heart health

The heartbeat

By Dr. Michela Folli

To assess the degree of aerobic training to which an individual is subjected during the aerobics class we use a single parameter: the heartbeat.

The frequency of an individual's heart rate at rest varies from 65 to 75 beats per minute depending on sex; usually the woman has a higher value, with increasing age the heart rate increases.

The parameter on which we measure our aerobic capacity is given by the heart rate in a minute: with this data we are able to identify the aerobic training zone we are working on. To detect the heartbeat then it is necessary to identify the arteries that are most easily listened to, namely the carotid artery and the radial artery (that of the wrist). The fingertips of the index and middle fingers are placed here, exerting slight pressure.

Once the pulse is found, the heart beats are counted for 10 seconds, then this value is multiplied by 6, thus obtaining beats per minute.

So far it seems all elementary, but I assure you that it is not so. I made this premise because too often people do tiring workouts, because they probably think they will get better results, but to have the "weight loss" phenomenon it is enough to work at a heart rate between 65% and 75%.

The values ​​are derived from a simple formula that was applied by Dr. Kenneth Cooper.

The starting point is 220 beats per minute (the famous bpm) which corresponds to the maximum threshold achievable by the heart rate of a healthy person; therefore the age of the examined subject is subtracted from this value, thus obtaining the maximum heart rate (fcm) of the subject himself.

From this value obtained 65% is calculated which will indicate the heart rate threshold in which a beginner subject must start aerobic work. Calculating 75% you will get the limit threshold of aerobic work outlining the training margins.

Example: subject of 30 years

220 - 30 = 190 (fcm of the subject)

60% of 190 = 114 bpm (start threshold)

80% of 190 = 152 bpm (limit threshold)

I strongly recommend for trained people not to exceed 75% of their heart rate, for a beginner starting at 60%, and then gradually increasing.

Use the heart rate monitor so ... you will not want to burst your heart unnecessarily

:-)