Introduction
Heart rate is an important indicator of how hard you are working out. There are many ways to measure your heart rate, and they all give you important information. You can use your resting heart rate to determine the right target heart rate zone for running. Which will help you build your running routine to match your goals and abilities. Here we’ll look at how to calculate your maximum heart rate. And determine what zone is best for recovery runs, aerobic endurance training or high intensity interval training (HIIT).
How to calculate your maximum heart rate?
The first step to calculating your target heart rate zone is determining your maximum heart rate (HRmax). HRmax also called the maximum aerobic capacity (or VO2 max) represents the highest rate. Which oxygen can be used by your body during exercise. Your HRmax can be calculated using the following formula: 220 minus your age. For example, if you are 30 years old, then your HRmax would be 190 beats per minute (220 – 30 = 190).
To determine what range of heart rates you should aim for during exercise or training. Simply subtract 50% from your maximum aerobic capacity and multiply that number by 0.60 for moderate exercise. Or 0.70 for vigorous-intensity activity (e.g., running a 10K race). You’ll then want to add an additional safety margin by increasing this value by 5 bpm every few years. As you age or decrease if you haven’t exercised regularly in awhile
How to calculate MHR if you have a pacemaker?
If you have a pacemaker, your heart rate is controlled by your doctor. This means that the formula to calculate MHR doesn’t work for you. You can still use an HR monitor or the Karvonen method without issue.
If you have a pacemaker and want to measure your own pulse. Use a medical-grade device that measures both ECG (electrocardiogram) and PPG (photoplethysmography).
How to calculate your resting heart rate?
To calculate your resting heart rate, follow these steps:
- Go to a quiet place where you won’t be disturbed for five minutes.
- Lie down and put a finger over the pulse on your wrist (or use a pulse oximeter).
- Count how many beats you feel in 15 seconds and multiply that number by four to determine your beats per minute (bpm).
You can calculate your maximum heart rate with a formula.
To find your maximum heart rate, you can use the formula 220 minus age. For example, if you are 20 years old, then your maximum heart rate would be 180 beats per minute. As you get older, this number will go down and is typically at its lowest when you reach about 50 years old.
Then there are people who can’t do that because they’re just not very physically fit or athletic in general. If you don’t exercise regularly or have an active lifestyle as a whole—maybe even eat poorly too. Then it’s going to be harder for your body to perform at its best during exercise sessions and workouts.”
There are three main zones for training with heart rate.
- Zone 1: 50 to 65% of your max heart rate. This is the best zone for recovery runs, or if you’re just starting to run. You can also use it for interval training, but only if you’re already well-conditioned and able to sustain a steady effort for more than two minutes at a time.
- Zone 2: 66 to 75% of your max heart rate. The best way to build endurance while running is by getting into this zone on your daily runs so that it becomes easier over time (also known as “getting used” to running in this pace).
- Zone 3: 76-85% of your max heart rate. This is where most people get the most out of their training since intensity takes longer than duration when it comes down to burning fat and building muscle tissue—which means that being able to sustain these efforts over long periods will give you better results than going farther faster every single time!
Zone 1 is good for recovery runs, or if you’re just starting to run.
Your maximum heart rate is the highest number of beats per minute (BPM) your heart can attain during exercise. It’s a general marker of how fit you are, and it will change over time as you get in better shape.
The easiest zone to manage is zone 1. This is when your body is getting ready for the harder stuff—but it’s still easy enough that you don’t have to think too hard about it. If this sounds like something you just want to cruise through on a recovery run or if this is where all those miles started, then zone 1 might be right for you!
Zone 2 is the best area for building aerobic endurance and burning fat.
When you’re in zone 2, your heart rate is between 130 and 160 beats per minute. Here are some of the benefits of this running zone:
- You’ll burn fat. Zone 2 is where you get the most out of your training because it’s where you’ll build aerobic endurance and burn fat. If your goal is weight loss, this is where you should spend most of your time.
- You’ll increase lung capacity and respiratory efficiency. Zone 2 helps increase lung capacity and respiratory efficiency by strengthening the muscles around your rib cage (the intercostal muscles). This will make breathing easier during runs at higher intensity levels in other zones as well as when exercising at lower intensities in other zones (when recovering from hard workouts). It also increases diaphragmatic strength so that when oxygen flow decreases during a run like this one (due to increased respiration demands), more oxygen can be taken up into muscle cells without increasing heart rate too much—helping prevent anaerobic metabolism from occurring too early when exercising at high intensities over long periods of time!
