walk slow or fast

[Midpack]

not much excercise to cut my grass, I sit on the lawnmower. what do you posters use to keep track of your blood pressure and heart rate? and what is the aerobic zone?

Good place to start for answers... Target Heart Rates. Just search "target heart rate" - lots of sources.

Heart rate monitors are pretty cheap (watch & chest band), $50-$100 for a basic model. But they're not required by any means. FWIW even the most basic HRMs have alarms you can set at whatever level you want to let you know when you are below target (ie, series of spaced single beeps) or above target (ie, CONTINUOUS beeping).

Now you’re ready to determine your target training heart rate. As you exercise, periodically:
• Take your pulse on the inside of your wrist, on the thumb side. [While walking, I find it easier to get a pulse on my neck - carotid artery]
• Use the tips of your first two fingers (not your thumb) to press lightly over the blood vessels on your wrist. [Neck]
• Count your pulse for 10 seconds and multiply by 6 to find your beats per minute. [Or count for 6 seconds and multiply by 10 - easier IMO. And a precise number isn't all that important]. You want to stay between 50 percent to 85 percent of your maximum heart rate. This range is your target heart rate.

Your maximum heart rate is about 220 minus your age.

 

[Rambler]

There are a couple main theories on max heart rate and target heart rate out there. Midpack notes the most commonly used (simpler) max HR calculation. If you are interested, here is a calculator for you to try.

http://www.runningforfitness.org/ca...rs/hrzone?minHR=50&maxHR=170&Submit=Calculate

R

 

[frank]

I want to thank all you posters for the great information.

frank

 

[mpeirce]

not much excercise to cut my grass, I sit on the lawnmower.

Getting a bit more exercise is precisely why I use a walk-behind mower and don't pay the neighbor kid/service to do it for me. I also find that I know the yard better - spotting weeds and other problems as I walk the yard each week.