How efficient are you being in your workouts? Are you at the gym just to say you went to the gym or are you doing your best to maximize your time and make the most of your workouts? If you are on a tight schedule like myself then you need to maximize your time at the gym. A nice way to do this is by wearing a heart monitor during your workouts.

A heart rate monitor makes sure you’re intensity level is right in between being “too high” or “too low”.   The goal is to stay within your optimal heart rate target zone. This zone varies between individuals.  A rough estimate of your Heart Rate Maximum is:

HRmax =220- your age

The Heart Rate Association states your target heart rate zone should be 50-85% of this number. Personally, I like to stay within the range of 125 -160 bpm.

My favorite zone is the aerobic zone where the body burns mainly carbohydrates and fats.  It is 70-80% of HRmax. This number ends up being between 130 and 150 for me.

Since I’m Type A personality and like to keep track of everything, wearing a heart rate monitor has been great. I love making the most of my time and getting optimal results at they gym.

I didn’t wear a heart rate monitor for the longest time but since I have I’ve been getting to my competition goal weight faster but not too fast where I’m losing muscle.  If you aren’t already using a heart rate monitor I hope you’ll give it a try. You’ll love the results!
 
– Natalie