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Sports & Fitness vocabulary · Sports Science & Performance

Heart rate

Meaning in sports & fitness, with examples

/ˈhɑrt ˌreɪt/nounCore term

In sports & fitness, heart rate means: The number of times your heart beats per minute (bpm), used to measure how hard the body is working during exercise and at rest.

In Turkish: nabız, kalp atım hızı

How it is used

Common in endurance coaching, fitness tests and wearable devices. People talk about resting heart rate, maximum heart rate and training in heart rate zones. You measure, monitor or track your heart rate with a chest strap or a watch.

Example sentences

  1. Keep your heart rate in zone 2 for the whole run.

  2. Her resting heart rate has dropped since she started cycling.

Common collocations

  • resting heart rate
  • maximum heart rate
  • heart rate zones
  • heart rate monitor
  • raise your heart rate
  • cardioShort for cardiovascular exercise: activities like running, cycling or rowing that keep your heart rate raised for a sustained period.
  • aerobicDescribes exercise or energy production that uses oxygen, usually steady activity you can keep up for a long time, like jogging or cycling.
  • VO2 maxThe maximum amount of oxygen your body can take in and use during intense exercise, a key measure of aerobic fitness.
  • enduranceThe ability to keep up physical effort for a long time without tiring, important in sports like running, cycling, swimming and rowing.

More terms: Sports Science & Performance

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