Use a Heart Rate Monitor to Get Your Kids Moving!

Posted 21 April 2008

by Ray Browning, Ph.D.

One of the best ways to get children interested in physical fitness and health is to enable them to observe their own physiology via a heart rate monitor. If you’re out for a walk with your child, have them put on heart rate monitor and say, “Let see what happens if we walk faster here.” The heart rate monitor becomes a window into what is happening to their body. They can see how the heart must work faster to pump more blood to the muscles that are working. They will be intrigued by the technology and the measurement of what their body is doing.

When using a heart rate monitor with your child, the key is to make it interesting in ways that will encourage movement. Don’t focus on complicated formulas or zones. You can start by trying things they normally do at play, and see what heart rate it elicits. Try other activities that are more vigorous. You can speed up their movements in a playful way, “I’ll race you to there, let’s see if your heart rate gets higher.”

For children, maximum heart rate generally falls between 200-215 beats per minute, so anywhere between 120-175 is good for increasing energy expenditure and getting some physiological benefit. Be careful not to define their successes or failures by those numbers, however. Simply use them as a tool to observe which activities are more vigorous, and then steer them toward those activities. The goal is to encourage movement and play that they will enjoy, rather than exercise that is seen as a chore.

Modeling healthy behavior
One of the best ways to raise active, healthy children is to model that behavior. And the time when parents can truly make a difference through modeling is in children between the ages of 4 and 10. By age 11, kids are looking to their peers for what is “cool” and parents become highly ineffective in attempts to model behavior. In fact, activity levels drop by as much as 70-80% during adolescence. If you haven’t gotten your child up off the couch and moving before the age of 10, your chances of doing so are dramatically reduced. Don’t wait for them to grow out of it!

Weight control
If you are working with a child who is overweight, you can use heart rate monitoring as a way to prevent excessive weight gain. It’s not about weight loss, but rather about managing the trajectory of their weight gain so the body catches up with them. Offering healthy food choices and giving them an opportunity to be active will change that trajectory. A heart rate monitor also gives every child a chance to be successful, because the information and goals are personal to them. They don’t have to be good at sports or have athletic skill. They can choose any form of movement that elevates their heart rate, such as walking, bicycling, or even climbing stairs. Let the child choose the activity.

Get the grandparents involved!
Grandparents are sometimes part of the problem when it comes to improving your child’s health. They feel it is their privilege to spoil the child with deserts, treats and trips to the movie theater. If you are interested in improving the physical activity profile of the whole family, take time to have a meaningful discussion with your child’s grandparents. Explain that this is important for your children, and ask them to help you model healthy behavior. If a trip to the ice cream parlor is still a must, ask them to include a physical activity beforehand. Show them how to use a heart rate monitor and encourage them to make a game of it with their grandkids!

Ray Browning holds a Ph.D. in Integrative Physiology and conducts obesity related research at the Center for Human Nutrition at the University of Colorado Health Sciences Center. He has been involved in human energetics and biomechanics research for more than 20 years. He is also the co-author of SERIOUS Training for Endurance Athletes . As a professional triathlete from 1987-1995, Dr. Browning won seven Ironman triathlon titles and was the Winter Triathlon World Champion in 1993. He currently resides in Denver, Colorado with his wife Shannon, daughter Sophia and son Thomas.

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