P90X Day 6: What is your Target Heart Rate?

It is always nice to get a bit of a “breather” and still get some great cardio burn. Of the major 6 exercises that are used consistently during the first three weeks of P90X, Kenpo in my opinion is a nice way to fit that need. Kenpo is toward the end of the first week.  It keeps your heart rate up while not doing any high impact exercises on your muscle fibers.

During your workout routine it is always good to look for exercises to help you heal while keeping your heart rate up. Muscle recovery is just as important as the actual exercise. You don’t want to cut that process short or else your muscles will not be able to grow back to their fullest potential. As we have talked about before, bigger muscles means more calorie burn.

Also you have to beware of injury as we mentioned in P90X: Day 5.  Don’t kill yourself and be careful with tight muscles.  My leg muscles were STILL tight going into day six.  So I had to warm up and stretch a little more to get going.

Target Heart Rate Zone:

Being you need lighter impact exercises, this is why it is important to have a heart rate monitor or to be constantly measuring your heart rate.  You want to make sure you are in the proper range where you are burning calories, but not overexerting yourself to the point that it could cause health problems.

Ideally you want your heart rate to be 60-80% of your Maximum Heart Rate during your work out.  Here is an example using the Karvonnen Formula to figure out your ideal heart rate:

1) Figure out your resting heart rate

Put your fingers to your neck or wrist and measure your heart beats for 10 seconds after just waking up in the morning.  Then take that number and multiply by 6. Or go for 30 seconds and multiply it by two.

My Resting Heart Rate (RHR) is 62.

2) 220-age = Estimated Maximum Heart Rate (EMHR)

Example:

220-27=193 EMHR

3) EMHR-RHR = Heart Rate Reserve (HRR)

Example:

193-62 = 131 HRR

4) Fitness level should be 60%-80% of your Maximum Heart Rate (EMHR)

HRR x .6 = HRR Target

HRR x .8 = HRR Target

Example:

131 x .6 =78.6

131 x .8 = 104.8

HRR Target for fitness is 79-105

5) Figuring out your target beats per minute

HRR + RHR = THR at 60%

HRR + RHR =THR at 80%

Example:

79+62 = 141 at 60% Target Heart Rate

105+62=167 at 80% Target Heart Rate

141-167 beats per minute is my target heart rate during exercise to burn maximum calories.

A lot of math.  I know.

It is worth figuring it out and it actually isn’t too difficult.  It will help you know really how intense you are getting in your workouts and how much you may or may not need to push yourself.

Heart Rate Monitor

The easiest way to make sure you are in that target is to have a wrist watch or a body chest strap that can connect to fitness equipment. The wrist watch is cheap and easy, while the chest strap is more accurate and comprehensive.  The body strap call also connect to different machines you are using like treadmills, stair steppers, and elliptical machines. Beachbody provides a Bowflex Strapless Heart Rate Monitor Watch and a Bowflex Heart Rate Monitor Watch with the Strap.  If you are looking to go all out, then Polar USA provides an exceptional heart rate monitor called the Polar USA 90033450 RS800CX G3 Multi Sport Heart Rate Monitor Watch with G3. It comes with Polar ProTrainer 5 software that can be used for analyzing, planning and keeping a training diary

About Cade

Cade is the founder of Know My Body. Sorry...no doctor degree, fancy gym, multi-million dollar fitness program, or label as a self-proclaimed health guru of biblical proportions. He is a common guy just like you. Maybe that helps him get you a bit better.

He has worked the past several years trying to get a grasp of "health knowledgeries" from the perspective of a person working a 9 to 5 job and dealing with the normal and not-so-normal challenges that life gives. Visit our About Page to chew on some more knowledge about Cade and how we want to help you at Know My Body.