Finding Your Target Heart Rate (The Old Fashioned Way)

Ever seen runners with that black strap across their chests? In case you didn't know that's a heart rate monitor. It used to be that only the elite used them, but now you see them everywhere. Women can even buy them already incorporated into a jog bra! Their popularity has increased because heart-rate training is a great way to monitor your performance and keep from over training. The monitors are also great because they provide on-the-spot feedback that you can use to evaluate your workout.

Today's technology is awesome, but if you're not technically inclined or just cash-challenged like me, you can still monitor your heart rate and use it in your training to track your performance. Basically, your goal is to keep your your heart rate between 60% and 80% of your maximum heart rate. But first you need to determine your maximum heart rate. For years this has been done by subtracting your age from 220 (Maximum Heart Rate = 220-Age). Fairly new research has shown that this equation is not very accurate. The original calculation overestimates rates for young adults and underestimates for older adults. A new formula corrects this problem.

New Maximum Heart Rate Equation

208 - (0.7 x age)

Example:

208 - (0.7 x 40)

208 - 28 = 180

180 = Max Heart Rate

Keep in mind that the above age-related equations only provide an estimated Maximum Heart Rate (MHR). Runners of the same age can have very different MHRs. The best and most accurate way to determine your true MHR is by having a stress test done. It's also good to know that your MHR declines as you get older from about 220 beats per minute for a child to about 160 beats per minute at age 60. Typically it decreases about 1 beat per minute per year. Extra training hasn't been shown to affect this decline in Maximum Heart Rate.

So, now that you know your Maximum Heart Rate, what do you do with it? You plug it into another set of equations to determine your Target Heart Rate (THR) or your training zone. Your THR is the range between 60% and 80% of your Maximum Heart Rate. There are several ways to calculate your THR. The most common way is to multiply your MHR by the intesity of your workout to find your target zone.

Calculating Your Aerobic Training Zone
Bottom End Target Heart Rate = MHR x 0.6
Top End Target Heart Rate = MHR x 0.8
Example:

180 x 0.6 = 108 Bottom End Target Heart Rate

180 x 0.8 = 144 Top End Target Heart Rate

Takes a little time to do the calculations, but once you know your THR Zone you can start using it to monitor your training progress. To check your progress during a run, simply stop and immediately check your pulse for 10 seconds and then multiply by 6 to see if you're "In the Zone." Of course a heart rate monitor will do this for you and all you have to do is look at the monitor while running to check if you're in the zone. That's the advantage of the technology. Maybe once the kids are out of braces, I can get one.

Another tried and true technique is the Sing-and-Talk method. If you're able to sing while you're running, you're probably not working hard enough. If you can't talk while running, you're probably working too hard.

You can't increase your Maximum Heart Rate with training as you age, but you can positively affect your Resting Heart Rate (RHR) through training no matter your age. Most adults have a RHR around 72 beats per minute. Some runners can have RHRs of 40 beats per minute or lower. What that means is that your heart doesn't have to work as hard to pump the blood through your body. That's a good thing for the old ticker! It's not a bad idea to tell your physician you're a runner because they're often so use to seeing adult patients with much higher resting heart rates that when you walk in with a RHR of 50 or lower they often assume something's wrong with you. Sad, but true.