Find Your Resting and Target Heart Rate

Feb 10, 2017

Here’s how to keep the beat during any activity.

Getting too much exercise results in a high heart rate, while too little results in a low heart rate. Sounds simple, right? But did you know overtraining can cause health problems including dehydration, a drop in blood pressure, and dizziness? Or that undertraining will minimize calories burned, therefore limiting strength building and cardiovascular endurance? It’s important to monitor your heart rate during exercise to avoid overtraining or undertraining.

What is a target heart rate, and why is it important?

Your target heart rate is the number of times your heart should beat per minute during exercise.

Follow these American Heart Association (AHA) guidelines for finding your resting and training heart rates.

- To find your resting heart rate before a workout, place two fingers on the inside of your wrist and count the number of pulse beats in one minute
- To find your training heart rate after a workout, place two fingers on the inside of your wrist, count your pulse for 10 seconds and multiply the result by six

The National Institutes of Health says the average resting heart rate for children 10 years and older and for adults is 60 to 100 beats per minute. The average resting heart rate for well-trained athletes is 40 to 60 beats per minute.

Your target heart rate falls between 50% and 85% of your maximum heart rate. Find your maximum heart rate by subtracting your age from 220, or use the chart below as a reference.

In the chart below, find the age category closest to yours and read horizontally to pinpoint your target heart rate, as well as your average maximum heart rate. Your heart rate should fall between 50% and 69% of your maximum heart rate during moderately intense exercise and about 70% to less than 90% of your maximum heart rate during hard physical activity, according to the AHA.

Important Note from the AHA: A few high blood pressure medications lower the maximum heart rate and thus the target zone rate. If you’re taking such medicine, call your physician to find out if you need to use a lower target heart rate.