What is Heart Rate Reserve?

HRR (heart rate reserve) is a vital requirement in determining the most effective and safest type of exercise routine a person should follow. It gives important data that helps fitness pros as well as athletes increase cardio fitness. Since this info is incredibly important, its calculations need to be flawless. This is so that a person keeps training with continued increasing intensity, thereby preventing training plateau. HRR does not though, tell anything about a person’s lactat or anaerobic threshold, though it is important in making an effective training plan.

To determine your HRR, you need to first determine your resting heart rate and maximum heart rate. Heart rate is the number of heart beats per minute (BPM).Before you start doing your reps, take time to note your initial heart rate. Immediately after completing your training reps, get your heart rate as it will serve as your maximum heart rate. Now, get the difference between the resting heart rate and maximum heart rate to get your actual heart rate reserve.

Heart rate can be measured at any of the body’s pulse points. In order to determine it, all you need to do is apply pressure with the middle and index finger and count the pulses felt. There are tools that can be used to get accurate results as well, like commercial heart rate monitors which consist of a chest strap and electrode, that can display accurate heart rate data on a screen for the wearer to see.

The Karvonen formula is then used to determine the target heart rate that will give off training efficiency at each training zones. Recover zone (60-70%) is useful for pre-season and closed season cross training, which is good for when the body is recovering.

Now for some real training, the aerobic zone (70% to 80%) is ideal in transporting and utilizing oxygen with continuous and long and slow distance endurance training. Anaerobic zone (80% to 90%) aims to increase the body’s lactate threshold or the ability to deal with lactic acid. The red line zone (90% to 100%) is reserved for people especially athletes who wanted to increase the twitch muscle fiber speed.

In order to calculate target heart rate using the Karvonen formula, all you need to do is deduct your age from 220. For example, for a 50 year old man, that would be 220-50=170. To get the HRR, deduct your resting heart rate from max heart rate. If your resting heart rate is 65 that would be 170-65=105.

Now, in order to get the target heart rate, multiply your HRR to the percent range of your target training intensity and add it to your resting heart rate. For example, you want to train at 70%, which is within the aerobic zone, multiply 105 by 70% then add 65 (105×0.7+65=139) Your target heart rate is 139 BPM.

One simple heartbeat conveys a number of meanings. But to the common individual and athletes, heart rate is used to calculated heart rate reserver (HRR), which is the way to gain maximum training efficiency.

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