Physiological Indicators and what they tell us about Physical

Fitness

Heart Rate

A persons heart rate (or pulse), refers to the amount of times their heart beats per minute.

Our heart rates (HR) vary tremendously depending on the different demands placed upon it.

(Virtual Heart App)

• Resting Heart Rate (RHR)

A normal resting heart rate can range anywhere from 40 to 100 beats per minute. Below is a chart relating resting heart rate and fitness level. As can be seen on this chart, your resting heart rate can vary with your fitness level and with age — the fitter you are generally the lower the resting heart rate. This is due to the heart getting bigger and stronger with exercise, and getting more efficient at pumping blood around the body - so at rest more blood can be pumped around with each beat, therefore less beats per minute are required. (the best time to take your RHR is first thing in the morning when you wake up)

• Maximum Heart RateCalculation of Maximum Heart RateThe easiest and best known method to calculate yourmaximum heart rate (MHR) is to use the formulaMHR = 220 – Age

Evidence from USA researchers, Jackson et al. (2007) identified the following formula as more

accurately reflecting the relationship between age and maximum heart rate.

MHR = 206.9 - (0.67 x age)

• Heart rate reserve (HRR) is a term used to describe the difference between a person's measured or predicted maximum heart rate and resting heart rate.

Recovery Rate (R-R) Recovery Heart Rate Typically you need to work about 8-12 minutes, that's how long it usually takes to get your

pulse going very quickly and to get to the point of maximal exhaustion. You’d expect heart rates to rise from about 60 or 70 at rest to about 170 / 190 at peak exercise.

Your recovery heart rate, which you should take one minute after you stop exercising, indicates how quickly you have recovered from an exercise session. Physically fit persons generally recover more rapidly because their cardiovascular systems are more efficient and adapt more quickly to the imposed demands.

The recovery heart rate really has two decreasing phases: the first minute after exercise, during which the heart rate drops sharply, and the resting plateau, during which the heart rate gradually decreases. The resting plateau may last as much as one hour after exercise. Five minutes following exercise, the heart rate should not exceed 120 beats per minute. After 10 minutes, the heart rate should be below 100 beats per minute. The heart rate should return to its pre-exercise rate approximately 30 minutes after the exercise session. However, the initial sharp drop in the heart rate that occurs one minute after the exercise is the most meaningful indicator of fitness.

• To determine your rate of recovery, use the following formula: • Recovery heart rate = (exercise heart rate - recovery heart rate

after 1 minute) / 10

• Monitor your exercise pulse immediately at the end of your exercise. Exactly one minute after the exercise, take your pulse again. Subtract the one-minute recovery rate from the exercise heart rate and divide this figure by 10. The higher the number for the recovery rate, the more quickly your heart has recovered from the exercise. Use the following table to evaluate your recovery rate:

• Condition• Less than 2 Recovery Rate Number

• =• Poor

• 2 to 2.9• =• Fair

• 3 to 3.9• =• Good• 4 to 5.9• =• Excellent

• Above 6• =• Outstanding

How can we use HR to help with training?

• What Are The Heart Rate Zones?

• Healthy Heart Zone – 50% - 60% of your maximum heart rate. Up to 85% of the calories burned in this heart rate zone are fat calories! This is a great target heart rate range for those beginning to work out as there activities in this range have a low risk of injury. It decreases fat, cholesterol and blood pressure. You should still be able to talk fairly easily while doing activities at this heart rate.

• Fat Burning Zone – 60% - 70% of your maximum heart rate. 85% of the calories burned in this range are also fat calories. The benefits are the same as in the heart healthy zone only you burn more calories in this heart range.

• Aerobic Zone – 70% - 80% of your maximum heart rate. More calories are burned in this range but only 50% of them are fat.This is the best range for endurance training. The aerobic zone is also the best zone for improving cardiovascular and respiratory systems.

• Anaerobic Zone – 80% - 90% of your maximum heart rate. Working out in this zone burns lots of calories but only 15% of them are from fat. The remaining about of calories burned in this zone is from carbs in your system and glycogen stored in your muscles. This is the zone in which lactic acid is produced and the body can’t remove it faster than you are producing it. This is a performance training zone. People work out in this zone to improve their lactic acid threshold and their VO2 maximum (the highest amount of oxygen you can consume during exercise. Tip: if you are working out to the point that you are completely out of breath you are at or above this heart rate zone.

