Predicted Maximum Heart Rate Calculation
Before beginning an exercise program it is a good idea to check out your resting heart rate, target heart rate for your age, and a predicted maximum heart rate. It is important from several aspects both from establishing a base and as a way of measuring progress. This gives a goal for each workout.
Calculation of resting heart rate is best done before getting out of bed and you are still horizontal. This is a good method to determine the minimum heart rate. A stop watch or clock can be used to measure the pulse rate. The best approach is to measure this for a minute, but a half minute could be used and then doubled.
Resting heart rate can increase with age but there is also often significant difference among people depending on fitness levels, age, and their genetic background. This gives a starting point for you.
Taking the heart rate on the wrist is usually the easiest. This should be taken on the side your thumb is on and measures the beat in your radial artery. Use your fingers as you may get confused with a beat in your thumb which will make a count difficult. Another option often seen on TV programs is to take the pulse under the jaw on the carotid artery on the side of the neck
Having established your resting heart rate the next measure is the the predicted maximum heart rate calculation. The beats per minute is determined using this method. This is then used to calculate what your target heart rate maximum should be.
A cardiac stress test is the recommended approach to get data for the predicted maximum heart rate calculation. Supervision by a doctor is really required for the test which won’t suit everyone. The maximum heart rate can be determined by a doctor who looks for changes that occur when the heart is stressed. These tests are often done for top athletes and less often for the ordinary fitness enthusiast.
The age of the person is often used to calculate the predicted maximum heart rate using a formula. Doctors have used the cardiac stress test to work out these formulae. It is best to understand that there are substantial differences amoungst individuals.
You will often have seen a chart on the wall at the gym, and sometimes it is on the powered exercise machines that gives a guide along the following lines:-
At age 30 At age 55
Maximum Heart Rate = 220 minus your age 190 165
Another acceptable formula is
Maximum Heart Rate = 205.8 minus (0.685 × age) 185 168
As can be seen the range is narrower for the second formulae and the maximum heart rate is also a little higher at an older age.
As discussed there is a substantial disparity between individuals even if they are the same age and fitness level. As a point of interest this has been tested on members of the same team who have undergone the same training regime and are close to the same age. So these methods cannot really be used as a comparison of the fitness levels of different sportspeople.
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