Physiological Indicators and what
they tell us about Physical
Fitness
Heart Rate
A persons heart rate (or pulse), refers to the
amount of times their heart beats per minute.
Our heart rates (HR) vary tremendously
depending on the different demands placed
upon it.
(Virtual Heart App)
• Resting Heart Rate (RHR)
A normal resting heart rate can range anywhere from 40 to 100
beats per minute. Below is a chart relating resting heart rate and
fitness level. As can be seen on this chart, your resting heart rate
can vary with your fitness level and with age — the fitter you are
generally the lower the resting heart rate. This is due to the heart
getting bigger and stronger with exercise, and getting more efficient
at pumping blood around the body - so at rest more blood can be
pumped around with each beat, therefore less beats per minute are
required. (the best time to take your RHR is first thing in the
morning when you wake up)
• Maximum Heart Rate
Calculation of Maximum Heart Rate
The easiest and best known method to calculate your
maximum heart rate (MHR) is to use the formula
MHR = 220 – Age
Evidence from USA researchers, Jackson et al. (2007)
identified the following formula as more
accurately reflecting the relationship between age and
maximum heart rate.
MHR = 206.9 - (0.67 x age)
• Heart rate reserve (HRR) is a term used to
describe the difference between a person's
measured or predicted maximum heart rate
and resting heart rate.
Recovery Rate (R-R)
Recovery Heart Rate
Typically you need to work about 8-12 minutes, that's how long it usually takes to
get your pulse going very quickly and to get to the point of maximal exhaustion.
You’d expect heart rates to rise from about 60 or 70 at rest to about 170 / 190 at
peak exercise.
Your recovery heart rate, which you should take one minute after you stop
exercising, indicates how quickly you have recovered from an exercise session.
Physically fit persons generally recover more rapidly because their cardiovascular
systems are more efficient and adapt more quickly to the imposed demands.
The recovery heart rate really has two decreasing phases: the first minute after
exercise, during which the heart rate drops sharply, and the resting plateau, during
which the heart rate gradually decreases. The resting plateau may last as much as
one hour after exercise. Five minutes following exercise, the heart rate should not
exceed 120 beats per minute. After 10 minutes, the heart rate should be below
100 beats per minute. The heart rate should return to its pre-exercise rate
approximately 30 minutes after the exercise session. However, the initial sharp
drop in the heart rate that occurs one minute after the exercise is the most
meaningful indicator of fitness.
• To determine your rate of recovery, use the following
formula:
• Recovery heart rate = (exercise heart rate - recovery heart
rate after 1 minute) / 10
• Monitor your exercise pulse immediately at the end of your
exercise. Exactly one minute after the exercise, take your
pulse again. Subtract the one-minute recovery rate from
the exercise heart rate and divide this figure by 10. The
higher the number for the recovery rate, the more quickly
your heart has recovered from the exercise. Use the
following table to evaluate your recovery rate:
• Condition
• Less than 2
• =
• Poor
• 2 to 2.9
• =
• Fair
•
•
•
•
•
•
3 to 3.9
=
Good
4 to 5.9
=
Excellent
• Above 6
• =
• Outstanding
Recovery Rate Number
How can we use HR to help with
training?
• What Are The Heart Rate Zones?
• Healthy Heart Zone – 50% - 60% of your maximum heart rate. Up to 85%
of the calories burned in this heart rate zone are fat calories! This is a
great target heart rate range for those beginning to work out as there
activities in this range have a low risk of injury. It decreases fat, cholesterol
and blood pressure. You should still be able to talk fairly easily while doing
activities at this heart rate.
• Fat Burning Zone – 60% - 70% of your maximum heart rate. 85% of the
calories burned in this range are also fat calories. The benefits are the
same as in the heart healthy zone only you burn more calories in this
heart range.
• Aerobic Zone – 70% - 80% of your maximum heart rate. More calories are
burned in this range but only 50% of them are fat.This is the best range for
endurance training. The aerobic zone is also the best zone for improving
cardiovascular and respiratory systems.
• Anaerobic Zone – 80% - 90% of your maximum heart rate. Working out in
this zone burns lots of calories but only 15% of them are from fat. The
remaining about of calories burned in this zone is from carbs in your
system and glycogen stored in your muscles. This is the zone in which
lactic acid is produced and the body can’t remove it faster than you are
producing it. This is a performance training zone. People work out in this
zone to improve their lactic acid threshold and their VO2 maximum (the
highest amount of oxygen you can consume during exercise. Tip: if you are
working out to the point that you are completely out of breath you are at
or above this heart rate zone.
