What is a good heart rate during exercise?

1. Especially with cardio you see people regularly exercising with heart rate monitors. In the gym, many devices even have a built-in heart rate sensor. And indeed: a good heart rate during exercise is a factor to take into account.

1. But what is the best heart rate during exercise? As high as possible? Somewhere in that famous â € Fat Burning Zone â € ™? Or neither? We'll explain it all to you in today's blog!

How do you measure your heart rate?

1. First a practical thing: how do you actually measure your heart rate? You don't need a heart rate monitor for that at home. A clock with a second hand is enough. Press your finger against the artery in your wrist and count the number of strokes for one minute. VoilÃ, you have your heart rate by the minute.

1. Don't feel like or have the time to sit down and count for a minute? You can also count 30 or 15 seconds and multiply the result by two or four, respectively. A small deviation can creep in that way, but that's not a problem for most purposes.

1. When you are running, it is of course difficult to count your heartbeats in the meantime. If you want to know your heart rate during exercise, a heart rate monitor is sometimes indeed a useful tool.

What is a healthy resting heart rate?

1. There is no such thing as a healthy heart rate, both at rest and during exercise. The speed at which your heart beats is influenced by many different factors. Age is the most important of these, but your gender also plays a nice role. In addition, your heart rate accelerates if you are stressed for a long time or if you maintain an unhealthy lifestyle.

2. There is no such thing as a healthy heart rate, both at rest and during exercise. The speed at which your heart beats is influenced by many different factors. Age is the most important of these, but your gender also plays a nice role. Moreover, your heart rate accelerates if you are stressed for a long time or if you maintain an unhealthy lifestyle. [! 192758 => 1140 = 6!] In adults, the resting heart rate is on average between 60 and 80 beats per minute. In women, the heart beats slightly faster than in men: 76 versus 68 beats per minute, respectively. When you sleep, the heart rate still drops considerably, to about 50 beats per minute.

1. In adults, the resting heart rate is on average between 60 and 80 beats per minute. In women, the heart beats slightly faster than in men: 76 versus 68 beats per minute, respectively. When you sleep, the heart rate still drops considerably, to about 50 beats per minute.

Determining the maximum heart rate

1. When you exercise - or even exercise only moderately intensively - your heart rate accelerates. Your muscles then need more oxygen, so your heart has to pump more blood through your body. The more intense the activity, the faster your heart will beat.

1. There is a maximum to the frequency of your heartbeat. This upper limit decreases as you get older, simply because your heart starts to beat a little slower and less able to cope. There is no real training against that decline (and that is not necessary).

2. There is a maximum to the frequency of your heartbeat. That upper limit decreases as you get older, simply because your heart starts beating a little slower and less able to cope. There is no real training against that decline (and that is not necessary).

1. You can calculate your approximate maximum heart rate by doing 208 â € “(your age x 0.7). For example, if you are 40, your maximum heart rate is about 180. This is an estimate, and the actual number will of course vary from person to person. However, as a rule of thumb for exercising, this is a great guideline.

A good heart rate during exercise

1. The best heart rate during exercise is lower than the maximum heart rate! You cannot maintain that maximum for long, and it is unhealthily exhausting to try. Instead, keep your heart rate between 60 and 80% of your maximum heart rate.

1. Top athletes sometimes train above that ratio, up to about 90%. However, it is not advisable to do this as an amateur athlete without professional guidance. An intensity where your heart rate rises to 80% is enough to make progress and improve your fitness. However, within this range, the higher the heart rate, the more calories you burn.

The Fat Burning Zone

1. Now you sometimes hear the advice not to train at a high heart rate like 80%. Instead, you should stay at a moderate speed, around 60%. In this so-called â € ˜ fat-burning zoneâ € ™ you would â € “as the name says â €“ namely burn more fat than at higher intensity.

2. Now you sometimes hear the advice not to train at a high heart rate like 80%. Instead, you should stay at a moderate speed, around 60%. In this so-called â € ˜ fat burning zone â € ™ you would â € “as the name says â €“ burn more fat than at higher intensity. [! 192758 => 1140 = 13!] That's as follows. Your body never gets all the energy it needs from body fat: some also comes from carbohydrates, stored in your muscles as glycogen. In the 'fat burning zone' you consume relatively more fat and less carbohydrates compared to training at a higher heart rate.

1. That's as follows. Your body never gets all the energy it needs from body fat: some also comes from carbohydrates, stored in your muscles as glycogen. In the 'fat burning zone' you consume relatively more fat and less carbohydrates compared to training at a higher heart rate.

1. Does this mean that you should moderate the intensity to get leaner? Well â € “no, there is a catch. If you train more intensively, you burn more calories in total. Relatively less of that is fat - but in absolute amounts you still burn more grams of fat if you exercise at a high heart rate.

Heart rate and afterburn effect

1. Added to this is a second advantage of a high heart rate: the afterburn effect. In short: if you exercise very intensively, it will cause minor damage to your body. To restore this, you burn a little more calories than normal for a few hours after a cardio workout. The higher your heart rate during exercise, the more that afterburn effect increases. In the long run, that can make a big difference.

1. By the way, strength training produces a stronger afterburn effect than cardio, despite a lower heart rate during the training itself. This has to do with muscle damage and its recovery. That's one of the reasons why strength training is recommended for weight loss.

Note: not too intensive for too long!

1. In short: when it comes to heart rate during exercise, intensive is often the best option. Of course you have to be careful not to overdo it. We already mentioned above that it is better not to sit above 80% of your maximum heart rate. That's just not healthy for your heart in the long run.

1. In addition, you should not maintain a high heart rate for too long. If you train very intensively for a long time, the stress hormone cortisol is released, which ensures that you retain more fat. Limit strength training and intensive cardio training to a maximum of one hour. Slow cardio with a low heart rate can possibly be a bit longer.