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Anyone who has ever become involved in exercise, especially
aerobic exercise, has probably heard the term "target heart rate" or "target
heart range" or THR. This is a very important concept for anyone who is involved
in an exercise program or someone who wants to start a program. Unfortunately,
some exercise professionals gloss over this concept and don’t let people know
just how important it is. My wife belongs to a Jazzercise group and she tells me
that the instructors hardly bring up the need for monitoring your THR during an
exercise session (my wife wears a heart rate monitor to keep checks on her THR
all the time, so I guess I’ve had a positive influence on her in that respect).
I sure am glad that I’m not the insurance company handling the liability
insurance for this group. You see, not monitoring your THR can actually be
dangerous. And, not only can it be dangerous for mature people, but it can also
be dangerous for younger people too.
So, let’s look at the concept of THR and why it is so important. Under normal
circumstances, the human heart can only beat so many beats per minute. If it
goes above or below these certain parameters, it usually means that something is
wrong, and that’s one of the reasons we need to know what it is. For the average
person, a simple rule of thumb to determine your maximum heart rate (MHR) is to
subtract your age from 220 (women can use 210). Example: a 60 year old male can
calculate his MHR by taking 220 – 60 = 160, so his MHR is 160. A 60 year old
female would take 210 – 60 = 150, so her MHR is 150. Keep in mind that this is
just a rule of thumb. If you want to find out what your exact MHR is, you will
need to have a doctor put you through an aerobic exercise test to exhaustion (a
“max test”), which isn’t usually worth while for most of us. When I was in
graduate school they would put me through a “max test” about once every other
week to give the other students a chance to see how all the equipment worked and
what they needed to do to run everything properly. They used me because I was a
well conditioned triathlete and a little stupid too. Believe me, those tests are
tough, and you don’t want to go through one unless you absolutely have to.
The reason you need to know your MHR is that it is used to determine your THR
for different exercise goals. What do we mean when we say “different exercise
goals”? Some people are going to exercise just to stay or get healthy. Others
will want to exercise to lose weight. And, still others may be exercising to
increase their aerobic or anaerobic capabilities for a certain sport (swimming,
sprinting, marathons, etc.). Whatever these goals are, the THR to achieve them
is going to be different. If someone just wants to use aerobic exercise to help
become or stay healthy, a good THR for them might be 65% – 80% of their MHR.
Using our 60 year old male whose MHR is 160, his THR for staying healthy would
be 160 x 65% = 104, 160 x 80% = 128, so his range would be 104 – 128 heart beats
per minute (this is measured by taking your pulse). If he wants to lose weight,
he might use a THR of 60% - 70% of his MHR because this level will burn more
fat. And, don’t forget, monitoring your heart rate isn’t only to achieve your
exercise goals. It is important that you keep track of your heart rate so that
if anything unusual starts to happen while you’re exercising you will be able to
stop.
A really convenient way to keep track of your target heart rate is with a
heart rate monitor. These can cost anywhere from about $60 up to $250 and more
depending on how many bells and whistles you want. You can also just take your
pulse at your wrist or neck (how to do that is food for another article),
several times during an exercise session to make sure you stay within your
range.
Knowing your THR and MHR is very important, both for safety and for
appropriate exercise goal setting. Learn what they are, and monitor them
regularly.
©2005 Thomas D. Manfredi, MS
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Online fitness coach Tom Manfredi is the creator of the site fitness-after-50.com. He has a
master's degree in exercise physiology and over 20 years of practical exercise
experience.
This site is designed with the mature adult in mind. Learn
more by going to fitness-after-50.com |