• Red Line Zone – 90% - 100% of your maximum heart rate. This is a danger
zone and you should only work out in this zone for brief periods of time
and only if you are in supreme physical condition.
•
• Calculation of a zone value
• The calculation of a zone value, X%, is performed in the following
way:
• Subtract your RHR from your MHR giving us your working heart rate
(WHR)
• Calculate the required X% on the WHR giving us "Z"
• Add "Z" and your RHR together to give us the final value
• Example: The athlete's MHR is 180 and their RHR is 60 - determine
the 70% value
• MHR - RHR = 180 - 60 = 120
• 70% of 120 = 84
• 84 + RHR = 84 + 60 = 144 bpm
•
Peak Training Effect
• Similar to heart rate zones (actually partly based
on heart rate zones, MHR and your VO2 max) is
an exercise analysis (some fancy GPS watches tell
you your PTE) of how hard you are exercising. It
makes sense if you decide to exercise to get the
most out of your workout. Well PTE can analyse
whether you are getting the most out of training
or doing too much.
• Peak Training Effect is an estimate of how hard
you have trained.
PTE
1. Minor Training Effect
This workout improves your recovery time and basic endurance when performing consistently for an hour
or more. In general, though, it does not significantly improve your aerobic performance.
2. Maintaining Training Effect
This workout helps you maintain a consistent level of aerobic performance. It also helps improve your
respiratory and cardiovascular conditions, and will allow you to train at a higher intensity in the future.
3. Improving Training Effect
This workout helps improve your aerobic performance if repeated 2 to 4 times per week. Training at this
level does not yet require the need for specific lengths of recuperation time.
•
4. Highly improving Training Effect
This workout highly improves your aerobic performance, if repeated 1 to 2 times per week. In order to
achieve optimal development, it requires 2 to 3 recuperative workouts (with a Training Effect of 1–2) per
week.
5. Over-reaching Training Effect
This workout helps you greatly improve your aerobic performance, but only if followed by a sufficient
recuperation period. Training at this level requires an extremely high level of exertion and should not be
performed often.
VO2 Max
• VO2 max has been defined as:
• "the highest rate of oxygen consumption
attainable during maximal or exhaustive
exercise" (3).
• As exercise intensity increases so does oxygen
consumption. However, a point is reached where
exercise intensity can continue to
increase without the associated rise in oxygen
consumption. To understand this in more
practical terms, take a look at the diagram below:
VO2 Max
• Fitness can be measured by the volume of oxygen you
can consume while exercising at your maximum
capacity. VO2max is the maximum amount of oxygen in
millilitres, one can use in one minute per kilogram of
body weight. Those who are fit have higher VO2max
values and can exercise more intensely than those who
are not as well conditioned. Numerous studies show
that you can increase your VO2max by working out at
an intensity that raises your heart rate to between 65
and 85% of its maximum for at least 20 minutes three
to five times a week (referenced in French & Long
(2012)
• VO2 max is one factor that can determine an
athlete's capacity to perform sustained exercise
and is linked to aerobic endurance.."
• This measurement is generally considered one of
the best indicators of an athlete's cardiovascular
fitness and aerobic endurance. Theoretically, the
more oxygen you can use during high level
exercise, the more ATP (energy) you can produce.
This is often the case with elite endurance
athletes who typically have very high VO2 max
values.
• Factors affecting VO2max
Genetics plays a major role in a persons VO2 max and heredity
can account for up to 25-50% of the variance seen between
individuals. The highest ever recorded VO2 max is 94 ml/kg/min
in men and 77 ml/kg/min in women. Both were cross-country
skiers (16).
The physical limitations that restrict the rate at which energy
can be released aerobically are dependent upon:
• the chemical ability of the muscular cellular tissue system to use
oxygen in breaking down fuels
• the combined ability of cardiovascular and pulmonary systems
to transport the oxygen to the muscular tissue system
• VO2max and age
• As we get older our VO2max decreases. A
study by Jackson et al. (1995) found the
average decrease was 0.46 ml/kg/min per
year for men (1.2%) and 0.54 ml/kg/min for
women (1.7%). The decline is due to a number
of factors including a reduction in maximum
heart rate and maximum stroke volume.