Athletes, trainers, physicians and people experienced with exercise regimens understand that heart rate during cardio routines is an important marker. Elevating the pulse to your personal target rate means you're pushing your body hard enough to achieve an effective workout. At the same time, keeping the heart rate from getting too near its maximum value helps maintain stamina and prevents exhaustion.
Your Target Heart Rate
There is a basic formula for finding your target heart rate -- it's based on an estimate of your maximum heart rate, or the heart rate at which your body hits exhaustion. This number is gauged by subtracting your age in years from 220. So, a 45-year-old has a maximum heart rate of about 175 beats per minute. The American Heart Association defines target heart rate as anywhere from 50 to 85 percent of maximum heart rate. So, the 45-year-old's target heart rate would be roughly between 87 and 149 beats per minute. In general, those who are less fit and newer to their exercise routine should aim for the lower end of the target heart rate window, while physically fit individuals should strive to reach the higher end.
Finding Heart Rate During Cardio Exercise
To know whether you're in your target heart rate zone, you must calculate your pulse periodically during an aerobic workout. To do so, stop exercising and immediately find your pulse, either on the underside of your wrist or on your throat along the windpipe. Timing it with a watch, count the beats for 10 seconds and multiply this number by six. This number indicates how many times your heart is beating per minute, and should be around your target number once you're into your routine.
A Less-Scientific Alternative
If you've just begun an exercise regimen -- or you are physically unfit -- you may not yet want to worry about your target heart rate. The American Heart Association offers an alternative way of gauging the effectiveness of your cardio workouts. If, at your current rate of exercise, you can easily sing without becoming winded, you are not pushing your body hard enough to reap much, if any, benefit from the routine. You should, however, be able to talk during the workout. If you become quickly out-of-breath while talking, you are likely pushing yourself too hard.
Warning
Any numbers at which you arrive using formulas for maximum and target heart rates are general estimations. There are also no definitive rules for deciding where in the target heart rate spectrum you should be during cardio workouts. As you become more fit, you'll need to push your heart rate higher in the spectrum to achieve significant benefits from your aerobic exercise. Consult with your doctor about your personal maximum and target heart rates. Only your primary care physician should advise you on how you can exercise safely and effectively, as an array of individual health factors are relevant. Closely follow all your doctor's instructions about an exercise regimen.
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