Elsey Curtis
All things mathematical spook me. Except maybe numerology as with Glynis the Number Lady. According to her, I’m a five and my husband Chip is an eight. We’re not supposed to be suited for one another chiefly b/c he’s into financial things (numbers!) and I’d rather take off on a trip anywhere else. Nonetheless, we’ve managed to work things out reasonably well along these forty years. Maybe Glynis and I aren’t of the same mind after all? Onto matters of the heart, specifically the functioning body organ.
Did you receive the Lynne Brick’s Fit Tip about determining desirable Maximum Heart Rate and Target Heart Rate Training Zone? The formula is simple enough even for me to understand and involves only subtraction and multiplication. No fractions, algebra, or horrors (!) the “new” math that threw me over the edge in the mid-Sixties.
Step 1: Take the number 220 (why did Lynne choose this number? I don’t get it. As in geometry class, ours is not to ask why or how. We just apply the theorem/formula.) Subtract your age from 220 for the maximum rate your heart should beat while exercising. Check this against the number on the tread’s screen when you hold onto the hand grips. What I don’t like, however, is the warning that appears: “Not recommended to touch hand grips if going over 4 miles per hour,” or some such message.
Who can stay on the tread (it’s boring) long enough to raise their heart rate above standing while traveling as slow as that? Bless the truly dedicated folks that manage to do so. I encounter no such warning on the elliptical so this machine may be a better place to start.
Step 2: Next, multiply the remainder (or quantity after subtraction) attained in Step #1 by 60 % or .60 (in case you’ve forgotten fifth grade). The result is your lowest training target heart rate.
Step 3: To obtain your highest training target heart rate, multiply the remainder attained in Step #1 by 80 % or .80.
I guess the trick in learning these numbers (even easy numbers are inevitably tricky) is to exercise cautiously keeping your ticker beating between the two products (answers) attained in Steps #1 and #2.
But what if you don’t? I recently ran a 5-K (albeit, on the tread) and felt wonderful afterwards even if it was the first time I’d run this distance in a decade. My actual heart rate during the last two laps not only exceeded my Target Heart Rate Training Zone (THRTZ) but my desirable Maximum Heart Rate, as well.
I won’t exactly ignore these numbers in the future. I’m sure to worry about them. Maybe you’ll put them on your list of cares, too. Misery loves company.