by Mollie Millington | Feb 19, 2018 | exercise, fitness, technology
When you climb a set of stairs, does your heart rate (also known as pulse) increase? Think back to before you started exercising regularly (ages ago, I know) and was it more difficult to climb the stairs then? With regular exercise your heart, a muscle, will become stronger and be able to stay at a stable heart rate as you climb the same set of stairs. Your heart rate indicates how fit you are. If you are able to keep it steady and low (which is relative to you and your age/size/gender), you are physically strong enough to complete the task at hand.
Heart rate varies from person to person and will change as you age. A heart rate monitor can assist you in your training to make sure you are getting the most out of each session, depending on your training goals. Resting heart rate is when you are sitting or laying still. A god time to measure this is just when you wake up, before you get out of bed (yes you would have to sleep with monitor on). For most people, this would range from 60-100 beats per minute (BPM). The more athletic you are, the lower your heart rate will be. Medications, such as beta blockers, will affect your resting heart rate.
The equation typically used to calculate your maximum heart rate (MHR) is (220- your age). With this you can figure out your heart rate for different exertions. For example, if you are 30 years old: 220-30= 190 (MHR)* 60% effort = 114 BPM and 220-30=190 *85% effort = 161.5 BPM. Again, this is an estimate and will vary based on your established fitness level. There are a few other equations out there that are a bit more completed. You can also take part in a V02 max test or a field test, which will be more accurate at your current fitness level. When you exercise, you can decide how much effort you want to put into a session. The traditional school of thought is low intensity for longer duration if you want to burn fat and work on endurance (50-65% MHR) and higher MHR for aerobic conditioning (65-85%). High intensity and interval training should push you 90-100% with sufficient rest in between to allow heart to recover.
By paying attention to your heart rate, you can train smarter to ensure each minute you spend training is benefiting your overall goals. The data provided lets you know if you can push yourself harder up those hills or during fartleks, rather than the voice in your head telling you to ease up. Your heart rate monitor (and resting heart rate) can also let you know that your body has sufficiently recovered from the previous day’s work out.
The lesson? Start paying attention to your heart rate during a work out and look back to data from previous rides and runs. Look at the pattern over time and check in at a regular interval to see if your resting heart rate is dropping (which indicates improved fitness). Don’t discount recovery or endurance rides on the timetable as these are just as important to heart health. Finally, make sure you have rest built into your diary to give your entire body time to repair from your smarter training.
If you are in the market for a new heart rate monitor, you can read my product reviews here:
Suunto Spartan Trainer
My Zone MZ3
Mio Fuse
Mio Alpha 2
Ready to shop? Read this post on how to select an activity tracker as a gift here
Portions of this post originally appeared on the now defunct H2 Life Blog.
by thinkmarsh | Feb 19, 2018 | exercise, fitness, technology
When you climb a set of stairs, does your heart rate (also known as pulse) increase? Think back to before you started exercising regularly (ages ago, I know) and was it more difficult to climb the stairs then? With regular exercise your heart, a muscle, will become stronger and be able to stay at a stable heart rate as you climb the same set of stairs. Your heart rate indicates how fit you are. If you are able to keep it steady and low (which is relative to you and your age/size/gender), you are physically strong enough to complete the task at hand.
Heart rate varies from person to person and will change as you age. A heart rate monitor can assist you in your training to make sure you are getting the most out of each session, depending on your training goals. Resting heart rate is when you are sitting or laying still. A god time to measure this is just when you wake up, before you get out of bed (yes you would have to sleep with monitor on). For most people, this would range from 60-100 beats per minute (BPM). The more athletic you are, the lower your heart rate will be. Medications, such as beta blockers, will affect your resting heart rate.
The equation typically used to calculate your maximum heart rate (MHR) is (220- your age). With this you can figure out your heart rate for different exertions. For example, if you are 30 years old: 220-30= 190 (MHR)* 60% effort = 114 BPM and 220-30=190 *85% effort = 161.5 BPM. Again, this is an estimate and will vary based on your established fitness level. There are a few other equations out there that are a bit more completed. You can also take part in a V02 max test or a field test, which will be more accurate at your current fitness level. When you exercise, you can decide how much effort you want to put into a session. The traditional school of thought is low intensity for longer duration if you want to burn fat and work on endurance (50-65% MHR) and higher MHR for aerobic conditioning (65-85%). High intensity and interval training should push you 90-100% with sufficient rest in between to allow heart to recover.
By paying attention to your heart rate, you can train smarter to ensure each minute you spend training is benefiting your overall goals. The data provided lets you know if you can push yourself harder up those hills or during fartleks, rather than the voice in your head telling you to ease up. Your heart rate monitor (and resting heart rate) can also let you know that your body has sufficiently recovered from the previous day’s work out.
The lesson? Start paying attention to your heart rate during a work out and look back to data from previous rides and runs. Look at the pattern over time and check in at a regular interval to see if your resting heart rate is dropping (which indicates improved fitness). Don’t discount recovery or endurance rides on the timetable as these are just as important to heart health. Finally, make sure you have rest built into your diary to give your entire body time to repair from your smarter training.
