Week Three

This week in lab we were determined to find a case for the Arduino board.  We wanted to find a case to cover the board so that the exerciser can comfortably wear it during exercise.  The Arduino board is connected to the sensor, which will determine the heart rate of the exerciser and then send that information to the software.  There are wires connected from the sensor to the Arduino board, so wearing the board will be better than having wires hanging loose.  

During this week, we also found a universal expression to find target heart rate zones.  We will use this formula to code the Arduino board to give feedback to the user about their current heart rate and whether or not they are in the correct zone.  

A person's heart rate should be between the 70 and 85 percentile of their maximum heart rate.  First you calculate your maximum heart rate by subtracting your age from 220.  Then, to find the lower end of your target heart rate zone, you multiply your maximum heart rate by 0.7 (70%).  To find the upper end of your target heart rate zone, multiply your maximum heart rate by .85 (85%).  These two numbers will give you the range you want to stay in while exercising.  The following chart gives a person's approximate target heart rate zone and average maximum heart rate.

Age	Target HR Zone 50-85%	Average Maximum Heart Rate, 100%
20 years	100-170 beats per minute	200 beats per minute
30 years	95-162 beats per minute	190 beats per minute
35 years	93-157 beats per minute	185 beats per minute
40 years	90-153 beats per minute	180 beats per minute
45 years	88-149 beats per minute	175 beats per minute
50 years	85-145 beats per minute	170 beats per minute
55 years	83-140 beats per minute	165 beats per minute
60 years	80-136 beats per minute	160 beats per minute
65 years	78-132 beats per minute	155 beats per minute
70 years	75-128 beats per minute	150 beats per minute