Checking your pulse during exercise promotes safe and effective workouts. Typically, people new to exercising should aim to get their pulse to 50 percent of its maximum rate, while fit people usually can get up to a target heart rate of up to 85 percent of their maximum rate. Your maximum heart rate is 220 minus your age in years. So, if you are 40 years old, your maximum pulse is 180 beats per minute. Multiply 180 by 0.5 to find the low end of your target heart rate and also by 0.85 to find the high end.
Step 1
Pause briefly to ascertain your exercise pulse rate, as the University of Iowa notes that measurements taken while moving are inaccurate. Count your pulse rate right after stopping, and start your exercise back up quickly to avoid slowing your heart rate significantly.
Step 2
Turn one palm up. Lay your other hand's middle and index fingers over the upturned wrist, about one finger's width beneath the base of your thumb. You'll feel your radial pulse this way, or alternatively, you can find your carotid pulse by laying the same fingers across your throat next to your windpipe beneath the jawline. Seek your carotid pulse by placing, removing and replacing your fingers, rather than by pressing and dragging your fingers across your throat.
Step 3
Use a watch that displays a seconds reading. Count how many beats of your pulse you feel in a six second time frame.
Step 4
Multiply the number of pulse beats you feel in six seconds by 10 to determine how many beats there are per minute. Get a slightly more accurate reading by counting the beats felt in 10 seconds and multiplying by six, if you prefer, but remember that this longer interruption of your exercise gives your heart rate a bit more time to slow down.
Things You'll Need
- Watch
