4 Ways To Get Your Heart Rate Up (and Burn More Calories)

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Do you feel like you’re NOT getting the results you want from your workouts?

The reality is you might NOT be getting your heart rate up high enough, which ultimately means you aren’t working hard enough or burning enough calories to see new results

Keep in mind, heart rates vary from person to person. Do NOT compare yourself to anyone else. For instance, I have a very LOW resting heart rate which means that even my “exercising really hard” heart rate isn’t as high either. This is why I recommend evaluating how hard you are working by using the Rate of Perceived Exertion (RPE) Scale. On a scale of 1-10, how hard are you working? If you want to see results, and you are NOT pregnant, postpartum, or injured, you should be able to push yourself anywhere from an 8-10 when doing something like HIIT Training.

Here are 4 ways to get your heart rate up:

  1. Move faster: Add sprints/power walking to your run/walk routine or increase the speed of your jumping jacks or mountain climbers. By increasing your speed, you will become breathless quicker (which is the most obvious sign that you’re working harder!).
  2. Move bigger: Try pumping your arms harder when you run or lengthen your arms to take up more space (or simply move them if you aren’t already) when doing cardio drills. Increase the length of your stride while you’re power walking or get lower into your jump squats. Over-exaggerating your movements will give you bigger results!
  3. Pick up heavier weights: The more you lift, the heavier your breathing will become! Don’t be afraid to pick up more weight!
  4. Add a jump (plyometrics): The explosive movement of a plyometric will force you to recruit more muscles. The more muscles you use during an exercise, the more calories you burn, and the more results you will see. Your muscles have to respond faster and work harder – both of which will escalate your heart rate.

Which of the above do you do most often? Which could you do more of? Consider both of these questions during your workouts and start seeing the results you’ve been looking for!

P.S. This Instagram Post shows great examples of how to do ALL of the above.

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4 main ways to get your heart rate up and work harder . . . any guesses? 1️⃣Move faster (increase speed) 2️⃣Move bigger (increase your range of motion) 3️⃣Pick up heavier weights (increase load) 4️⃣Add a jump (plyometrics) 🙌🏻 Which of the above is your go-to for increasing the intensity of your workouts? These are the 4 things I focus on when I want to push myself a bit more. At the current moment (#38weekspregnant), I’m doing less of all of these, but even when I filmed the breakdown of the exercises for my #HalloweenHIIT Challenge a few weeks ago, I could do all of these things even a few plyometrics here and there (like maybe every 3rd squat I’d do a little jump). Keep in mind that as a former dancer I’ve been jumping since I was 6-years-old, so jumping feels really safe and good to me. I do NOT recommend it for ALL pregnant women. 🤰 What I do recommend for everyone, pregnant or not, are squats – try all the variations I show here. If you’re not holding a weight, go for speed! If you’re adding weight, still try to work for speed but realize you will slow down. And if you’re in the Halloween mood, grab a pumpkin and have some fun. Watch all the way to the end for that variation. 🎃 And if this workout looks of interest to you, go sign up for my Halloween HIIT Challenge at http://sarahaley.com/HalloweenHIIT . . . . . #sarahaleyworkouts #pumpkinworkout #halloweenworkout #pumpkinpress #halloweenexercise #halloweenexercises #thirdtrimester #squatvariations #trainertalk #squatsfordays

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