Exercise has many benefits, from managing weight to battling disease or simply improving your mood and having fun. You can amplify your workout by raising your heart rate, which you can accomplish by exercising with a greater intensity. The recommended heart rate increase varies for each person depending on age and aerobic condition.
How to Calculate Your Heart Rate
Calculating your maximum heart rate is fairly simple, as all you have to do is subtract your age from 220. For example, the maximum heart rate for a 40-year-old person is 180 beats per minute, while the maximum for a 20-year-old person is 200 beats per minute. You can tell what your heart rate is at any point by feeling for your pulse, either on your wrist or on your neck, counting the beats in 15 seconds and then multiplying that number by four.
Recommended Increase
The American Heart Association says that the recommended increase in heart rate during exercise should be between 50 and 85 percent of your maximum heart rate. This is called the target heart rate zone, which measures from a light-intensity level, around 50 percent, all the way to a vigorous workout, which is 85 percent of your maximum heart rate. These numbers are guidelines and may be slightly different depending on your level of fitness. The AHA also recommends consulting a physician to determine what the recommended increase in your heart rate should be if you take medicine for high blood pressure, which can lower your maximum heart rate.
Intensity Levels
To reach 50 percent of your maximum heart rate, you should exercise with light intensity, according to MayoClinic.com. At this level, chances are you will not break a sweat or feel any difference in your breathing patterns. Moderate intensity raises your heart rate to about 70 percent of the maximum, working up a light sweat and quickening your breathing. Vigorous exercise pushes your heart rate to 85 percent of the maximum, characterized by deep, rapid breathing, sweat and difficulty speaking more than a few words in one breath.
Alternatives
An easy way to tell how much you've increased your heart rate is to judge how easy it is to carry on a conversation while exercising. If you can readily sing and talk, chances are you are at the light intensity level or below. If you can carry on a conversation with little difference than at rest, you are probably in the moderate zone. If you are gasping for breath every few words, you probably are at a vigorous level, or above.
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