Getting to the heart of fitness
How fit are you?
You may think you’re fit enough for netball because you go out for two slow runs a week or you play sport at lunchtimes twice a week! If that’s all you’re doing, you’re probably not fit enough. That’s the bad news. The good news is you can do something about it. It’s all about improving your cardiovascular fitness by getting into your target heart rate, and often.
Work within your target heart rate
Your target heart rate (THR) is 70-85% of your maximum heart rate (MHR). To improve your fitness you need to be reaching your THR for at least 30 minutes, three to five times a week. You can do this with any exercise that uses large muscle groups - swimming, cycling, running, rowing, etc.
The calculations
To determine your THR, you first need to work out your MHR:
MHR = 220 – your age in years
Then to work out your THR, multiply your MHR by:
0.7 - THR at 70% of your MHR, and
0.85 - THR at 85% of your MHR.
Example: Janie, a 17-year-old netball player.
MHR = 220 -17
= 203 beats per minute
THR (75%) = 203 x 0.7
= 142 beats per minute
THR (85%) = 203 x 0.85
= 173 beats per minute
For Janie to improve her fitness she needs to get her heart rate between 142 -173 beats per minute, three to five times a week, doing exercise like cycling, running etc.
To maintain her level of fitness to the current level, she can continue this regime exercising only three times a week. If Janie does any less than this she should expect that her current level of fitness will drop.
Note that a hard netball training session can count as one fitness session. Likewise, participating in other codes can count as a training session, so long as you’re achieving an elevated heart rate, eg touch rugby training for 60 minutes or a 40-minute session at rowing. It’s good to cross train, ie, exercise in other codes, particularly in the off season, when getting a good base fitness level is ideal. As the competition season progresses, netball training, as well as your fitness training, should become more specific.
Want to know more? Please contact Megan Crockett, NetballSmart Coordinator: meganc@netballnz.co.nz
