Listen to your heart

Updated August 19, 2003

Morning heartrate	Why use a HRM?
Calculate your ATZ	Four formulas

MHR = Morning Heartrate

By taking your heartrate in the morning, before getting up (or having a cup of coffee!), you identify your basic, resting heartrate. This heartrate may vary a little from day to day, but barring a change in your state of health, will remain relatively stable.
If, one morning, you discover that your MHR is significantly higher than usual (by 10 beats per minute for example), that could be the signal of the onset of illness (such as a cold), or of deep fatigue due to over-training. Take it as a warning -- accept it! Adjust your workouts until your MHR returns to normal, either by reducing activity to an easier level, or by taking a few days of rest.
You don't need a heartrate monitor to find your MHR. Just press two fingers to the artery on the side of your neck, and count the beats for one whole minute.

Top

MHR = Morning Heartrate
By taking your heartrate in the morning, before getting up (or having a cup of coffee!), you identify your basic, resting heartrate. This heartrate may vary a little from day to day, but barring a change in your state of health, will remain relatively stable. If, one morning, you discover that your MHR is significantly higher than usual (by 10 beats per minute for example), that could be the signal of the onset of illness (such as a cold), or of deep fatigue due to over-training. Take it as a warning -- accept it! Adjust your workouts until your MHR returns to normal, either by reducing activity to an easier level, or by taking a few days of rest. You don't need a heartrate monitor to find your MHR. Just press two fingers to the artery on the side of your neck, and count the beats for one whole minute.

Why use a Heart Rate Monitor?

Using a heartrate monitor lets you keep track of your heartrate (HR) while engaging in athletic activity. Why would you need to do that?

If one day your HR is significantly higher during an activity, despite the fact that you're doing it the same as usual, it's a sign that your body is more tired than you think. Accept the warning and back off on the intensity until your HR returns to where it usually is.
More than anything, the heartrate monitor serves to tell us that despite the perceived ease of a low-level exercise, we're actually accomplishing something. Its best use is to guide and limit effort during endurance workouts, which are supposed to be of long duration but relatively easy. In such workouts, you should always stay in your aerobic training zone.
Exercising in the aerobic zone works to build endurance. It also comes into play while warming up and for recuperating after intense effort.
You can also use your heartrate monitor to determine rest periods between intervals of hard effort. For example, a workout might specify that active rest should continue until your HR falls to 120 or even 100.

Top

Why use a Heart Rate Monitor?
Using a heartrate monitor lets you keep track of your heartrate (HR) while engaging in athletic activity. Why would you need to do that? If one day your HR is significantly higher during an activity, despite the fact that you're doing it the same as usual, it's a sign that your body is more tired than you think. Accept the warning and back off on the intensity until your HR returns to where it usually is. More than anything, the heartrate monitor serves to tell us that despite the perceived ease of a low-level exercise, we're actually accomplishing something. Its best use is to guide and limit effort during endurance workouts, which are supposed to be of long duration but relatively easy. In such workouts, you should always stay in your aerobic training zone. Exercising in the aerobic zone works to build endurance. It also comes into play while warming up and for recuperating after intense effort. You can also use your heartrate monitor to determine rest periods between intervals of hard effort. For example, a workout might specify that active rest should continue until your HR falls to 120 or even 100.

Calculate your Aerobic Training Zone

Here is an easy-to-use calculator to find your ATZ, given as 2 numbers representing the top and bottom of your Aerobic Training Zone. Four different methods are used to suggest 4 possible ranges for your ATZ!

Male Female
Your age:
Are you in shape? Yes No
(For method 4) Enter your Morning Heart Rate

1 (Simple method) Your ATZ is to beats per minute.
2 (Maffetone method) Your ATZ is to beats per minute.
3 (New York method) Your ATZ is to beats per minute.
4 (MHR-adjusted method) Your ATZ is to beats per minute.
See the next section for the formulas used, with an explanation of why choosing the highest set of numbers (methods 3 & 4) may not be the smart thing to do.
Calculator by Benoît Julien

Top

Calculate your Aerobic Training Zone
Here is an easy-to-use calculator to find your ATZ, given as 2 numbers representing the top and bottom of your Aerobic Training Zone. Four different methods are used to suggest 4 possible ranges for your ATZ! Male Female Your age: Are you in shape? Yes No (For method 4) Enter your Morning Heart Rate 1 (Simple method) Your ATZ is to beats per minute. 2 (Maffetone method) Your ATZ is to beats per minute. 3 (New York method) Your ATZ is to beats per minute. 4 (MHR-adjusted method) Your ATZ is to beats per minute. See the next section for the formulas used, with an explanation of why choosing the highest set of numbers (methods 3 & 4) may not be the smart thing to do. Calculator by Benoît Julien

The 4 formulas for calculating ATZ

The calculator above uses the 4 formulas defined below. Remember that we define your zone as 2 numbers representing the bottom and top of the zone. Below the zone, you're recovering. Above the zone, you are no longer aerobic, but anaerobic. Too many athletes train constantly just above their aerobic zone (or right at the top of it), never putting out a really intense effort (intense but short), nor engaging in easy effort (easy but long). They always train in the grey zone.

