There's a correlation between how fast your heart beats during physical activity and the results you get from your exercise. Beginners often hear the term "target heart rate" mentioned by fitness professionals and group exercise instructors. Knowing what your heart rate should be while you exercise keeps you in the safe zone while maximizing expenditure of excess calories.
Your Heart Rate
The resting heart rate of most adults is between 60 and 100 beats per minute, says MayoClinic.com, although the resting heart rate for conditioned athletes may be as low as 40 bpm. Whenever you begin to move around through exercise or another physical activity, your heart rate increases. In exercise, an increased heart rate has a profound influence on the rest of your body. The more intense your exercise becomes, the faster your heart beats to deliver oxygen to the rest of your body. This builds a healthy cardiovascular system. Exercising within your target zone is also a good way to burn calories.
Finding Your Target
Your resting heart rate decreases as you grow older. Therefore, your maximum heart rate also decreases with age. The American Heart Association cites examples: at 20 years of age, your MHR is 200. At 65 years, your MHR is 155 Your MHR is estimated by subtracting your age in years from the number 220. Your target heart rate is between 50 and 85 percent of your MHR. For example, if you're 20 years old, your target heart rate is between 100 and 170 bpm. If you're 60, your target is between 77 and 132 bpm. If you're exercising in a group aerobics class or taking a long bike ride, it can be difficult to make sure you're within your target zone unless you pause and check your pulse.
Other Methods
If you're engaging in exercise that's only moderately intense, such as an energetic walk, you might not need to think about your heart rate, according to the AHA. Instead, take the "talk test." You should be able to carry on a conversation while maintaining your current level of intensity. You should not, however, be able to sing. Measuring the intensity of your workouts gets becomes more difficult the harder you exercise --- this is when making sure you stay in the target zone is helpful. Rather than stopping to count your pulse, an efficient way to make sure you're exercising within your target zone is to wear a heart rate monitor. A heart-rate monitor looks a lot like a large wristwatch. Electrodes on the back of the monitor pick up your pulse and transmit the results to the front display.
Heart Rate Tips
The American College of Sports Medicine separates exercise intensity into three levels: low, medium and high. If your heart beats within 60 to 70 percent of its maximum, this is generally considered low-intensity exercise. Moderately intense exercise has you working between 70 and 80 percent of your MHR, and anything above that is high-intensity exercise. If you haven't exercised in a long time, the AHA advises you to take it easy. Start at 50 percent of your MHR and gradually build up your endurance until you're exercising at 75 percent of your MHR. After six months of regular exercise, it's okay to push yourself a little more and work out about 85 percent of your MHR.
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