A new training technique that’s becoming popular with serious athletes and newbies alike is heart rate training, which is done on a treadmill. The treadmill is a vital piece of exercise equipment, so much so that it can even be found in most home gyms. It is also the quintessential tool for getting your heart pumping, which is the key to successful heart rate training.
The beauty of the treadmill is it allows you to get your workout done even in inclement weather. Many newer treadmills also have a variety of different routines programmed in, and come with handy HR monitors so you can accurately gauge your heart rate and make your workout as efficient as possible.
Heart rate training is specifically designed to get the heart rate up, which is beneficial for a number of different reasons, including weight loss, weight lifting and overall health improvement. The most common form of heart rate training is done through a short warm up period, intermittent fast and slow jogs, with intense energy, and a longer cool down period. This works to not only increase your metabolic rate for the day, but also the following day. This makes you build muscle faster and burn fast more efficiently, which means you get twice the benefits from half the work.
Below is a more in depth look at the average heart rate training routine.
- Short warm up phase involving 5 minutes of slow, steady walking on the treadmill. For beginners, this can be lengthened to 10 minutes.
- 30 second of intense running for experienced runners. 30 seconds of less intense running, or jogging for beginners.
- 4 minutes of light jogging to catch your breath and regroup.
- Repeat these intervals of heavy running and light jogging for 30-45 minutes.
- Cool down phase 10 to 15 minutes long.
This is just the beginning work. As you get stronger, you can increase the intense running to 1 minute, then 2, while decreasing the period of slower running until you can do 5k on the treadmill with no down time at all. If you’re a regular runner you can use this method to increase your overall speed and endurance, and for beginners this is a good way to go from couch potato to runner in as little as 9 weeks.
During the periods of greater intensity, you should aim for a heart rate of 85% of the max: while in the recovery period shoot for about 50%. This is especially easy due to the fact that the majority of current treadmill models come with heart rate monitors, which prevents errors and gives you a better insight on your body’s overall heart rate. This can help you determine how effective your routine actually is.
Incorporating a heart rate training routine into your workout schedule is a great way to not only give your metabolism a boost, but it also makes exercise interesting and fun. You can reduce the time you spend in plateaus, and more importantly burn extra calories and fat in less time, making you look more toned and fit. Utilizing heart rate training will also increase your endurance, which is a great advantage regardless of your level of training.