PULSE
“The Boom-Boom Room and How To Monitor It”
Find Your Target Heart Rate!
By: Kendall Monroe
Pulse. What should yours be when you exercise? How high is too high? How do you take it?
Your pulse is your heartbeat. When you’re nervous, it races. When you are low on blood sugar, it races. When you exercise it may race, but monitor it, hold it’s pace, and keep it steady.
At some moment in your life, you will want to know what your maximum heart rate is. And when you want to know this information, it may not be at a very convenient or relaxed time. You may be panicked and in the immediately-need-to-know.
Your “target” heart rate is the rate you should be and the number for which you should strive. And your “maximum” heart rate is what you should not exceed.
There is a formula for your maximum heart rate and here it is:
MAXIMUM HEART RATE
Take 220 – subtract your age = your maximum heart rate;
Here is the formula for your target heart rate:
TARGET HEART RATE
Take your maximum heart rate, then multiply your exercise intensity level = your target exercise heart rate.
For example, a 55 year old male, moderately exercising would look like this: 220-55=165 (maximum heart rate); 165×60%=99 (target heart rate, no matter the exercise).
When you exercise take your pulse every 15 minutes. Have a stop watch. Or buy a heart watch monitor. Count your beats for 10 seconds, then muliply by 6 (for 60 second count). Then begin another set of exercises. And after another 15 minutes, take your pulse again.
Keep count, keep healthy!
AGE | TARGET HEART RATE ZONE | |||
20 Years | 100-150 beats per minute | |||
25 Years | 98-146 beats per minute | |||
30 Years | 95-142 beats per minute | |||
35 Years | 93-138 beats per minute | |||
40 Years | 90-135 beats per minute | |||
45 Years | 88-131 beats per minute | |||
50 Years | 85-127 beats per minute | |||
55 Years | 83-123 beats per minute | |||
60 Years | 80-120 beats per minute | |||
65 Years | 78-116 beats per minute | |||
70 Years | 75-113 beats per minute | |||
SOURCE: Exercise and Your Heart, National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute and the American Heart Association, NIH Publication No. 93-1677. |
Get to know what your pulse, target and maximum heart rate is. The knowledge may save your life.
Get to know what your pulse, target and maximum heart rate is. The knowledge may save your life.