If you’re looking for a little secret weapon to help boost your motivation during the F45 Challenge, you should definitely look at incorporating the use of a heart rate monitor or a fitness tracker. These are great tools for getting data on your workouts—where you were really pushing, where you could have perhaps pushed a little harder, and how you compared to the target heart rate for each session.
What heart rate should I be aiming for in my workout?
Most fitness trackers will have features that give you the ability to track different heart rate zones. The most common ones to look at are fat burn, cardio, or peak zone, and these will be based on a calculation of your maximum heart rate or MHR (a general guide for your MHR is 220 – your age).
Depending on the type of activity you’re doing, aim for 50% to 70% of your maximum heart rate in a medium-intensity workout and between 70% to 85% for high-intensity exercise. This should allow for an effective workout and provide maximum results. At F45, we use Lionheart monitors, where you simply enter your details and wear your monitor during the session. We do all the calculations and targets for each session for you, so you can see your heart rate on the Lionheart screen in the studio and aim to hit 45 points in each session.How do I boost my heart rate to meet my targets in a workout?
It’s easy to adjust the intensity of your exercises if you want to raise your heart rate (or improve your Lionheart scores) in your workouts by adding some simple progressions. In our F45 resistance workouts, we suggest adding a pause or performing the exercises at a slower tempo (3-0-3 or 4-0-1 can be particularly challenging). This gives the added benefit of helping to perfect your technique as you work through the reps. In our F45 cardio workouts, it’s easy to boost your heart rate by speeding up the movement, adding a plyometric element into the exercise, or working to tabata-style intervals for added intensity.
