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.
As your cardiovascular conditioning improves and your heart gets stronger, it’s amazing to see how much faster your heart rates returns to normal after exercise.
Your resting heart rate also drops substantially.
Thanks for the post!
Recently, I almost nver count my heart rate after exercising…Your pos reminds me to do it again. Thanks!
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Thank you for your kind comment Anonymous. Seeing as lemons are actually a very healthy thing, I will interpret your comment as:
“This site is really healthy!”
Thanks again!
Gal
Thanks for the cool advise, I never managed to find my pulse on my wrist because I never knew how to do it properly….. untill now. Thanks!
really great post………….
Yes! Knowing how to measure ones own heart rate or pulse, can help you to learn about your own degree of fitness and can help to detect any potential medical problems.
thank you for the information, it has helped me do my GCSE p.e homework!
thank youu!
x
anyonomous was mean to you
you really helped me
thanks!
But in school we are making a fitness plan for ourselves, and we have to give ourselves a target max HR and the only options are from 50%-100%
what does this mean??
thx really helps a lot on my science fair project
sorry 4 the last 2 comment that was a freind well anyways thank you for the helpful info. it helped our science experiment
Thank’s for the tip, very useful works great and definately motivates me to start exercising again..!
It’s awesome .After reading this informations I really got courage and confidence to live.
thanks! really helped me with the bibliography part for science fair
Twelve years ago I was admitted to the hospital for open heart surgey. I felt no pain, it was a precaution I was told. (I am an insulin depent diabetic). The results were that I had quadruple by-pass surgey. Since that little surprise, I go to the gym and exercise six (6) times a week. I am now able to get my heart rate up to 85% efficiency, and on the good days I go even higher. I recently had a heart exam and was told that the atries on the left side of my heart were completely blocked. but not to worry, a new set of arteris had grown in to replace the blocked ones. I’d probably be dead and gone if not for the exercise. Oh yes I had my heart surgey at age 72, I’m 82 now and expect to be aroud till I reach 101 or better. I keep this little saying on my bathroom mirror.”The pain of exercise is nothing capared to the pain of regret’. If I can do it so can you !
Ed Duffin
Thank you Ed, that is a beautiful comment. As someone who is just now thinking about having kids, I keep reminding myself that my efforts to get healthy aren’t just about today, they’re also about 20 years from now when I watch my kids graduate high school and 30 years from now when I might bounce a grandchild on my knee.
This website is also useful
http://onlineheartrate.com/
Just tap the space bar whenever you feel a beat and it will automatically calculate your BPM.
Very useful article – will defintely help me to stay in my fat buring zone during exercise!
Samuel (Sam) Getaneh Bogale Calgary Alberta