Your heart rate indicates the amount of cardio-respiratory activity occurring during physical activity. Factors such as your age and fitness level determine your resting and maximum heart rate. You can express the intensity of physical activity, such as aerobic exercise, as a percentage of your maximum heart rate. Different percentage ranges correspond with different aerobic exercise prescriptions. Calculate your maximum heart rate by subtracting your age from 220.
Normal Heart Rate Ranges
Your resting heart rate generally decreases as you age during the first 10 years of life. Lower resting heart rates generally indicate a more efficient heart and higher cardiovascular fitness for older children and adults. Regular aerobic exercise strengthens your heart and lowers your resting heart rate. The normal resting heart rate for newborns and infants ranges from 100 to 160 beats per minute. Children between ages 1 and 10 have resting heart rates between 70 and 120 beats per minute. Your heart may beat 70 to 120 beats every minute after age 10 while you are at rest. The resting heart rate for well-trained athletes ranges from 40 to 60 beats per minute.
Low Intensity
Low intensity aerobic activities include daily activities like walking. This type of activity brings your pulse above your resting heart rate, but does not exceed 60 to 70 percent of your maximum heart rate. Activities that bring your hear rate within this range provide exercise that you should get every day. Low-intensity aerobic exercise sessions should last an hour or longer depending on the intensity of your workout. The American College of Sports Medicine website recommends performing at least 30 minutes of this kind of activity every day if you are a healthy adult younger than 65.
Moderate-to-High Intensity
Moderate-to-high intensity aerobic activity brings your pulse between 70 and 85 percent of your maximum heart rate. You may bring your heart rate into this range for workout sessions that last 20 to 30 minutes. The National Federation of Personal Trainers recommends performing this type of workout three to five times each week depending on the intensity of your workout. Moderate to high intensity aerobic activities include jogging and running, cycling and swimming as well as other sport-oriented continuous motion activities.
Near Maximum
Endurance athletes train to maximize the body's ability to use oxygen. Your training sessions may bring your pulse up to 95 percent of your maximum heart rate if you are an endurance athlete. Brining your heart rate into this range during exercise encourages maximum oxygen uptake by cells in your body and activates anaerobic energy systems to perform more intense muscular contractions. An endurance athlete may bring his or her heart rate into this range one to three times a week for workout sessions that last up to 30 minutes. Avoid performing continuous activity that brings your pulse into this range on back-to-back days.
Member Comments