The heart is one of the most important organs in the human body. With its rhythmic contractions it acts as a pump to supply the all organs of the body with blood.

Exercise increases the heart stroke volume. This improves oxygen absorption, the heart performance improves and the rest pulse is reduced.

While it is not necessary to monitor your pulse in normal daily life, you should monitor your pulse during exercise to protect your heart from overload and to achieve the best results from exercise. The additional physical strain during exercise means that the heart must beat more frequently to compensate for the increased oxygen requirement of the body.

Exercise in the anaerobic range (see table) may overload muscles and heart. People who exercise only occasionally are in the greatest danger of overloading their heart. Some people think that greater exertion can compensate for occasional exercise. This can be particularly dangerous for people with prior conditions who exercise on medical advice. If the heart is overloaded in such cases, one result may be cardiac dysrhythmia. Physical reactions to overload, such as vertigo or nausea, generally occur if the endurance limit has been exceeded.

Monitoring your heart rate is recommended for optimum results from your exercise regime. This will enable you to exercise in the correct heart-rate range for your goal, whether fat reduction or improving performance.

The maximum heart rate is reduced with increasing age. Information on the exercise heart rate must therefore always depend on the maximum heart rate. The general rule given below can be used to determine the maximum heart rate:

• For men: 220 – age = maximum heart rate
• For women: 226 – age = maximum heart rate

Caution: this result is a general reference, because every circulation system is different.
A stress test can give you an accurate result. Warm up first, then sprint three times at maximum speed for two minutes each with one minute for rest between every sprint. If you measure your pulse during the test this will give you your maximum heart rate. You should always have a checkup by your doctor before a stress test of this type. A lactate test should be conducted to determine the performance of the body accurately, because measuring the heart rate with a heart rate monitor is not adequate for this. Your doctor will be happy to help you with this.

You can calculate your individual exercise range by exercise type by a percentage of the maximum heart rate.



With a heart rate monitor you can control your exercise limits depending on the training target and avoid overexertion.