Simple method
(Men) P = 220 - age. (Women) P = 226 - age.
ATZ = (70% x P) to (80% x P).
Example for a 50-yr-old male: P = (220 - 50) = 170. 70% = 119. 80% = 136.
So his ATZ = 119~136.
Maffetone method
P = (180 - age) + 5 if you're fit. Bottom of the zone is P minus 10.
Example for a fit 50-yr-old: P = (180 - 50 + 5) = 135.
So his ATZ = 125~135.
New York method
(Men) P = (220 - age). (Women) P = (226 - age). Add +10 if fit.
ATZ = (70% x P) to (80% x P).
Example for a fit 50-yr-old male: P = (220 - 50 + 10) = 180. 70% = 126. 80% = 144.
So his ATZ = 126~144.
MHR-adjusted method
This method takes into account your Morning Heartrate.
(Men) P = (220 - age) - MHR; (Women) P = (226 - age) - MHR. ATZ = ((70% x P) + MHR) to ((80% x P) + MHR).
Example for a 50-yr-old male whose MHR is 54 beats per minute:
P = ((220 - 50) - 54) = 116. 70% = 81.2, + 54 = 135. 80% = 92.8, + 54 = 147.
So his ATZ = 135~147.

Notice that for the same individual these 4 formulas give you different zones! The danger here is to give too much weight to your eagerness to perform, and besides choosing the 4th method for its higher numbers, trying to train always at the top of your zone. But as experienced athletes know well, in training, less is better than more.
It would be interesting to take the fitness test given in the Structured training program, in order to compare the numbers above with your ATZ1 and ATZ2. Could it be that the 1st and 2nd methods correspond to your ATZ1, while the 4th method corresponds to your ATZ2? If that were the case, it would be smart to make use of two different zones, the lower one for active rest, the higher one for endurance training.

Rod Willmot

The 4 formulas for calculating ATZ
The calculator above uses the 4 formulas defined below. Remember that we define your zone as 2 numbers representing the bottom and top of the zone. Below the zone, you're recovering. Above the zone, you are no longer aerobic, but anaerobic. Too many athletes train constantly just above their aerobic zone (or right at the top of it), never putting out a really intense effort (intense but short), nor engaging in easy effort (easy but long). They always train in the grey zone. Simple method (Men) P = 220 - age. (Women) P = 226 - age. ATZ = (70% x P) to (80% x P). Example for a 50-yr-old male: P = (220 - 50) = 170. 70% = 119. 80% = 136. So his ATZ = 119~136. Maffetone method P = (180 - age) + 5 if you're fit. Bottom of the zone is P minus 10. Example for a fit 50-yr-old: P = (180 - 50 + 5) = 135. So his ATZ = 125~135. New York method (Men) P = (220 - age). (Women) P = (226 - age). Add +10 if fit. ATZ = (70% x P) to (80% x P). Example for a fit 50-yr-old male: P = (220 - 50 + 10) = 180. 70% = 126. 80% = 144. So his ATZ = 126~144. MHR-adjusted method This method takes into account your Morning Heartrate. (Men) P = (220 - age) - MHR; (Women) P = (226 - age) - MHR. ATZ = ((70% x P) + MHR) to ((80% x P) + MHR). Example for a 50-yr-old male whose MHR is 54 beats per minute: P = ((220 - 50) - 54) = 116. 70% = 81.2, + 54 = 135. 80% = 92.8, + 54 = 147. So his ATZ = 135~147. Notice that for the same individual these 4 formulas give you different zones! The danger here is to give too much weight to your eagerness to perform, and besides choosing the 4th method for its higher numbers, trying to train always at the top of your zone. But as experienced athletes know well, in training, less is better than more. It would be interesting to take the fitness test given in the Structured training program, in order to compare the numbers above with your ATZ1 and ATZ2. Could it be that the 1st and 2nd methods correspond to your ATZ1, while the 4th method corresponds to your ATZ2? If that were the case, it would be smart to make use of two different zones, the lower one for active rest, the higher one for endurance training.

Top