Pat House 12/14/13 Heart Rate Paper The importance of Resting Heart rate lies in its indication of baseline

intensity of heart activity. The lower it is, the more efficient and healthy it is.1 The best time to take a measurement of your resting heart rate zone is when you are at a resting disposition. This is a time when physical activity and other stressors are not being stressed. A resting heart rate is not one that is done right after anaerobic or aerobic exercise. The best way to check it is to place your index and ring fingers on several spots of your body which are in contact with major veins and arteries. These places are located, respectively, on the carotid artery on the inner neck and the radial veins on the wrist. The pulses of blood flowing through the veins should be counted for 15 seconds and then multiplied by four to get a bpm or Beats per minute. At the time of this writing I am at 76 bpm which is a near resting heart rate for myself. Cardiac drift is a powerful inhibition to vigorous exercise, it is a phenomenon which is marked by decreased blood flow in the arteries and the aorta, which is the main pipeline for blood entering and exiting the heart. It is often caused by a depletion of nutrients that are replenished with proper hydration2These problems include electrolyte deficiency, these problems can make a person tired and otherwise unable and unmotivated by the fatigue they feel. These problems can persist if proper hydration is not fulfilled. The fatigue is also not related to the exercise and can be deceptive in the intensity of the exercise. Even if you take your heart rate it can be misleading towards your intensity level during the exercise. This further drives home the point of hydration and its importance. The cardiac drift associated with dehydration contributes to strokes and other cardiovascular issues. Heart Rate intensity measuring is a far more accurate measurement than subjective introspective analysis. It is a more objective measurement than the analysis. It has more science behind it in terms of the importance3 to overall health. It is always good to be on the safe side with workouts and not prolong a painful workout in the pursuit of a target heart rate but generally the workout necessary for the workout is easily manageable. I think that Maximum heart rate zones are scientifically and medically valid so it is appropriate to base workouts on these zones. But caution is always paramount to working out and subjective measurements are useful in maintaining a safe workout routine and not injuring oneself.

"Target Heart Rates - American Heart Association." 2011. 1 Jan. 2014 <http://www.heart.org/HEARTORG/GettingHealthy/PhysicalActivity/Target-HeartRates_UCM_434341_Article.jsp> 2 Coyle, EF. "Cardiovascular Drift During Prolonged Exercise: New Perspectives." 2001. <http://www.uni.edu/dolgener/cardiovascular_phys/Electronic%20Articles/Cardiovascular%20Drift.pdf> 3 "ACE Fit | Heart Rate Zone Calculator." 2012. 2 Jan. 2014 <http://www.acefitness.org/acefit/healthy_living_tools_content.aspx?id=7>