HOW DOES HEART RATE INDICATE EXERCISE QUALITY?

The premise is fairly simple.  HRWT rep rate is slow enough to put the subject muscle group under constant load (If you want to think of the opposite of constant load just think of the guy in the gym doing curl reps at a rate at 1 per second.  Gravity does 1/2 the work -- zero load there.).  The only motion is in the exercised muscle group.  The first recruited muscle group is the smaller, fatigue resistant Type I muscle fibers, then the larger, Type II (subtypes IIa, IIx, and IIb). Any increase in blood flow goes to that muscle group.  Your heart rate increases to address this blood flow and represents muscle fiber recruitment.  The higher the heart rate, the more recruitment. In this workout more recruitment indicates higher quality or intensity.

 

Who should not do HIHRWT?

In-season athletes who perform to TMF.

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DO I NEED TO USE A HEART MONITOR TO MEASURE QUALITY?

That depends on your goals.  Because of the slow cadence, a heart monitor tells you all you need to know about set quality and intensity, but there are other metrics that also provide feedback to exercise quality:

• The obvious: weight selection. Increasing the weight while maintaining the same set time.

• Rep and set duration (if not adhering to 2 minute set) or time under load (TUL).

• Perceived exertion.  How does the rep/set feel?  With no changes in weight or duration, it could feel like you exerted more effort indicating better concentration on the subject muscle group.  Your perceived exertion should also increase if you are stretching your set beyond 120 seconds as in hi-intensity total muscle failure.

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However, if your goal is hi-intensity total muscle failure, a monitor is the best way to go.  Set times will change (They increase if you are perfecting your workout and your weight is not too heavy.).  Heart rate tells the most accurate story.

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CAN I DO OTHER, MORE TRADITIONAL SETS TOO?

Yes!  Especially when your technique is less than perfect and you have not yet developed the necessary strength, endurance and mind-muscle neuron connection. 

 

I BODYBUILD, CAN I USE HRWT?

Yes!  Use the principles of HIHRWT to total muscle failure and allow plenty of time for repair and growth. 

 

 

 

 

More to come.....