It is a known fact that one of the secrets to a long and healthy life is a healthy heart. Not all of us actually take the pains of doing exercises specifically aimed at improving the condition of our heart. Comparatively, most sportspersons have a natural advantage over those of us who lead a sedentary life because they end up exercising and training their heart much more. Training the heart primarily refers to the ability to control the heart rate. As a result, heart rate training becomes imperative for those who aim at leading a healthy life.
There is a simple correlation between the rate at which the heart beats and the amount of oxygen required by the body. For athletes, measuring the heart rate helps in assessing the strength of the exercise undertaken. There are two main advantages of measuring the level of exercise an athlete undergoes. First, it is helpful in ensuring that sportsmen do only such training exercises that are required for their particular sport. Second, by measuring the exercising sessions that an athlete undergoes, a coach can ensure that they are in good training condition and can track their fitness levels prior to a competition.

All said and done, however, one must take some steps to ensure that they are not suffering from any particular ailment before deciding to go for a heart rate training exercise. There are some groups that cannot undertake these exercises unless expressly permitted by a qualified physician. These groups include people with existing ailments like heart problems, bone problems like arthritis or painful joints, and so on. Additionally, those people who are already under medication prescribed for a serious medical condition should not commit to heart rate trainings. Once one is satisfied he is fully ready for heart rate training, he should understand how and why controlling the heart rate matters. The standard technique for measuring a heart rate range is beats per minute or BPM. A BPM of 70 is common for individuals who are in a sedentary or non mobile condition. The heart rate under such conditions is referred to as the ambient heart rate. Those in good health tend to experience a low BPM, especially sportsmen and athletes. Similarly, the maximum heart rate or MHR measures how fast a heart can beat within a minute. One must remember though that a low or high MHR does not in any way indicate good or bad heart rate training – a number of factors can affect the MHR levels.

Directly linked to the MHR levels are the heart zones that one can refer for deciding the intensity of the exercise regime of an athlete. There are five heart rate training zones, each measured at 10% of one’s MHR. These zones are described in detail below:

Zone 1: In this zone, one exercises at a rate equivalent to somewhere between 50% and 60% of the MHR. Also considered to be one of the safest zones, the Zone 1 can be reached by just walking at a brisk pace.

Zone 2: This zone ranges between 60 and 70% of the MHR and can be reached by slow jogging. The main benefit of this zone is that it helps burn calories, especially useful for those looking to lose weight.

Zone 3: Achieved by running, the Zone 3 heart rate training zone aids in improving the lung and heart size.
In addition to these, Zones 4 and 5 are more strenuous heart rate training regimens that place added exercise to the heart beat.