Target Heart Rate Formula

Measurement of heart rate (HR) helps evaluate the health of an individual, especially the heart health. The unit of heart rate is Beats Per Minute (bpm). Your normal or resting heart rate (RHR) is the heart rate calculated when you are at rest. The rate at which your heart beats in a minute is called heart rate. A healthy heart beats relatively slower because it can pump sufficient blood with minimum efforts. Fast beating heart or high heart rate indicates a problem in heart, lungs or blood vessels. If you exercise with very high heart rate, you would get tired soon. Working with very high heart rate can cause damage to the heart. Working with low intensity won't offer any health benefits. So, you need to have healthy heart rate during workouts.

Target Heart Rate Zone

Children above 10 and adults exhibit a normal heart rate of about 60-100 bpm. To determine the heart rate during exercise, you have to calculate your Maximum Heart Rate (MHR). You can actually calculate your MHR during a stress test on a treadmill in the presence of medical staff. MHR indicates the maximum possible number of times your heart can beat in a minute without going into fibrillation. MHR varies according to the age and gender. A healthy individual can use the age adjusted formula for calculating MHR.

• MHR for women = 226 - age
• MHR for men = 220 - age

Those who are diagnosed with high blood pressure, diabetes, obesity or any other disorder, and those who are taking medicines regularly, should inform their physician about the illness and about the routine medications before determining the HR during exercise.

Heart Rate During Exercise

Safe heart rate during exercise is calculated with the help of various formulas. Here, we would consider the simplest one. During exercise, your heart starts pounding because it has to work faster or harder according to the increased demand of oxygen and blood from the body. Target heart rate is the highest and safest possible rate at which the heart would beat during exercise without getting damaged. You need to gain maximum health benefit from the exercise and you need to maintain heart health. Athletes who undergo endurance training, can work at maximum heart rate for a while during exercise, but common people cannot. Kids or the beginners should start with low intensity and should increase the intensity gradually, as the body starts getting used to exercise. Working at around 50 to 60% of the MHR is considered as working in 'healthy heart zone'. Different heart rate zones can be determined for different goals. Here is the exercise target heart rate formula:

Healthy heart rate range for enjoying benefits of exercise = 50 to 60% of the MHR.

This is a low intensity zone and so is not recommended for cardiovascular training. You can talk normally with this heart rate. It can help reduce body fat. But if you are thinking of losing weight fast, then you have to use the heart rate formula for weight loss:

Ideal heart rate range for weight loss = 60 to 70% of the MHR.

Working in this zone is considered as working in 'fitness zone'. If you are looking for 'endurance training', you are supposed to work in the 'aerobic zone'.

Target heart rate range for intensive training = 60 to 70% of the MHR.

Those who are used to intensive training can work at 80 to 90% of MHR as a part of circuit training. For a short while, athletes can work at 90 to 100% of MHR but this zone is called 'red line zone'. By the way, normal resting heart rate of a well-trained athlete is usually between 40 - 60 bpm.

Obese or beginners should start working with 50% of MHR. The method of calculating the healthy heart rate during exercise is the same for women and men. Working with 50-80% of MHR is considered as safe for men and women. But the target heart rate formula for kids is different as their normal heart rate can be different. The normal resting heart rate for children in the age group 1-10 year is: 70 - 120 bpm. Average target heart rate for

• 3-4 year old kids = 137 bpm
• 5-7 year old kids = 133 bpm
• 8-11 year old kids = 130 bpm
• 12-15 year old kids = 115 bpm

You can use the simple healthy heart rate formula presented in this article and enjoy the health benefits of exercise. I hope you found the information useful.