The Importance of Zone 3+ Exercise for People with Parkinson's

What is Zone 3+?

Zone 3+ is any heart rate greater than 70% of your max heart rate. Your max heart rate is calculated based on your age. Research has shown that exercising 90 minutes per week in this range can increase brain health.

Common Zones

Doctors recommend...

The Parkinson's Foundation, in collaboration with the American College of Sports Medicine, recommends 150 minutes of exercise per week. Of that 150 minutes, 90 minutes should be moderate to vigorous exercise, or Zone 3+.

How Can Exercise Help People with Parkinson's?

Research has found that moderate to vigorous exercise may help slow the progression of Parkinson's Disease. Recent studies have even found that high-intensity exercise may reverse some of the neurodegeneration caused by PD. There is still research needed to confirm this, but one thing is certain: Exercise, specifically exercise that gets your heart pumping, should be a staple of your routing.

The Parkinson's Foundation, in collaboration with the American College of Sports Medicine, recommends 150 minutes of exercise per week. Of those 150 minutes, 90 minutes should be moderate to vigorous. That means activity that makes you a little sweaty and out of breath.

Exercise and the Brain

What about exercise helps your brain? Certain chemicals are released during these bouts of vigorous exercise. They can increase neuroplasticity, and specifically increase the connection between two parts of your brain, your thalamus and cortex; suppress some undesirable processes; and better release and synthesize dopamine.

What is Zone 3?

A heart rate zone is a range of heartbeats per minute. The more intense your exercise, the higher your heart rate and the higher the zone. Most commonly, there are 5 total zones.

To achieve the recommended 90 minutes of moderate to vigorous activity, you want to be in zone 3, 4, or 5. This corresponds to 70% of your max heart rate. We estimate your max heart rate by subtracting your age for 220.

If you add your birth date to the StrivePD Profile under settings, we'll do calculate this for you.

Some individuals have a blunted heart-rate response, due to a factor such as a beta blocker medication or a condition called autonomic dysfunction. This means you won't see properly configured heart rate zones. If this is you, set the RPE on an activity, to note how vigorous an exercise is. RPEs that are 14 or higher will be considered moderate to vigorous.

Remember, there is no one-size-fits-all exercise program, as this greatly depends on your symptoms and your safety. Always speak with your health care provider prior to starting a new routine, and as always, consistency with an exercise routine is key, so make sure it's an activity you enjoy.

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