Your heart rate, or pulse, is the number of times your heart beats every minute. You can feel your pulse anywhere an artery is close to the skin. Examples include your wrist, neck, groin, the top of your foot or even your thumb. The simplest way to calculate your heart rate is to count your pulse at the neck (carotid artery) or wrist (radial artery). Your resting heart rate--that is, your pulse just after you rise in the morning or sit idle for about 10 minutes--offers a rough gauge of cardiovascular fitness. Most people have a resting heart rate between 60 to 90 beats per minute.
Radial Pulse
Step 1
Turn your hand palm-up and rest your forearm on a level surface. You don’t strictly have to rest your arm to take this pulse, but doing so will make the process easier the first time through.
Step 2
Flex your palm toward you. This should make the tendon in your forearm stand out. Use the index and middle finger of your opposite hand to locate the groove between your forearm tendon and your ulna (outer forearm bone). Relax your wrist once you’ve located this groove.
Step 3
Press both fingers down into the groove about an inch below the base of your hand. You should feel a rhythmic throbbing. This is your pulse. Exert as little pressure as necessary to feel the pulse.
Step 4
Count how many times your heart beats in 10 seconds using a stopwatch, clock or any time piece with a seconds indicator. Multiply the count by six to get how many times your heart beats during a minute--this is your heart rate.
Carotid Pulse
Step 1
Use the index and middle fingers of one hand to locate the hinge where your lower jaw meets your skull.
Step 2
Slide your fingers in a direct line toward your Adam’s apple, following along beneath the curve of your jaw. Stop when you get to the hollow in your neck, between your windpipe and neck muscles.
Step 3
Press lightly in the hollow. You should feel a rhythmic throbbing--this is your carotid pulse. Count how many times your heart beats during 10 seconds, then multiply by six to get your heart rate.
Maximum Heart Rate
Step 1
Monitor your exercise intensity as you work out by determining your maximum heart rate. Figure your theoretical maximum rate by subtracting your age from 220--so a 30-year-old would have a theoretical maximum heart rate of 190.
Step 2
Calculate a target heart rate between 50 percent and 85 percent of that maximum. The general rule is that severely unconditioned individuals would begin at 50 percent, the average beginner would start at 60 percent, and a somewhat fit individual would begin at 70 percent of the theoretical max, then gradually increase toward the upper threshold of 85 percent as her fitness improves.
Step 3
Take your pulse every 10 minutes or so during each aerobic exercise session and modify your intensity, as necessary, to keep your heart rate in the calculated target range.
Things You'll Need
- Timepiece with a second hand or counter
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