It’s important to learn how hard you need to workout to help you reach your fitness goals safely. You can use our free heart rate calculator to find out your Heart Rate Maximum to improve your workout and prevent heart diseases by exercising.
Your heart rate is the number of times your heart contracts per minute. Heart rate, also called pulse, is how you feel when you squeeze your wrist or neck to check your pulse.
Your heart rate is constantly changing depending on what you’re doing or feeling. It changes with physical activity and in response to emotional stimuli such as excitement or fear.
One popular method to calculate your target workout heart rate during exercise is first to determine your maximum heart rate:
Heart Rate Maximum (HRmax) = (220 – Age) beats per minute
Identifying your maximum heart rate will help you set your target heart rate and increase your training efficiency. Exercise physiologists and clinicians recommend between 70% and 85% of a person’s maximum heart rate. When you start exercising, aim for around 70% of your maximum heart rate.
Target Heart Rate = (70 to 80%) x (HRmax) beats per minute
Let’s take an example: you are 40 years old, your HRmax would be:
HRmax = (220 – 40) 180 beats per minute
Target Heart Rate = 70% x 180 = 126 beats per minute
Maximum heart rate (MHR) is as fast as your heart can beat.
Target Heart Rate Chart
Based on recommendations from The American Heart Association, you should target heart rate zones for exercise at an intensity of 50% to 85% of your maximum heart rate, defines a moderate activity heart rate of 50-70% of your maximum heart rate and a vigorous activity heart rate of 70-90% of your maximum heart rate.
| Target Zone | % of MHR | |
|---|---|---|
| Maximum VO2 Max Zone | 90% – 100% | Your body is approaching its maximum capacity in the VO2 Max Zone. You can only do it for a few seconds, 10 seconds max, and it helps build your fast-twitch muscle fibers, which will make you run faster in the long run. |
| Hard Anaerobic Zone | 80% – 90% | In the anaerobic zone, your muscles work so fast that oxygen can’t reach them fast enough. This leads to the production of lactic acid, which begins to accumulate. Exercising in this zone can improve your anaerobic endurance. |
| Moderate Aerobic Zone | 70% – 80% | This is where your body works best to improve your cardiovascular health. Your body is still getting plenty of oxygen, which improves your endurance. Muscles throughout your body will also become stronger. |
| Light Fat Burn Zone | 60% – 70% | As a low-intensity zone, your muscles still receive enough oxygen, this causes your body to learn how to better utilise this oxygen, increase blood flow more efficiently, and utilise fat as a source of energy. |
| Very Light Warm Up Zone | 50% – 60% | As a low-intensity zone, your body behaves the same in the Fat Burn Zone. |
How To Take Your Heart Rate Correctly without Heart Rate Calculator
To find out whether you are exercising within the target heart rate zone, you must pause exercising to take your pulse.
The recommended body part to take your pulse is at your wrist, neck, or chest. You can feel the radial pulse on the artery of the wrist by placing the tips of your index and middle fingers on it.
To calculate your heart rate, press your index and middle fingers gently on your wrist and do not use the thumb. Feel your pulse and start the count on a beat as “0” and take a 30-second count of your heartbeats and multiply it by 2 or you can take a full 1 minute count.
Why is My Heart Rate High?
Heartbeat changes with age. Children’s hearts beat faster than adults and women tend to have higher average heart rates than men.
In a healthy adult, the average resting heart rate is about 72 beats per minute. However, the following factors can affect resting heart rate and require close monitoring.
- Age: Children have a higher heart rate than adults. An adult’s heart rate varies between 72-78 beats per minute.
- Physical fitness level, i.e., Sedentary or active lifestyles: Heart disease and abnormal heartbeats are often found in those with long-term sedentary lifestyles.
- Diabetes, high blood pressure, and heart disease: All of these underlying pathological conditions can lead to an increased resting heart rate, and if left untreated, these conditions can be dangerous to the heart in the long term.
- Smokers/Non-smokers: Smokers tend to have a higher resting heart rate compared to normal people. This can be corrected by quitting smoking.
