Exercise is an important part of living a healthy life. Improving and maintaining your health is also knowing what parameters are set so you don't overdo it and hurt yourself. Knowing your normal pulse rate can help you ensure your exercise is healthy and productive for you.
Considerations
A normal pulse, or heart rate, varies per person. Factors influencing your pulse rate are level of fitness, age, health, medications and external factors including temperature and stress. A normal, non-exercising, adult heart rate ranges from 60 to 100 beats per minute. You can use a mathematical calculation to figure what heart rate range is normal for you and should be sought while exercising.
Doing The Math
You can calculate your maximum heart rate by subtracting your age from 220. For example, a 30-year-old has an HRmax of 190. Your HRmax is the highest beats per minute your pulse should reach while exercising. If you frequently reach your HRmax during exercise, you should see your doctor to ensure it is safe. The fitness journal "Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise" published a study in May 2007, examining whether the standard HRmax formula was accurate. The results found a more precise formula based on a review of graded exercise tests, which are the most accurate measure of an individual's HRmax. The alternate formula is 207 minus .7, multiplied by age. For example, a 30-year-old's new HRmax is 186.
Heart-Rate Range
Once you know your HRmax, you can figure your heart-rate range. This span of numbers represents how fast your pulse should beat while exercising. The recommended range is 60 to 85 percent of your HRmax. For example, a 30-year-old, whose HRmax is 190, will have a heart-rate range of 114 to 162. The gap between numbers allows for varying fitness levels. If you are obese and have never exercised, your heart rate will increase quickly due to poor cardiovascular fitness. If you are at a healthy weight and exercise regularly, you may have good cardiovascular fitness and your heart rate will be lower. Regardless of your weight, as exercise improves your fitness, you will notice your resting and exercising heart rates will go down.
Taking Your Pulse
During exercise, you can take your pulse by using the fingertips of your index and second finger placed against your lower neck on either side of your esophagus or Adam's apple. You can also feel your pulse on your wrist, with your palm facing up, just below the base of your thumb. Using the second hand on a clock, count your pulse for 10 seconds. Multiply that number by six for your pulse beats per minute, or heart rate.
References
- "Circulation"; The effect of age on heart rate in subjects free of heart disease. Studies by ambulatory electrocardiography and maximal exercise stress test; J.B. Kostis, et al; Jan. 1992
- Cleveland Clinic: Pulse and Target Heart Rate
- MayoClinic.com; What's A Normal Resting Heart Rate?; Edward R. Laskowski; Sept. 2010
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