Are you working within your target heart rate zone? When exercising, the heart responds by beating faster. Working within the range between 60 percent and 80 percent of your maximum heart rate gives you the maximum health and fat-burning benefits from your cardiovascular activity.
To determine if you are within your zone, locate your pulse with a stethoscope. Count the beats for 10 seconds, then multiply by 6. (Keeping a multiplication chart near your workout area makes this easy to calculate.) The results should be within the minimum and maximum training heart rates that you can determine from the simple formula below.
Target Heart Rate Formula
Subtract your age from 220. Take 70 percent of this number. Here's how to calculate the target heart rate for a 40-year-old person.
1. 220 - 40 = 180
2. 180 X 70% = 126 beats per minute
Again, subtract your age from 220 and take 85 percent of this number.
1. 220 - 40 = 180
2. 180 X 85% = 153 beats per minute
For a 40-year-old, the target heart rate should be between 126 and 153 beats per minute.
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