What do I do with my resting heart rate?

suffolk rider
suffolk rider Posts: 103
edited February 2013 in Training, fitness and health
No doubt a really stupid question to some: but I have read so many references to how important it is to work out your RHR, but then nowhere - so far as I can see - does it tell you what to DO with it, i.e. in terms of setting your HR zones. Can someone please enlighten me? :?

Comments

  • imposter2.0
    imposter2.0 Posts: 12,028
    Are you sure you've got that right ? RHR is largely irrelevant as a performance measure. It would be more logical to set zones using your max.
  • mamba80
    mamba80 Posts: 5,032
    suffolk rider wrote:
    No doubt a really stupid question to some: but I have read so many references to how important it is to work out your RHR, but then nowhere - so far as I can see - does it tell you what to DO with it, i.e. in terms of setting your HR zones. Can someone please enlighten me? :?

    Karvonen method

    The Karvonen method factors in resting heart rate (HRrest) to calculate target heart rate (THR), using a range of 50–85% intensity:

    THR = ((HRmax − HRrest) × % intensity) + HRrest
    Example for someone with a HRmax of 180 and a HRrest of 70:

    50% Intensity: ((180 − 70) × 0.50) + 70 = 125 bpm
    85% Intensity: ((180 − 70) × 0.85) + 70 = 163 bpm

    Google Machinehead heart rate zones for various methods of zone intensity, including Karvonen and BC, ABCC etc Down load the s/w and play away!

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