Determining your maximum heart rate is a key part of figuring out whether you are working out hard enough to achieve the results you want. To maximize the number of calories you burn during a workout, you want to keep your heart rate at 75% to 85% of your maximum heart rate. There are a couple ways to figure your maximum heart rate. One is to get on a treadmill and test yourself physically; the other involves a mathematical formula. The treadmill method will produce the most accurate results for an individual.
Instructions
Treadmill Test
1. Find a treadmill with a heart rate monitor and make sure the heart rate monitor is properly attached and configured.
2. Run as fast as you can for 3 minutes. Keep an eye on the heart rate monitor.
3. Slow down and jog for 3 minutes. Keep an eye on the heart rate monitor.
4. Repeat Step 2 and run as fast as you can for 3 minutes. Keep an eye on the heart rate monitor. The heart rate reading you get after this second speed interval is your maximum heart rate.
Mathematical Method
5. Multiply your age by 0.8 if you are a man, or by 0.9 if you are a woman. A 40-year-old man, for example, would get 40 x 0.8 = 32. A 40-year-old woman would get 40 x 0.9 = 36.
6. Subtract that number from 214 if you are a man, or 209 if you are a woman. Taking the above examples, a 40-year-old man would get 214-32 = 182. A 40-year-old woman would get 209-36 = 173.
7. This final number is your target heart rate in beats per minute.
Tags: heart rate, heart rate monitor, rate monitor, maximum heart, maximum heart rate