When
you think of exercise, you might be thinking about
muscle builders at the gym lifting weights. Well yeah,
that is exercise but it's not the only type. Exercise
can be any you actively do - sports, dancing, playing
tag... you name it.
Your
heart pumps blood throughout your body and your blood
has oxygen, which your body needs to function right.
Regular exercise makes you pump more blood faster and
also helps your heart to pump get stronger and pump
blood better.
In
this experiment, you'll get to find out what your heart
rate is before and after exercise. Then, you'll calculate
what your target heart rate is to see how healthy you
are.
You
Will Need:
Clock
You
What
to Do:
Make
sure you've been relaxed for the past few minutes
- not running around. Blood pumps through your arteries
and can be felt on your wrist, neck, and over your
heart. See which of those you can feel your heart
pulse the best and put your index and middle finger
on it.
Have
that clock ready? Count for one minute how many pulses
you have. You can also count your pulses for half
a minute and multiply by two - you'll still get a
minute that way.
Write
down how many beats you had. That's your resting
rate. What do you think would happen to that number
if you were active? Would it go up or down? Why do
you think so? Let's find out.
Walk
around for two minutes. Don't stop, keep walking.
What's
your heart rate now? Use the method from earlier
- index and middle finger over a part of your body
and count the heartbeats for a minute. Write this
number down. This is your moderate activity heart
rate. Is it higher or lower than your resting heart
rate?
Subtract
your age from 220 and multiply by 0.50. Then do the
same again but with 0.70 instead of 0.50. Your approximate
target heart rate for moderate activity should fall
somewhere between those two numbers. If not, you
might want to exercise more.
Run
around for two minutes.
Like
before, put your index and middle finger over a part
of your body and count the heartbeats for a minute.
Write this number down. This is your high activity
heart rate. Is it higher or lower than the other
two heart rates?
Subtract
your age from 220 and multiply by 0.70. Then do the
same again but with 0.85 instead of 0.50. Your approximate
target heart rate for moderate activity should fall
somewhere between those two numbers. If not, you
might want to exercise more.
Don't
turn into a couch potato! Get out and play!
How did you
do? You know, exercise doesn't just help out your heart. Can
you think of some other ways it can help you?
For one,
exercising can make you muscles stronger. It stretches your
body, which helps make you more flexible. It helps you to
burn off extra calories from the food you've eaten. It can
even make you feel good. Exercise isn't just the only part
of a healthy life. Make sure that you also eat
balanced, nutritious meals.
