Your heart rate provides important information regarding the health of your circulatory system during exercise. The American Heart Association recommends exercising at an intensity that causes your heart to beat at a range of 50 to 85 percent of your maximum heart rate. A heart rate above this range, especially if it exceeds your maximum heart rate, may require medical attention to rule out serious health conditions.
Target Zone
Your heart rate during a workout is an important factor in monitoring how your body responds to the stress of exercise. Age plays a major role in determining maximum heart rate. Your maximum heart rate equals 220 minus your age. A 20-year-old person has an average maximum heart rate of 200 beats per minute -- or bpm, while a 55-year-old person has a maximum heart rate of 165 bpm. The target zone for a 20-year-old is between 100 and 170 bpm and the target zone for a 55-year-old is between 83 and 140 bpm.
Exercise
Aerobic exercise involves repetitive movements of your large muscles. Aerobic exercises include running, kickboxing, cross-country skiing and swimming. These exercises require oxygen to break down fat and glucose, creating energy to fuel your workout. Anaerobic exercise, such as weightlifting, doesn't require oxygen to supply energy. Anaerobic exercise generally has a milder effect on your heart rate, although both types of exercise may cause your heart rate to go above the maximum rate.
Fast Heart Rate
Tachycardia is the medical term for an excessively fast heart rate. While a fast heart rate during rest may have a variety of causes, a fast heart rate during a workout may simply be the result of exercising at too difficult a level of intensity. Decreasing the intensity of your workout may help bring your heart rate back into the target zone.
Warning
Some individual experience a condition known as atrial tachycardia, a type of tachycardia that occurs during exercise. Paroxysmal supraventricular tachycardia is another name for this condition. This condition can cause your heart to beat between 160 and 220 times a minute. Strenuous exercise, such as weightlifting, can cause this temporary increase in heart rate that exceeds the maximum rate. Although this can resolve on its own, Merck Manuals recommends seeking medical attention for an episode that lasts longer than 20 minutes. Contact your doctor immediately if pain, light-headedness or confusion accompanies your racing heart beat.
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