Daniel Tyminski is a four-time CrossFit Games athlete, box owner and army combat veteran. As the head coach at CrossFit Lindy and an ISSA-Certified personal trainer, Tyminski is passionate about using his knowledge to help athletes achieve their fitness goals. Follow him on Twitter at @BOOMSAUCE51 and Instagram at @boomsauce39!
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Wearing a heart rate monitor improved my speed, recovery time and overall fitness during the four years I competed in the CrossFit Games. By providing instant feedback, my heart rate monitor allowed me to easily adjust my workout intensity, stay within my target heart rate zone and compete at my highest level once Games season rolled around.
That’s why today, I recommend heart rate training to anyone looking to improve their fitness — whether they’re a competitive athlete or just starting their fitness journey. Here’s why you should track your heart rate and use an activity tracker every time you hit the gym.
A heart rate monitor provides data that shows you how hard you’re working. That information can help you stay in the right heart rate range, or “zone,” while exercising. If you’re starting a new workout routine, staying in the right zone is especially important because it helps prevent injuries and maximize results.
Most workouts recommend using 65-80 percent of your maximum heart rate before increasing the intensity to 90 percent during the final stretch. Monitoring your pulse shows you how much of your maximum heart rate you’re using, making it easy to decide when to slow down, maintain intensity or push yourself to the next zone.
Recovery time is a great way to gauge your physical fitness, and tracking your heart rate can improve your ability to bounce back. Here’s how you can use a heart rate monitor to enhance your recovery time, step by step.
You should see your recovery time drop as you get more fit. To get the most accurate reading, make sure you record your heart rate at each interval every time you work out.
One of the most compelling reasons for using a heart rate monitor is tracking improvements to your fitness level. To do this, I recommend completing a benchmark cardio workout on a monthly basis that involves muscular fatigue — something like a 5k run or row.
Make sure you wear a monitor to track your intensity, recovery time and maximum heart rate. Generally, as you get more fit, the time it takes to complete these workouts will drop, along with your average heart rate.
Heart rate monitors are a great for measuring your fitness. They are easy to use, provide great information and can help improve your cardiovascular health! To get started, find the right heart rate monitoring system for you and add more cardio to your workout routines!
