lost more weight than in the previous two years, and her work-
outs now gave her energy. In time she was able to go back to
the advanced aerobics class and walk with her friends while
maintaining a 140 heart rate.Using a heart monitor during weight training won’t show that
you’re aerobic or anaerobic; you’re always anaerobic when lifting
weights or doing push ups, pull ups or sit ups. When wearing a heart
monitor during weight-lifting, for example, your heart rate continues
to increase as you lift the weight. But before your heart rate reaches
its normal peak, your muscle has fatigued and you’ve stopped the
repetition.
Once you find your maximum aerobic heart rate, you can create
a convenient range that starts 10 beats below that number. Most heart
monitors can be set for your range, providing you with an audible
indication if your heart rate goes over or under your preset levels. Set
yours at the maximum aerobic rate you determined. Most monitors
also provide for a low setting, which could be 10 below the high. This
gives you a comfortable range. For example, if your maximum aero-
bic heart rate is 145, then the low would be 135; set the monitor for a
range between 135 and 145. It’s not absolutely necessary to work out
in your range — you just don’t want to exceed it. If you’re more com-
fortable exercising under that range, you will still derive good aerobic
benefits.
Perceived Exertion
The 180 Formula applies to all activities (except weight-lifting and
other strictly anaerobic training). At the same heart rate, different
types of exercise require about the same levels of metabolic activity.
So whether you’re swimming, biking or walking, many physiological
parameters are the same, and the 180 Formula applies to all of them.
However, there’s a difference in how you feel between different activ-
ities while exercising at the same heart rate. This is called the per-
ceived exertion; it’s a subjective feeling you have about how easy or
hard the workout seems. Running at a heart rate of 140, for example,
has a perceived exertion that’s lower than swimming at that rate. That
is, swimming at a 140 heart rate (given the same physical know-how)
HEART-RATE MONITORING • 201