How To Measure Your Heart Rate

A week or so ago I mentioned that you should be measuring more than just your weight. One of the measures I mentioned was resting heart rate. Well, I got a couple of emails from people asking how to measure heart rates and what do the measurements mean.

Please note that all of the numbers mentioned below are averages. They vary by age, weight, gender and a number of other factors. Please don’t try to apply these numbers to yourself without consulting with a doctor. They are intended only as a guideline, not absolute recommendation.

How To

Let’s begin with how to. There are a variety of places you can measure heart rate but the easiest I found is along the wrist. Place both your hands palms up in front of you. Now take one of your hands and place the index and middle finger of that hand on the outside of the wrist of the opposite hand. The fingers should lie together on the opposite wrist about 1/2 inch on the inside of the joint, in line with the index finger.

Feel for a pulse. When you find a pulse, count the number of beats in a ten second section of time and then multiply by 6. If you want to be more accurate, count heart beats for 15 seconds and multiply by 4, count for 30 seconds and multiply by 2 or count for 60 seconds. The more time you count for, the more accurate your measure.

Resting Heartrate

For resting heart rate, you should measure in the morning, a minute or two after you wake up. Don’t measure your heart rate if you just woke up from some horrible nightmare or especially exciting dream. Those tend to elevate heart rate and will make for an inaccurate measure. Try to measure on three or four separate days and then average the number for more accuracy.

Normal resting heart rate is about 60 to 80 beats per minute. It will be lower for people who are in good shape and it increases as you age.

Maximum Heart Rate

Maximum heart rate is the level above which your heart is in danger. You really shouldn’t cause your heart to go up this high. Maximum heart rate is roughly calculated as 220 minus age. There are more accurate formulas out there but this one will do for now. Note that maximum heart rate doesn’t really change except with age. It does not go up if you’re in shape. However, people who are in shape can take a lot more physical strain before their heart is pumping this hard. For example, a person who is in shape can run for miles and never even come close to this number while someone who is badly out of shape may be close to their maximum heart rate after climbing one flight of stairs. For most exercise, you should aim for 60 to 80% of your maximum heart rate.

So for me, being 34 years old, my maximum heart rate 220 - 34 or 186. My target heart rate for exercise is between 111 and 149 beats per minute. If it goes a bit over 149 that’s probably ok but I shouldn’t be close or over 186 for a sustained period of time.

Recovery Rate

Recovery rate is another important factor when it comes to heart rate. It measures how quickly your heart rate goes back to normal after exercise. To measure it, simply check your heart rate right after your peak exercise point. Now rest for two minutes and measure your heart rate again. The more in shape you are, the quicker your heart rate will return to normal.

So I measure my heart rate at my peak exercise point and find it to be about 140. Now I wait two minutes and measure my heart rate again. This time I find a heart rate of about 100. I subtract 100 from 140 and divide by 2 to come up with a recovery rate of 20 beats per minute. If your recovery rate is below 12 beats per minute, then you’re in trouble. It means your heart doesn’t recover very well from the stress you put on it.

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Heart rate is one of the most important measures of health and fitness that we have. It’s relatively easy to measure at home and is a far better indicator of progress and general well being than weight. Go ahead and give it a try, and don’t forget to consult with your doctor during your yearly physical.

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