How to get your heart rate at your target elevated rate when using a treadmill
Treadmills have become the most popular home exercise machine in the United States. Treadmills are convenient and easy to use, and they are particularly good for people who don't like to go running or walking outside, or cannot because of a number of different reasons. Treadmills can be used at any time, and if you have a folding treadmill, you can use it any where. You can listen to music and watch TV while you are using a treadmill, and, particularly when you use the incline function, a treadmill provides a fantastic aerobic exercise. Treadmills are a great way to get your heart rate at your target elevated rate, and a number of treadmills come with heart rate monitors and trackers to help you meet your target elevated heart rate.
What is your target elevated heart rate?
|
|
In order to understand what your target elevated heart rate is, you need to understand how your body is working when you are on the treadmill. The way that your body works is actually just like a combustion engine. What happens is that your body uses oxygen and fuel-such as carbohydrates-in order to generate energy. Your cardiovascular system-your heart and your blood vessels-takes oxygen to your skeletal muscles. Then your skeletal muscles will use that oxygen in order to burn fuels such as fat and carbohydrates.
Now, in order for you to be able to consistently improve your health, you need to be pushing your body constantly so that your body will always be needing to strengthen itself and improve the function of your heart, your lungs, and your skeletal muscles. This means that you consistently need to be keeping your heart rate up and above its normal levels as you exercise-so you need to be tracking your heart rate so that you can ensure that your exercise levels are always pushing your heart rate.
You need to be able to calculate what your max heart rate is. The way to determine your max heart rate is by following this equation:
Max Heart rate (bpm, or beats per minute) = 220 - your age
Now, in order to determine your target zone, you need your training zone to be between 70% and 90% of your max heart rate.
How to achieve your target elevated heart rate when using a treadmill
Many treadmills come with heart rate control and heart rate monitors. If your treadmill comes with a heart rate monitor, it will track your heart rate through sensors that are on the treadmill's side rails. This means that it will be giving you your heart rate data while you are working out, but it will not adjust your work out in any way.
Heart rate control actually controls your workout to make sure that you can hit your target elevated heart rate. Heart rate control on your treadmill will ensure that aren't working too hard for too long, and will also make sure that you will be in your target elevated heart rate zone for the correct amount of time. All that you need to do in order to use treadmill heart rate control is to program in what your target heart rate is. Then your treadmill will speed up or slow down based on what your heart rate is, and how long your heart rate remains at that level. Your treadmill will work you harder so that you can keep your heart rate at your target elevated heart rate for the amount of time required to really give yourself a good workout. You can program either a steady heart rate or interval workouts.
Make sure that you talk to your doctor before you begin any exercise regimen.
