Articles

Calculating Your Target Heart Rate

When creating or performing cardiovascular exercise, I have found that many people I have consulted either do not have enough intensity or variety in their program. Some of you may also do too much, or not enough. First, I want to give you an idea of what your target heart rate (THR) should be. The best method to figure out what your heart rate should be as you exercise (without advanced instrumentation), is use the following method:

220 - Age - Resting Heart Rate
Multiply the answer to .6 (60%) AND .85 (85%) to come with two separate numbers.
Then add your Resting Heart Rate to those answers.
The two numbers produced will be your Target Heart Rate Zone

I will use myself as an example:

220 - 30 - 68 = 122
122 * .6 = 73, 122 * .85 = 104
73 + 68 = 141, 104 + 68 = 172
Therefore, my THR is 141 to 172 beats per minute.

With this zone, you now know the intensity to which you can optimize "fat burning." Now, you can effectively create a cardiovascular program. As always with any program, there can be modifications especially if you are deconditioned or have a cardiovascular related condition.

Kelly Huggins, B.S., ACSM HFI
The Fitness MythBuster
404.303.8305 kelly@kellyhuggins.com