I have spoken to many patients about using heart rate monitoring while exercising. The reasons are varied:
- To reduce injuries during sports
- More efficient weight loss
- Improve fitness
- Reduce post-exercise fatigue and soreness
- Utilise exercise for reducing stress
The last point is the most important one as the majority of the population are under stress and many use exercises as a form of stress-relief. However, what many people don’t realise, is that over-exercising will increase your stress, not decrease. And over-exercising is a lot easier than you think!
Phil Maffetone developed the 180-Formula 35 years ago. He has recently released an update. Read on to find out how to calculate your optimum exercising heart rate zone and to find out if you are over-stressing your body by over-exercising.
Firstly, calculate your waist-to-height ratio. Your waist should be less than half your height. This is relevant in the second point below.
Next comes the formula.
- Subtract your age from 180.
- Modify this number using the following criteria:
- If you have or are recovering from a major illness (heart disease, any operation or hospital stay, etc.) or are on any regular medication, subtract an additional 10.
- If you are injured, have regressed in training or competition, get more than two colds or bouts of flu per year, have allergies or asthma, or if you have been inconsistent or are just getting back into training, and finally if your waist is more than half your height, subtract an additional 5.
- If you have been training consistently (at least four times weekly) for up to two years without any of the problems in (a) and (b), keep the number (180–age) the same.
The zone you use is between this number and 10 less. So if your number comes out at 145, your zone is between 135 and 145 BPM (beats per minute).
I have been using this system for about 8 years now and experienced great results. It can be frustrating in the beginning, particularly if you are used to running at a reasonable pace and your heart rate holds you back, sometimes even to a walking pace.
So why would you use this formula?
- If you would like to increase your weight loss, as when you are in your optimal zone your fat-burning is much more efficient.
- If you are continually trying to improve your fitness but are training with a heart rate above your optimal zone, you are actually not becoming fitter. You may be getting faster, but you are simply moving faster toward injury and burnout.
- If you have any level of stress in your life (who doesn’t?) including work stress, family pressures, sleep deprivation and conditions such as anxiety and depression, you definitely should be reducing your training and following your optimal heart rate zone. Exercising outside of this will be contributing to your stress levels putting extra pressure on your body.
Example:
Before I fell pregnant, I had run the Adelaide City-to-Bay in under an hour and the Melbourne Half-Marathon in under 2 hours. I was 30 back then, I had been training consistently for about 2 years with no injuries or illnesses. I was running with a heart rate of 140-150 BPM (180 – 30).
During pregnancy I stopped running and have obviously since lost fitness. This fits me into category (b), subtracting an extra 5. However, some women who have difficult pregnancies, caesareans births, long recoveries or require medication and these cases would be in category (a), subtracting an extra 10.
It can be painstaking, feel slow and non-progressive and is particularly challenging for competitive types who like to run fast! But it’s worth it in the long run (no pun intended) 🏃🏼♂️