NordicTrack Walkfit 5000 Owners Guide - Page 18

Monitoring Your Heart Rate Monitoring your heart rate is a crucial part of any exercise program. There are three key I arms to understand when monitoring your heart rate: resting heart rate. maximum heart rate and target heart rate. Resting Heart Rate Take your heart rate before you begin to work out. This is your resting heart rale. After you have finished your aerobic workout and cool-down. take your heart rate again. If you have cooled down properly. your heart rate should have nearly returned to its resting heart rate, it is very important that you cool down slowly in order to return to your resting heart rate. As you become more fit. your resting heart rale may actually decrease. You may also notice that your heart rate begins to return to its resting heart rate more quickly during your cool-down. Taking Your Heart Rate (Pulse) Touch your left wrist. one-fourth of an inch from the wrist joint al the base of thumb, with the index and middle fingertips of your right hand (Figure 1). Relax your left thumb and roll your hand so your palm is facing up. Your right index and middle lingers should remain flat along your felt wrist. Apply minimal pressure with both fingers - let the beat conic to your fingers. Maximum Heart Rate (MHR) Your maximum heart rate is the maximum number of times that your heart can "pump" during a minute. To determine your approximate maximum heart rate. subtract your age tin years) from 220. This will give you a fairly accurate maximum heart rate number. but only clinical stress testing can provide a precise MIR reading, Target Heart Rate Your target heart rate is expressed as a percentage or your maximum heart rate, We recommend that you strive to exercise at 70')4, 10 85% of your maximum heart rate. Beginning exercisers. however. may need to start out with a target heart rate of 60% to 70% of their maximum heart rate. The chart on the next page shows target heart rate ranges for beginner. intermediate and advanced exercisers. Lse the chart to determine the proper target heart rate for your workouts. We recommend that you check your target heart rate at least twice during each aerobic conditioning session. First, check it to he sure that you have reached the proper intensity. Then. check it near the end of your workout to verify that you have maintained your target heart rate for the recommended period of lime. Figure 1 Helpful Hints • Lower your wrist below :your heart level. This ;kW make your heart rate stronger and easier to feel • If you can't find your pulse, try musing the opposite wrist and hand.