If you are in the market for a new heart rate monitor, you can read my product reviews here:
Suunto Spartan Trainer
My Zone MZ3
Mio Fuse
Mio Alpha 2
Ready to shop? Read this post on how to select an activity tracker as a gift here
Portions of this post originally appeared on the now defunct H2 Life Blog.
by Mollie Millington | Dec 4, 2017 | corrective exercise, exercise, workout
|
| Harvey writing up my homework |
As you can tell from my lack of posting in November, it was a busy month! I have continued to work with the team at Function360. Just about every week, I meet with one of their corrective exercise specialists to develop my strength and flexibility for marathon training. The pain I normally have when running is starting to subside and track is feeling a tad bit easier. Function360 also squeezed me in for an emergency session when I pulled my hamstring (I really hate running for the train). I went in for 30 minutes for some stretching and dry needling. I took it easy the rest of the week and was running again after four days. Previously, the only way I would have treated a pulled hamstring would be to rest it. But now I know better!
Because I only visit Function360 once a week, I am making time to repeat the exercises at home too and even work on my breaks. There are various movements to stretch my Achilles, open my hips and develop my glutes, so I do with best I can with what equipment is available. Luckily, as a personal trainer, I have a lot of kit at home, such as exercise bands, yoga mats, dumbbells, and even a stability cushion. I also have a coach who is always supervising my at-home sessions.
 |
| Deep hip openers |
Keeping my baseline fitness going, I am teaching indoor cycling one night a week at a local gym and hitting up Mile End track on Tuesday night. Advent Running has officially started too, which gives me a goal to exercise for 30 minutes a day. I hope to get a 5K in every day this month to complete this. With the London Winter Run coming up in February, I am toying with the idea of a 10K PB which will have to be sub-50 minutes. My PB is from years ago, so it will take a bit of hard work to get me speedy again. I feel like I have the framework in place though with Function360, track, and now Advent Running.
 |
| Train #4, what I like to call the caboose |
Finally, I am finishing up a 10 week program with Shannon Clifford’s nutritional coaching. It has been an interesting 10 weeks. Two of them I was travelling in the USA, which meant calories were infinite. It also took me about 10 weeks to get a grasp on portion control. I am happy to say I am at my target weight and looking to focus on my macros now that I have calories in check. For example, after I switched from porridge with chia seeds, banana, and honey to eggs, sweet potato and avocado for breakfast, my mid-morning craving have disappeared. It just goes to show that you need to have some protein and fat in your meals to feel satiated (or at least I do).
 |
| I needed all this warm ki over the weekend. The temp in London seems to have dropped. Brrrrrr! |
That’s it from me. Finishing up December with an overcommitted bang, as always! If you want to work with Function360, use my referral code #F360MM15 for 15% off. They are really some of the nicest people in the business. And you can get £3 off registration for London Winter Run with my code PTMOLLIE2018. Entries close 6/12/17 though so book in soon.
by thinkmarsh | Dec 4, 2017 | corrective exercise, exercise, workout
|
| Harvey writing up my homework |
As you can tell from my lack of posting in November, it was a busy month! I have continued to work with the team at Function360. Just about every week, I meet with one of their corrective exercise specialists to develop my strength and flexibility for marathon training. The pain I normally have when running is starting to subside and track is feeling a tad bit easier. Function360 also squeezed me in for an emergency session when I pulled my hamstring (I really hate running for the train). I went in for 30 minutes for some stretching and dry needling. I took it easy the rest of the week and was running again after four days. Previously, the only way I would have treated a pulled hamstring would be to rest it. But now I know better!
Because I only visit Function360 once a week, I am making time to repeat the exercises at home too and even work on my breaks. There are various movements to stretch my Achilles, open my hips and develop my glutes, so I do with best I can with what equipment is available. Luckily, as a personal trainer, I have a lot of kit at home, such as exercise bands, yoga mats, dumbbells, and even a stability cushion. I also have a coach who is always supervising my at-home sessions.
|
| Deep hip openers |
Keeping my baseline fitness going, I am teaching indoor cycling one night a week at a local gym and hitting up Mile End track on Tuesday night. Advent Running has officially started too, which gives me a goal to exercise for 30 minutes a day. I hope to get a 5K in every day this month to complete this. With the London Winter Run coming up in February, I am toying with the idea of a 10K PB which will have to be sub-50 minutes. My PB is from years ago, so it will take a bit of hard work to get me speedy again. I feel like I have the framework in place though with Function360, track, and now Advent Running.
