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Heart Rate Based Aerobic Training Many individuals use heart rate to monitor their aerobic exercise intensity. Heart rate is a good indicator of aerobic exercise intensity because it is linearly related to oxygen uptake. As intensity increases, oxygen uptake and therefore heart rate increases to meet the increased energy demand. The graph below shows the approximate relationship shown between HR and VO2 during walking and running. This basic relationship holds true for most aerobic activities, although in activities like aerobic dance where there is a lot of arm movement above heart level, one is at a lower %VO2max at the same %HR max when compared to walking or running. The American College of Sports Medicine recommends an intensity corresponding to 50 - 85% of maximal oxygen uptake reserve or 70-95% of maximal heart rate. Lower fit people increase their aerobic fitness at the lower ends of this range, while higher fit individuals will need to exercise in the upper half of the range to increase their aerobic fitness. One of the nice things about using heart rate is that you can use it to monitor improvement. As you improve i.e. increase your maximal oxygen uptake, you will have to work at a higher absolute intensity to achieve the same heart rate. If you are going to use heart rate, it is essential that you know your maximal heart rate for the activity you are doing. There is no accurate way to predict your maximal heart rate. It can be determined by doing a maximal exercise test at a facility like the Fitness Institute of Texas or by doing an all out 2-3 min bout of aerobic exercise. Maximal heart rate varies with the activity. For example, many individuals have a lower maximal heart rate when cycling than during running. If they use their walking/running determined maximal heart rate to determine their cycling exercise heart rate they will be exercising at a higher intensity than if walking/running. When training for competition in aerobic events like running, cycling, rowing, etc. it is very common to train using heart rate zones. It is important to understand that there are significant limitations to heart rate based training and heart rate zones. One problem is that the correlation between exercise intensity and heart rate is better in a laboratory setting than in a normal workout where factors such as heat, dehydration, or recent illness may affect this relationship. The heart rate - exercise intensity relationship can also vary within a workout and from day to day. The use of heart rate zones is somewhat arbitrary as the heart rate to exercise intensity relationship exists along a continuum not in absolute, discrete zones. Different experts have different terminology and zones they recommend. Pete Pfitzinger, exercise physiologist, distance running coach, and former two-time member of the U.S. Olympics marathon team, uses the following: Pure Endurance = 70-85% HR max, Lactate Threshold = 80-92% HR max; VO2max = 95-98% HR max. Sally Edwards in her book Smart Heart recommends the following zones: Healthy Heart = 50-60% HR max; Temperate = 60-70% HR max; Aerobic = 70-80% HR max; Threshold = 80-90% HR max; and Red line = 90-100% HR max. Ideally heart rate zones should be established based on field or laboratory testing such as that done in the Fitness Institute of Texas. This testing should be conducted and heart rate zones established using your mode of exercise training. For example, a triathlete should be tested both running and cycling and separate heart rate zones established for both modes of exercise. Field and laboratory tests can be used to determine the lactate threshold. The HR zones can then be based on the lactate threshold HR instead of the maximal HR. Andrew R. Coggan, an internationally respected exercise physiologist and national caliber master cyclists recommends the following zones:
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