Many people aim to lose weight, but don’t know where to start. Often, they begin doing cardio and lose 5 or even 10 pounds, but then nothing. It’s frustrating when you watch what you eat, do exercise, and don’t see any results. One of the biggest mistakes people make while trying to lose weight is not listening to their heart.
When you train with a personal trainer, the first thing he does is monitor your heart rate. Heart rate training allows you to exercise at the right intensity for burning fat, strengthening your muscles, and your cardiovascular system.
Just think about when you run up the stairs in a hurry, many times you lose your breath or feel your heart pumping hard. The same thing happens when you exercise. A heart rate monitor is a good investment when you’re trying to exercise or lose weight.
Target Heart Rate
Males: Subtract your age from 220
Women: Subtract your age from 226
For example: 35 year old: 220-35=185 heartbeats per minute
This is the estimated heartbeats per minute
When you monitor the percentage of your maximum heart rate you can achieve your goals:
- Fat burning: 50%
- Aerobic: 60-70%
- Steady or tempo: 70-80%
- Hard workout: 80-90%
- Maximum-over 90%
One of the mistakes that people make is exercising at the same pace, while it may work for shorts periods of time, you’re not maximizing the full potential of your body. Many times you can even hurt yourself or feel weak if you push yourself too hard, feel shortness of breath, and tired. Try to get the most out of your workout by changing the intensity and you’ll see the results.