• Red Line Zone – 90% - 100% of your maximum heart rate. This is a danger zone and you should only work out in this zone for brief periods of time and only if you are in supreme physical condition.

•

• Calculation of a zone value• The calculation of a zone value, X%, is performed in the following way:• Subtract your RHR from your MHR giving us your working heart rate (WHR)• Calculate the required X% on the WHR giving us "Z"• Add "Z" and your RHR together to give us the final value

• Example: The athlete's MHR is 180 and their RHR is 60 - determine the 70% value

• MHR - RHR = 180 - 60 = 120• 70% of 120 = 84• 84 + RHR = 84 + 60 = 144 bpm•

Peak Training Effect

• Similar to heart rate zones (actually partly based on heart rate zones, MHR and your VO2 max) is an exercise analysis (some fancy GPS watches tell you your PTE) of how hard you are exercising. It makes sense if you decide to exercise to get the most out of your workout. Well PTE can analyse whether you are getting the most out of training or doing too much.

• Peak Training Effect is an estimate of how hard you have trained.

PTE 1. Minor Training EffectThis workout improves your recovery time and basic endurance when performing consistently for an houror more. In general, though, it does not significantly improve your aerobic performance. 2. Maintaining Training EffectThis workout helps you maintain a consistent level of aerobic performance. It also helps improve yourrespiratory and cardiovascular conditions, and will allow you to train at a higher intensity in the future. 3. Improving Training EffectThis workout helps improve your aerobic performance if repeated 2 to 4 times per week. Training at thislevel does not yet require the need for specific lengths of recuperation time.• 4. Highly improving Training EffectThis workout highly improves your aerobic performance, if repeated 1 to 2 times per week. In order toachieve optimal development, it requires 2 to 3 recuperative workouts (with a Training Effect of 1–2) per week. 5. Over-reaching Training EffectThis workout helps you greatly improve your aerobic performance, but only if followed by a sufficientrecuperation period. Training at this level requires an extremely high level of exertion and should not beperformed often.

VO2 Max

• VO2 max has been defined as:• "the highest rate of oxygen consumption attainable

during maximal or exhaustive exercise" (3).• As exercise intensity increases so does oxygen

consumption. However, a point is reached where exercise intensity can continue to increase without the associated rise in oxygen consumption. To understand this in more practical terms, take a look at the diagram below:

VO2 Max• Fitness can be measured by the volume of oxygen you can

consume while exercising at your maximum capacity. VO2max is the maximum amount of oxygen in millilitres, one can use in one minute per kilogram of body weight. Those who are fit have higher VO2max values and can exercise more intensely than those who are not as well conditioned. Numerous studies show that you can increase your VO2max by working out at an intensity that raises your heart rate to between 65 and 85% of its maximum for at least 20 minutes three to five times a week (referenced in French & Long (2012)

• VO2 max is one factor that can determine an athlete's capacity to perform sustained exercise and is linked to aerobic endurance.."

• This measurement is generally considered one of the best indicators of an athlete's cardiovascular fitness and aerobic endurance. Theoretically, the more oxygen you can use during high level exercise, the more ATP (energy) you can produce. This is often the case with elite endurance athletes who typically have very high VO2 max values.

• Factors affecting VO2max

Genetics plays a major role in a persons VO2 max and heredity can account for up to 25-50% of the variance seen between individuals. The highest ever recorded VO2 max is 94 ml/kg/min in men and 77 ml/kg/min in women. Both were cross-country skiers (16).

The physical limitations that restrict the rate at which energy can be released aerobically are dependent upon:

• the chemical ability of the muscular cellular tissue system to use oxygen in breaking down fuels

• the combined ability of cardiovascular and pulmonary systems to transport the oxygen to the muscular tissue system

• VO2max and age• As we get older our VO2max decreases. A

study by Jackson et al. (1995) found the average decrease was 0.46 ml/kg/min per year for men (1.2%) and 0.54 ml/kg/min for women (1.7%). The decline is due to a number of factors including a reduction in maximum heart rate and maximum stroke volume.