Heart Rates
What's Good - What's Not?
Plan on charting your heart rate throughout the semester. No smart phone no worries. We have Polar Heart Rate monitors available for you at school.
WHY TRACK YOUR HEART RATE?
OPTIMIZE AEROBIC FITNESS LEVELS
Regular exercise makes the heart stronger and more efficient needing fewer beats per minute to do it's job. "Generally" a lower resting heart rate indicates a good aerobic fitness level. See levels in the chart below.
MEET YOUR FITNESS GOALS
Heart rate monitors can help you reach your fitness goals. Are you an elite competitor, do you just want to maintain a healthy fitness level, or do you want to lose weight safely? A heart rate monitor can monitor progress and help you achieve your goals.
EXERCISE SAFELY
How do you know how hard your heart is working if you do not measure your beats per minute? A heart rate monitor will keep you on pace and can alert you if you have exceeded your maximum heart rate or alert you if you have not reached your low end of the target heart rate zone.
GENERAL RESTING HEART RATE CATEGORIES & RANGES
- Marathon runner = 45-60 Beats per minute while at rest
- Fit individual = 60-75 Beats per minute while at rest
- Not so fit = 70-85 beats per minute while at rest
- Not so fit smoker = 80-110 beats per minute while at rest
- Not so fit obese smoker = 90-120 beats per minute while at rest
To find your resting heart rate, before you get out of bed in the morning find your pulse, count how many beats occur in 6 seconds and add a zero to that number to find your resting heart rate.
Review
Tracking your heart rate is important to optimize fitness levels, meet your goals, and to exercise safely! After the completion of the state mandated Fitnessgram we will be finding many ways to track your progress. Relax, don't stress and enjoy the process along the way!
Tuesday and Thursday Extra Time
William Penn students only can stay after with me on Tuesday and Thursday after school to improve your academics, and fitness levels. Check my website each Tuesday and Thursday to see the activity for that day. It could be tennis, ultimate frisbee, walking club, ping pong, or academic work.
Email: lminka@colonial.k12.de.us
Website: http://wppe.weebly.com
Location: 713 East Basin Road, New Castle, DE