work in?  Should I even care?

I really liked my treadmill hike from the other night, so I decided to do that one again.  First, I ran/walked a mile.  I held on to the heart rate monitor on the treadmill right after my first mile.  I was at a heart rate of 172.  Then I started my hike.  The super inclines must really be a lot of work (that explains the sweat buckets) because the highest heart rate I hit was 176.  After the hike, I did another mile of run/walking and checked my heart rate again.  This time it was 173.  All of this was cool to know, but did not mean much to me…yet.

I got home and started Googleing heart rates.  I learned that my maximum heart rate is 190 beats per minute (220-30(age)).   According to what I read, I was working at about 90% of my MHR.  I also found that working up to 90% of your MHR will help you reach optimal conditioning.  This was all really good information to know.  I plan to track my heart rate the next few times I work out and see what results I get. 

Do you track your heart rate?  Do you work toward a certain heart rate goal?  Do you think a target heart rate is helpful in weight loss or athletic training?

The site where I got my info.

Now, on to my SparkleSkirts!  giveaway!  The winner is Kristen Ceneviva.  Please email me (amysmith7@comcast.net) with your shipping address and what SparkleSkirts!  you would like, including size.  Thank you to everyone who entered.  Please stay tuned—I have some more great giveaways lined up for the next few weeks!

A dream is a wish…

--Amy