Figuring out your target heart rate zones for your workout is a pretty simple equation: 220 minus age times the percentage you're shooting for. But this formula leads to a number that many sports trainers find low. They use an alternative equation that contains a few more steps. If you are looking for an alternative method of finding your max heart rate and target zones, learn this alternate Read more

You've heard me talking about them and you've probably seen them on people at the gym: Heart Rate Monitors. Duh, duh dom. I know they can seem scary and you may be thinking my heart is fine, I don't need to monitor it. True as that may be, heart rate monitors are used as a training tool more than a heart health monitoring device. They are not only for people with known heart conditions, everyone Read more

When you're working out, it's important to know what your target heart rate is so you can maximize your exercise time. You want to get your heart rate up high enough that you are working your heart and lungs, but not so high that you can't maintain your pace and need to stop. Your Read more

Have you noticed that since working out your resting heart rate is lower than it was? This is no cause for alarm as most athletes (yup, you're an athlete now) generally have low heart rates. Runner's World gives us this analogy: ...consider a bricklayer lifting bricks. If his arm muscles are strong from lifting lots of bricks, he can move 10 bricks with each lift rather than just two or three. Read more

So you've been doing tons of crunches to get rid of your gut, and you feel the difference. But you've got to press through a layer of flab to feel it. What gives? Even if you do your ab work out every day, you're strengthening your belly, but not doing anything about the layer of fat above your washboard stomach. The answer? To lose the fat you have to combine all those abdominal crunches with Read more

To diversify your work out even more, try alternating between the TreadMill and the Elliptical in this boredom busting program. Hop on the TreadMill and run one mile or 10 minutes, whichever comes first. When you're done, get off the TreadMill. Now, immediately get on an Elliptical machine and go for one mile or 10 minutes, whichever comes first. Now get back on the TreadMill and repeat the Read more

OK so after playing around in the Fit's Calculator, you've figured out that you don't like taking your heart rate manually -- Too much work involved. You've probably seen other people sporting their heart rate monitor watches at the gym but are you a little intimidated by them? It seems a little scary to go to the store and buy your own, especially when you may have no idea what you are getting Read more

So I've been telling you to get your heart rate up a lot recently and maybe you understand why but maybe you don't. Here is the rundown as to why you should care: Knowing your target heart rate lets you measure your initial fitness level and monitor your progress in a fitness program. There is a mathematical equation that allows you to find your resting heart rate and then you multiply it by Read more