What's my target heart rate?
Heart rate is an excellent measure of physical activity intensity. The harder your muscles are working, the higher your heart rate will rise. However, there is not one answer for what your target heart rate should be during exercise. The answer depends on your age and your goals for that workout.
A healthy adult's heart beats 60-90 times per minute at rest. However, as soon as we start engaging in physical activity, heart beats per minute increase. The rate and degree of heart rate change is age dependent. As we grow older, our maximum heart rate during activity will naturally decrease over time. Therefore, a person in their 30s working at high intensity will have a much higher heart rate than someone in their 80s working at the same intensity.
Your goals are also a major factor when determining your target heart rate. Maximum heart rate is not the goal for cardiovascular exercise. Different health goals are achieved at various percentages of your maximum heart rate. Certainly, cardiovascular benefits are greatest at moderately-high to high intensity. However, working out at a moderate intensity produces similar long-term health benefits, and is more comfortable for people with joint or pain issues. Long-duration moderate intensity exercise is also the best choice for burning fat. As a Doctor of Physical Therapy, I would only ever ask someone to work at 90-100% of their maximum heart rate if I was running a special diagnostic test, such as when taking a EKG reading for a cardiologist.
See the chart below for a general recommendation of your target heart rate by age at different levels of intensity. Please note that some factors, such as medications, pace makers, and certain health conditions could make your heart rate range different from what is listed in the chart. Ask your physician or Physical Therapist to calculate your individualized target heart rate ranges.
