Swimming with Heart Rate

It's time to try swimming with Heart Rate again.

About 20 years ago, I started using heart rate as a guide for all my workouts, as I swam, biked and ran my way through numerous Sprint, Olympic, Half-Ironman and Ironman distance triathlons.  Heart Rate became my Coach.  Heart 
Rate kept me motivated to go harder when I had to do speed work and interval training, and kept me honest when I had to do an easy or recovery workout.  Heart Rate kept me motivated and accountable.  I never did a workout without Heart Rate.  I rose to the top of my game with Heart Rate.  We were inseparable.  Until we parted ways.

Fast forward to today.

Heart Rate is back in my life, although this time around, we're having more fun than ever before.  Heart Rate never lost value, but, the technology had changed significantly enough that it needed to be revisited.  Gone are the chest straps that wouldn't always work in the water and were uncomfortable to wear.  (I had heard stories of men who used duct tape to secure the chest strap to their chest for swimming!  Ouch!)  Today, we are using arm bands securely affixed to the upper arm, Big Board displays, iPad's and iPhones.  (Notebooks and other smart devices work also.)  I had an opportunity to demo this new product during a recent trip to Sacramento, while visiting Sally Edwards and her team at HeartZones.  

The "Heart Zones System" combines user friendly hardware with software to create a personalized experience for users.  Since I was demo'ing this product by myself in the pool, I made a few modifications:

1. I used the water friendly armband to send my heart rate via Ant+ technology.
2. I used the Heart Zones bridge, to receive the signal.  Think of the bridge as a "gatherer of signals".
3. The signal was then sent to an iPad, which was placed at the end of my swim lane, on a tripod.  
4. The iPad was opened to the Heart Zones PE App to get realtime data during my swim.  It's large numbers were easy to see (and can accommodate a large group of users at the same time.)
5. After the workout, I was able to send a copy of the workout to my email.  Here's a copy of my workout.

I have since swam with the arm band utilizing my iPhone and the Heart Zones Training App.  I simply placed my iPhone in a ziplock bag and placed it at the end of my swim lane.  This kept my phone safe and dry, while allowing me to see my heart rate displayed in big numbers (useful for those with poor vision, who are unable to read heart rate on a small wrist monitor).  The arm band remains comfortable to wear in the pool.  I'm able to use either maximum heart rate to set my zones, or T1 and T2 to set my thresholds.

Twenty years have gone by, and technology has definitely made it easier to give us big data in real time.  I'm a fan of Heart Rate - my old coach, who is back in my life and I'm looking forward to seeing how we can move heart rate into more clubs and pools across the country.

If you have any questions about swimming with heart rate, please feel free to contact me at your convenience at kathy@365fitt.com.

Swimming 365fitt,

Kathy

Free Workout Friday: ZONING Fitness

It's not often we get to learn how to do cardio exercise.  After all, don't we know how to exercise?

Not according to Sally Edwards, owner of Heart Zones USA and ZONING Fitness.  I've worked with Sally a lot over the last couple decades.  We've poured over volumes of fitness journals and books and have done exhaustive internet searches on the subject.  We've talked to the experts in the physiology lab, P.E teachers in the schools, and the medical community.  We've talked to dozens of manufacturers of fitness equipment and accessories.  

Together, we've trained thousands of people to use their heart as their guide to exercising.  

So, why their heart?  Because, it's the heart that pumps blood throughout the body, supplying blood to the working muscles and organs of the body.  It's the heart that responds to exercise by beating faster, and responds to rest by beating slower.  The human heart is an amazing organ that can be trained to be stronger.  

It's called cardiovascular fitness, and it can be measured by a simple device called a heart rate monitor.  The heart rate monitor actually measures the activity of the heart, as measured in beats per minute.  It's intensity is really the only way to know if you're working out hard enough.

For many people, just getting the heart pumping is the goal. 

Here's how:

When you take your new heart rate monitor out of the box and strap it on (follow directions - it's pretty easy), take note of your heart rate.  This is called Ambient heart rate and it is a measure of your current heart rate at rest, but in an awake and alert state.  Now, walk around for the next couple minutes.  Your heart rate should increase slightly.  You're doing it!  You're getting your heart to speed up and pump more blood throughout your entire body!  That's the goal.

Now, Sally in her exercise video above, wants you to see how easy exercise really can be.  Watch the video and you'll get a good idea.  

But, here's what you do:

Strap on your heart rate monitor and get your heart rate to increase 5-10 beats if this is your first time exercising.  If you've exercised before, maybe you can get your heart rate up 10-20 beats while doing an activity of your choice.  Try to keep your heart rate elevated for 5-20 minutes.  Try to keep going, though, even if you feel like stopping.  It's better to slow down and lower your heart rate than to stop moving around completely. 

Do this every day.  Don't stop.  

If you're moving around comfortably now, it's time for the second step, which is programming your new heart rate monitor to actually blink the right colors, and keep you in the right zone for exercising.  To do this, you can program your monitor for YOUR zones.  Watch this other video for those instructions which are pretty easy.  Once you program your monitor, you're really ready for what ZONING Fitness is all about:

5 minutes Blue
20 minutes Yellow
5 minutes Blue

I'm here to help you if you need help figuring out how to exercise, put on a heart rate monitor, figure out your numbers, or how to get going.  It's what I do, and I'm an expert.

If' you'd like to order the heart rate monitor that is recommended in this video, and recommended by Sally and myself, order the Blink 2 from www.365fitt.com, or email me.  I'll be happy to answer your questions.

365fitt is about training for the event called LIFE, focusing on physical, nutritional and emotional wellness through lifestyle adaptations.  Kathy is available for personal training and wellness consultations and corporate wellness.  365fitt invites you to participate in a Healthy Active Living trip to incredible destinations.  Please visit 365fitt for more information.  Live 365fitt!