Stationary Cycling Heart Rate Zones

Cycling on a stationary bicycle is an aerobic exercise done to improve or maintain cardiovascular fitness. To achieve this goal, you work out often enough at a pace that causes your heart to beat at a level above its resting rate. Target heart rate zones that will improve your heart and lung capacity are determined by your age, sex, current level of fitness and exercise goals. You may achieve faster results by sprinting close to your maximum heart rate for short periods, followed by longer periods of rest. Alternatively, you can gain many health benefits by cycling at a slower, uninterrupted rate for extended periods.

Heart-Rate Zones and Maximum Heart Rate

A man estimates his maximum heart rate by subtracting his age from 220. A woman obtains her estimate by subtracting 88 percent of her age from 206. Some sources, such as the American Council on Exercise and the American Heart Association recommend exercising intensely enough to raise your heart rate to 50 to 85 percent of its maximum rate. Other experts believe that optimum aerobic training comes from exercising at 70 to 90 percent of maximum, according to Dr. Jordan Moon of the United States Sports Academy.

Recommended Heart-Rate Zones for Men Under 40

The American Heart Association's list of estimated target heart-rate zones provides general guidelines applicable to men under 40. The 50-to-85-percent target range for a 20-year-old man is 100 to 170 beats per minute, or bpm. The rates for men aged 25, 30 and 35 are, respectively, 98 to 166 bpm, 95 to 162 bpm and 93 to 157 bpm.

Recommended Heart-Rate Zones for Women Under 40

The target zones for women are calculated based on data presented in a study of heart-rate responses to exercise stress-testing that was published in the July 2010 issue of "Circulation." Based on the formula proposed by the authors, the 50-to-85-percent target range for a 20-year-old woman is 94 to 160 bpm. The rates for women aged 25, 30 and 35 are, respectively, 92 to 156 bpm, 90 to 153 bpm and 88 to 149 bpm.

Recommended Heart-Rate Zones for Older Exercisers

Recommended heart-rate zones differ for older exercisers. For men aged 40, the 50-to-85-percent target range is 90 to 153 bpm. For men aged 45, 50, 55, 60, 65 and 70, the target rates are, respectively, 88 to 149 bpm, 85 to 145 bpm, 83 to 140 bpm, 80 to 136 bpm, 78 to 132 bpm and 75 to 128 bpm.

For a 40-year-old woman, the 50-to-85-percent target zone is 86 to 145 bpm. For women aged 45, 50, 55, 60, 65 and 70, the respective target heart-rate zones are 83 to 141 bpm, 81 to 138 bpm, 79 to 134 bpm, 77 to 130 bpm, 74 to 127 bpm and 72 to 122 bpm.