By Therese Iknoian

Let’s get right to the point. You’ve heard the terminology and you want to fit the pieces together. Heck, you want to understand the pieces too!

• Maximum Heart Rate — The fastest and hardest your heart muscle can beat (contract) without, well, not being able to beat any faster. This is your red-line. Our maximums drop slowly as we age, but they don’t drop as fast or as much if we stay fit or get fit.
• Target Heart Rate — The bulls-eye number or range that is your target for workouts because of your fitness, health, or performance goals. There are five Target Zones, but you may shift your target from zone-to-zone from day-to-day. Or you might shoot for one all the time.
• Target Zones — Don’t be confused by all the names and categories out there. Some people like to make three or four zones out of the range of possibilities, and that’s OK. Your target might just be a narrower part of one of those. And don’t be boggled by different names; they are basically the same thing: very easy, easy, medium, hard and very hard. You can read about the details of these in the Total Fitness Network story on deciphering training zones.
• Training Heart Rate — Simply put, the zone where you choose to train. That training heart rate could be different from day-to-day, or the same, again depends on your goals.
• Resting Heart Rate — This is the lowest your heart will beat when you are doing nothing. A true resting heart rate would be taken first thing in the morning, before you’ve had any caffeine, with an empty bladder, before you’ve gotten out of bed, or roused for any reason. Some people can get a very accurate estimate of their resting rate, then compare it day-to-day or week-to-week to help them determine if they are stressed or over-tired. If your morning rate goes up, you might need a day off, or you might even be getting sick. Learn to listen to your resting heart rate.
• Ambient Heart Rate — Not really a technical term, but you might hear it used occasionally. This is your heart rate during the day when you aren’t really doing anything, but it’s not truly resting either. Just your pulse hanging around. It can still be revealing if you take it at the same time, in the same circumstances daily.

Now that you got the terminology down, you’re ready to take on the Total Fitness Network Heart Rate Calculator.