Fitness Focus
The Heart, Heart Work
and “The Zone”
Heart disease is the
number one killer of adults in the United States. Early stages of heart disease
can begin as early as the teenage years. Knowledge and a little "heart
work" can help change this statistic.
The heart is a muscular
organ that helps deliver oxygen and nutrients. Arteries (carry blood away from
the heart) and veins (return blood to the heart) are the pathways connected to
the heart that make this possible throughout your entire body.
Regular exercise (frequency ‑ min. 3days/week, intensity ‑ in the zone, time – 20-30 minutes is
recommended to improve or maintain the efficiency of the heart and prevent
heart disease. "Heart
Work" would include such cardiovascular/aerobic activities as walking,
hiking, jogging, biking, swimming, and dancing. Sports such as basketball,
soccer, tennis, and hockey can be cardiovascular if the proper intensity is
maintained.
Monitoring your heart
rate during this kind of activity can maximize the benefits and minimize under
or over training. The "zone" can be established based on your
age. It provides safe and
productive
exercise intensity for your heart. The "zone" can be exceeded with the
proper training. A pulse is easily found at the wrist joint (radial artery) or
on the side of the neck (carotid artery). Try to stay in the target heart
rate zone during
the entire exercise. This is the formula for calculating a target heart rate
zone.
220 ‑ age = maximum
heart rate 220 ‑____ = _____ max.
heart rate
70% of max. heart
rate =
low end of the zone .7 x ____ =
_____ low end of zone
85% of max. heart
rate =
high end of the zone .85 x ____ = ______ high end of zone
Resting heart rate (most accurate early in
the morning lying down) is just one indicator of the condition of the heart.
Normal resting heart rates for teenagers and adults is between 70‑85 beats per
minute. Well-conditioned hearts are between 40 and 60 beats per minute. The
lower the resting heart rate, the more efficient the heart is working. A
greater volume of blood is pushed throughout the body with fewer beats.
1. What is the leading cause of death in the
U.S. among adults?
2. How early can the disease (question #1) begin
to show?
3. Describe or draw the heart and its job in the
body.
4. What is "regular
exercise?”
5. What regular exercise do you get? How often?
How much time?
(over)
6. What is your target heart rate zone? SHOW
YOUR WORK
7. How does a lower resting heart rate make the
heart work more efficiently?
8. Copy the chart below.
1. Determine the "resting heart
rate" of 3 people ‑ you ‑ parent – L.J.H. staff member
2.
Use the resting heart rate of each person to determine how many times
their heart would beat in
5-minutes, 30-minutes, 1 hour, and
24 hours.
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Name |
resting heart rate |
5
min. |
30 min. |
1hr. |
24hrs. |
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