Finding Your Target Heart Rate

by Maia Appleby

Many cardiovascular machines are equipped with heart rate sensors, but unless your doctor has told you to maintain a certain pace, how do you know what your heart rate should be?

In order to get a truly effective workout, you should do your cardiovascular work within your training zone. This is a range dependent on your age and is determined with an easy formula. Subtract your age from 220. Take this number and multiply it by .6 and you have your lower exercise range. Multiply it by .8 and there's your higher exercise range. (Don't like doing math? Just use our target heart rate calculator, then!)

Be careful not to compare yourself to others, where heart rates are concerned. Age is a very important factor in finding the right number, regardless of one's fitness level. For example, a 67-year-old's range is 92 to 122. A 24-year-old's range is 118-157. Some people naturally have faster or slower heart rates than others, too. If you find that your range is slightly abnormal, you will eventually become familiar with a range that is "normal for you".

Beginners should work in the lower range, but more fit people can work harder. As you can see in the numbers above, a fit 67-year-old can work with the same heart rate level as a 24-year-old who is just beginning to train. This is important to know, because many seasoned exercisers are not working hard enough to effect real improvements. They hit a plateau and just stay there, walking the same mile and a half in thirty minutes day after day. This is fine for maintenance, but if you want to become fitter, you should work a little harder.

How do you increase your heart rate just enough on a treadmill? You might walk a few tenths of a mile faster to get results, or you can increase the incline. Even a two percent grade makes quite a bit of a difference. Instead of holding onto the bar, swing your arms at your sides to get a more natural gait.

Since most machines in gyms do not have heart rate sensors, taking your pulse at the wrist or neck may be necessary. Every five or ten minutes, find your pulse, look at the clock and count beats for fifteen seconds. Multiply this number by four to determine your heart rate.

If you're taking blood pressure medication, you may need to keep your heart rate below a certain level (usually 120 or somewhere in that neighborhood). Consult your physician for recommendations before attempting to work in your higher exercise range.

Another option is a a chest-strap heart rate monitor, which is available at sporting supply and department stores everywhere. When you wear it, a wristband tells you your heart rate during your workout. Many fitness centers have these on hand to loan out, so if you ask an attendant, you may be able to monitor your heart rate without any extra cost. Some fitness watches give you both your heart rate and an estimation of calories burned.

You can usually get a pretty good idea of how hard you're training just by how you feel. This is known in fitness circles at the "Rating of Perceived Exertion" (RPE). You shouldn't be able to recite the Gettysburg Address repeatedly, but you shouldn't be so winded that you can't carry a conIdeal Fitnesstion. If you're somewhere in between and feel like you're working, you're probably right at your target heart rate.