- Ambient temperature: High ambient temperature slightly increases resting heart rate. However, this usually happens when the ambient temperature drops
- Obesity: People who gain weight may have higher resting heart rates.
- Medications: Taking medications such as beta blockers can lower your resting heart rate.
- Tachycardia: This is a condition in which your resting heart rate is higher than 100 beats per minute for an extended period of time. This may be accompanied by symptoms of fatigue, dizziness and fainting.
- Bradycardia: This is when the heart rate remains below 60 beats per minute for extended periods of time. Long-term bradycardia, if left untreated, can lead to serious illness. Some potential causes of bradycardia may include long-term use of beta-blockers, sleep apnea, heart disease, aging, and electrolyte imbalances.
What is The Normal Heart Rate For a Woman?
The average heart rate for an adult woman is 78 to 82 beats per minute, but the “normal” range is 60 to 100 beats per minute. Various factors, including hormones, exercise and lifestyle, can affect your heart rate.
Typically, women or people identified as female at birth have a slightly higher heart rate than men or people identified as male at birth. The average heart rate for an adult male is between 70 and 72 beats per minute.
Why Do Men and Women Have Different Heart Rates?
At puberty, a male’s heart is 15 to 30 percent larger than a female’s. In general, an increase in heart size corresponds to an increase in height. Every time your heart beats, a contraction pumps blood into your heart and body. Women’s hearts have to beat faster to pump the same amount of blood because their hearts are usually slightly smaller than men’s.
What is The Dangerous Heart Rate for Women?
A heart rate consistently above 100 beats per minute when you’re not exercising can indicate a dangerous health condition. If your heart is beating so fast, you should see your doctor right away, especially if you also experience symptoms such as dizziness or lightheadedness.
A heart rate below 60 beats per minute can also be a problem, especially if you experience symptoms such as lightheadedness, lightheadedness, or noticeable tiredness. But it’s normal for female athletes and more active people to have a lower heart rate in their 40s and 50s.
Target Heart Rate Range Table
During training, the heart rate may be higher or lower than the prescribed intensity. The goal should be to keep your average heart rate near the middle of the prescribed range.
Find your target heart rate zone and adjust your training to stay in the middle of your heart rate zone throughout your workout.
| Age | HR Maximum | Target Heart Rate Range (during exercise) |
|---|---|---|
| 20-29 | 200 | 140 to 170 beats |
| 30-39 | 190 | 133 to 162 beats |
| 40-49 | 180 | 126 to 153 beats |
| 50-59 | 170 | 119 to 145 beats |
| 60-69 | 160 | 112 to 136 beats |
| 70-79 | 150 | 105 to 128 beats |
| 80 and above | 140 | 98 to 119 beats |
More Useful Health Tools
Staying healthly goes a long way and should be made into a habit. Here are some of our free tools to aid you in the health journey:
- Know your running pace to run better with our free Running Pace Calculator
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- Check if your weight is acceptable with our best BMI Calculator
- Convert Kilometers to Miles easily with our free Kilometers to Miles Distance Converter and vice versa
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More Information on Heart Rate Calculator
How do you calculate heart rate?
To calculate your heart rate, press your index and middle fingers gently on your wrist and do not use the thumb. Feel your pulse and start the count on a beat as “0” and take a 30-second count of your heartbeats and multiply it by 2 or you can take a full 1 minute count.
What is a good heart rate for my age?
During training, the heart rate may be higher or lower than the prescribed intensity. The goal should be to keep your average heart rate near the middle of the prescribed range.
What heart rate is too high?
Tachycardia is a condition in which your resting heart rate is higher than 100 beats per minute for an extended period of time. This may be accompanied by symptoms of fatigue, dizziness and fainting.
How do I know if my heart is OK?
Measuring your heart rate is a very important part of your heart health check. It measures the number of heartbeats per minute, assesses the regularity of the pulse, and identifies the strength of the pulse.
What is a normal heart rate?
A normal resting heart rate for adults ranges from 60 to 100 beats per minute (bpm). Heart rate increases with activity to a maximum of approximately 220 minus your age.