Aerobic Interval Training with Heart Rate Monitor
Aerobic interval training guided by heart rate monitors, alternating blocks in a high and a low heart rate zone. Students build aerobic endurance, learn to self-regulate intensity and read and interpret their data.
How to play
- Zone calculation (3 min): each student calculates estimated max heart rate (220 minus age) and their training zones: high at 80–85 % and low at 60–65 %.
- Warm-up (4 min): easy jog, checking that the monitor is reading correctly.
- Intervals (20 min): 4 blocks of 3 minutes in the high zone and 2 minutes in the low zone, running a 200 m loop marked with cones.
- Pace adjustment: during each block, check the monitor and speed up or slow down to stay in the target zone; the teacher signals changes with the whistle.
- Cool-down (2 min): easy walking until heart rate drops below 110.
- Recording (1 min): write down average HR for each block and time in zone, then discuss with a partner.
Rules
- Everyone runs at their own pace based on their heart rate, not their partner's.
- Stop and tell the teacher if you feel dizzy, have chest pain or feel unwell.
- Run on the outside of the loop and pass on the left.
- Put the monitor on properly before starting and take care of it afterward.
Variations
Easier
3 intervals of 3 minutes in the high zone with 3 minutes in the low zone.
Standard
4–5 intervals of 3 minutes in the high zone and 2 minutes in the low zone.
Harder
6 intervals of 4 minutes in the high zone with 2 minutes of recovery.
Adaptations
- Limited mobility: intervals in a wheelchair, on an arm ergometer or on an adapted course, using the same zones.
- Asthma or lower fitness: lower zones (70–75 %) and longer recovery.
- Autism: a visual timeline of the blocks and a heads-up before each pace change.
Learning goals
- Improve aerobic endurance through interval training.
- Control effort intensity using heart rate.
- Record and interpret heart rate monitor data.
Equipment for a class of 25
- heart rate monitors: 25
- cones: 10
- data sheets: 25
Teacher tip
Many students overshoot the zone early on, so have them check the monitor every minute. If you don't have enough monitors, alternate in pairs and take manual pulses during rests.
PatioLab has "Aerobic Interval Training with Heart Rate Monitor" and 599 more activities ready to drag into your lesson and run from your phone in the gym.
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