Zone 3 is where you get the most out of your training.
When you train at an intensity level of zone 3, you’ll get the most out of your time in the gym. Training in this zone will help you build your aerobic capacity, which is what allows us to run for longer and longer without getting tired.
There are two ways to determine whether or not your workouts are at a proper intensity level: by perceived effort or heart rate. The most important thing is that when you’re running in zone 3, it’s difficult for you to hold a conversation because it’s too hard (but not impossible). For example, if someone were talking to me while I was running in zone 3 and they said something like “I love running,” my response would probably be “hmmm-hmmm” because I wouldn’t really want to stop moving around so much just so we could have a conversation about whether or not they love running too!
Calculate your training heart rate
First, you need to determine your training heart rate. This can be done by using the Karvonen formula, which takes into account age and resting heart rate. Start by subtracting your age from 220 to find your maximum heart rate (MHR). Then multiply this number by 0.70 and 0.85 respectively if you’re a beginner or intermediate exerciser, and then take an average of the two numbers. For example, if you are 20 years old and your resting pulse was 60 bpm before beginning your workout routine, then your MHR would be:
220 – 20 = 200 x .70 = 140; 200 x .85 = 170
140 + 170 = 310/2 = 155
Your training zone is between 65 percent to 85 percent of this number—in this case it would be between 105 bpm and 145 bpm.
Use RPE to determine how hard your exercise is
You can use RPE to determine the intensity of your workout. A rating of 6 or 7 corresponds with a moderate-to-hard aerobic workout. For example, if you’re running on a treadmill at 12 mph and you feel like you’re running at an 8 or 9 out of 10, it’s likely that you’re working in the moderate range.
When used over time, RPE can help track progress as well. By noting how hard an exercise feels during a run or other type of workout and comparing it to previous sessions, you’ll be able to tell if things are getting easier (or harder). If something does seem too tough for its normal level of difficulty, try adjusting your pace or distance for future workouts—or consider taking a couple days off altogether!
Heart rate and age
Your heart rate is a measure of how hard your heart is working. It’s a good way to measure exercise intensity and help you find the right exercise intensity for you.
It varies from person to person, depending on age, fitness level, gender and body size. Your heart rate can be measured by taking your pulse at the wrist or neck with a finger (or two) for about 10 seconds. The result will be in beats per minute (bpm).
The average resting heart rate ranges from 60 to 100 bpm for healthy adults aged 20-60 years old.* So if you’re 30 years old with an average resting heart rate of 72 bpm then this means that when resting—when not exercising—your body needs more oxygen than someone who has an average resting pulse of 60 bpm (a 20 year old).
There are multiple ways to determine how hard you are working out, and they all give you important information.
There are multiple ways to determine how hard you are working out, and they all give you important information. It is a good way to measure intensity, but it’s also possible to use rate of perceived exertion (RPE), heart rate zones, heart rate variability and your recovery heart rate as indicators of how hard you’re working out.
The easiest way to measure intensity is by checking your pulse or heart rate during a workout. The higher your heart rate goes during exercise, the harder this makes it for blood vessels in the body to get enough oxygenated blood from the lungs and into muscles that need it. This can lead up to an increased risk of cardiovascular disease if not managed appropriately by lowering workout intensity or duration or increasing recovery time between workouts with less intense activities like walking or swimming at lower intensities until you feel recovered again before resuming more intense workouts such as running or cycling again.
Knowing your heart rate can help you build your running routine to match your goals and abilities.
- Heart rate is a good way to measure how hard you are working out.
- Heart rate can help you determine the intensity of your training.
- Knowing your heart rate can help you build your running routine to match your goals and abilities.
Conclusion
It is an important part of running and exercise in general. It can help you keep track of what your body is doing, and make sure that it’s doing what it needs to do. Heart rate allows you to adjust the intensity of your run so that you don’t overdo it while still getting in a good workout. If you know how hard your heart should be beating at any given moment during a run, then you’ll have better results!