Can tracking your heart rate provide faster fitness results?

We certainly believe it can. Tracking your heart rate enables you to train at an optimal intensity, this alone is key to achieving results. Monitoring your heart rate allows you to clearly identify when you need to step up the pace of your workout or when to slow it down.

A study in 2014 demonstrated the impact of HR monitors on intensity levels with participants wearing trackers able to more accurately identify when their intensity rates were low than those not wearing them. Continually working at optimal intensity is going to deliver results faster than consistently training at a lower intensity.

Additionally, knowing when to slow it down can also have an impact on the speed of your results. An HR tracker will tell if you are working too hard, pushing your body more than you should. Overexerting or overtraining can lead to injury or ill-effect and could result in you having to take a complete break from training.

At Reset Fitness, we make heart rate tracking simple, easy and fun for our members. It’s an integral part of our concept, we provide recommendations as to what percentage of their maximum heart rate members should be working at during different stages of the class. We make HR tracking effortless by projecting members heart rates on studio TVs. We’ve also partnered with Myzone to enhance the in-studio experience and make it even easier for members to identify which heart rate zone they are working in.

We also see HR trackers as a great motivational tool. During class, our Coaches can use the information on our HR TVs to see which members need encouragement and support to step up their work rate. Coaches can also give a congratulatory shout out to members that are working at the recommended rate. Members also enjoy seeing how their work rate changes throughout the class and challenging themselves to progress through the heart rate zones.

Regardless of their individual fitness goals (i.e. weight/fat loss, muscle gain), HR tracking gives our members insight into their overall fitness level and progress, something that also inspires commitment to their fitness journey and pursuit of results. If members continually monitor their heart rate, they are able to note changes to both their resting and maximum heart rates. For reference, the normal resting heart rate for adults is between 60-100 beats per minutes (bpm), while a person’s maximum heart rate can be calculated by deducting their age from 220.

Consistent activity helps the heart to pump more efficiently, this in turn can lower your resting heart rate and increase your maximum heart rate. If your exertion level stays the same but your bpm is lower during workouts, that’s a good indicator that you’re getting fitter, and your aerobic capacity is improving. During cool down, your heart rate should recover more quickly as you progress through your fitness journey.

By optimising work rates, delivering motivation and easily identifiable fitness progression, we believe HR tracking can keep you accountable, inspired and committed to achieving your fitness goals within a faster period.

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