|
| Train #4, what I like to call the caboose |
Finally, I am finishing up a 10 week program with Shannon Clifford’s nutritional coaching. It has been an interesting 10 weeks. Two of them I was travelling in the USA, which meant calories were infinite. It also took me about 10 weeks to get a grasp on portion control. I am happy to say I am at my target weight and looking to focus on my macros now that I have calories in check. For example, after I switched from porridge with chia seeds, banana, and honey to eggs, sweet potato and avocado for breakfast, my mid-morning craving have disappeared. It just goes to show that you need to have some protein and fat in your meals to feel satiated (or at least I do).
|
| I needed all this warm ki over the weekend. The temp in London seems to have dropped. Brrrrrr! |
That’s it from me. Finishing up December with an overcommitted bang, as always! If you want to work with Function360, use my referral code #F360MM15 for 15% off. They are really some of the nicest people in the business. And you can get £3 off registration for London Winter Run with my code PTMOLLIE2018. Entries close 6/12/17 though so book in soon.
by Mollie Millington | Nov 10, 2017 | community, exercise
There never seems to be enough time in the day. You wake up, eat, commute, work, hit the gym, commute, and eat again before heading to bed. As you repeat this routine day in and day out, there isn’t much space in there to give back to your community. What do I mean by community? Your friends, neighbours, colleagues, and people who would benefit from your skills. Here are four examples of initiatives that allow you to multi-task your workouts while helping others.
Like animals?
Cinnamon Trust– Help out the elderly and terminally ill by walking their dogs or playing with their cats. These pets are constant companions for people who might be bound to stay at home due to their health. Their pets have needs too, such as regular exercise too. You can also foster a pet should the owner have to go into the hospital for a few days.
Prefer people?
Good Gym– Founded in London but expanding rapidly across England, this non-profit has two programs to get you sweaty. The first is performing manual labour for people or companies in the local area. As a group, you may run to the selected location and clear a garden for an elder or paint the new community centre. The other aspect to the Good Gym is being pair with a ‘coach’ (an isolated elder). You will literally run to their home for a visit and then run back home again.
Want to empower women?
A Mile In Her Shoes- If you love running and helping women, this charity can use your help. Simply obtain your Leader in Running Fitness with UKA and then volunteer at one of the many run clubs across London. A Mile In Her Shoes work with women who are at risk or affected by issues related to homeless. You can help these women get back on their feet too by encouraging, coaching and running.
Help orphans with Down Syndrome
RODS Racing– This global team of endurance athletes is recruiting athletes. For every mile you run, bike, swim, your pledges and donations will help an orphan with Down Syndrome. RODS raises $15,000 (~£11,000) for one orphan at a time. This is half of the fees incurred for adopting these special kids. Many of the children are from countries where Down Syndrome isn’t understood or accepted. By relieving part of the financial burden, RODS ensures these orphans find a loving home faster.
Do you have other suggestions on how to multi-task your exercise with something else? Do you run to work? Or have ‘moving meetings’? Leave me a comment below with your tips.
 |
| My first ever marathon, repping RODS |
This post originally appeared on the now-defunct H2 Life Blog.
by thinkmarsh | Nov 10, 2017 | community, exercise
There never seems to be enough time in the day. You wake up, eat, commute, work, hit the gym, commute, and eat again before heading to bed. As you repeat this routine day in and day out, there isn’t much space in there to give back to your community. What do I mean by community? Your friends, neighbours, colleagues, and people who would benefit from your skills. Here are four examples of initiatives that allow you to multi-task your workouts while helping others.
Like animals?
Cinnamon Trust– Help out the elderly and terminally ill by walking their dogs or playing with their cats. These pets are constant companions for people who might be bound to stay at home due to their health. Their pets have needs too, such as regular exercise too. You can also foster a pet should the owner have to go into the hospital for a few days.
Prefer people?
Good Gym– Founded in London but expanding rapidly across England, this non-profit has two programs to get you sweaty. The first is performing manual labour for people or companies in the local area. As a group, you may run to the selected location and clear a garden for an elder or paint the new community centre. The other aspect to the Good Gym is being pair with a ‘coach’ (an isolated elder). You will literally run to their home for a visit and then run back home again.
Want to empower women?
A Mile In Her Shoes- If you love running and helping women, this charity can use your help. Simply obtain your Leader in Running Fitness with UKA and then volunteer at one of the many run clubs across London. A Mile In Her Shoes work with women who are at risk or affected by issues related to homeless. You can help these women get back on their feet too by encouraging, coaching and running.
Help orphans with Down Syndrome
RODS Racing– This global team of endurance athletes is recruiting athletes. For every mile you run, bike, swim, your pledges and donations will help an orphan with Down Syndrome. RODS raises $15,000 (~£11,000) for one orphan at a time. This is half of the fees incurred for adopting these special kids. Many of the children are from countries where Down Syndrome isn’t understood or accepted. By relieving part of the financial burden, RODS ensures these orphans find a loving home faster.
Do you have other suggestions on how to multi-task your exercise with something else? Do you run to work? Or have ‘moving meetings’? Leave me a comment below with your tips.
|
| My first ever marathon, repping RODS |
This post originally appeared on the now-defunct H2 Life Blog.
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