The relationship between heart rate and calories burned?

tnhiker865

One key factor to include when relating HR to calorie burn is an individual's personal VO2Max. Simply stated, VO2Max is the ability of one's body to utilize oxygen for producing energy that can be used by the muscles. VO2Max is typically expressed in terms that factor-in body weight. People who are not very fit typically have lower VO2Max scores. Even when lesser fit persons' heart rates are elevated, they may not be burning as many calories as a more fit person with the same heart rate and body weight. Knowing your VO2Max score is important if you want to use heart rate as a method of estimating calorie burn. And note, your VO2Max scores will most likely increase as you become more fit. Here's a good website where you can read more about VO2Max and along with several other related factors regarding heart rate and calorie burn: http://www.shapesense.com/fitness-exercise/calculators/vo2max-calculator.aspx#restingheartrate. Note that this website also provides a few different self-tests you can conduct to estimate your personal VO2Max score.