Q&A for How to Calculate Your Target Heart Rate

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Is target heart rate a good metric to use for your workouts?

Steve Bergeron
Personal Trainer & Strength Coach
Steve Bergeron is a Personal Trainer, Strength Coach, and the Co-Owner of AMP Fitness in Boston, Massachusetts. With over a decade of experience, Steve specializes in educating, guiding, and empowering his clients to develop healthy habits and reach their individual fitness goals. He holds a BS in Exercise Physiology and is an NSCA Certified Strength and Conditioning Coach (CSCS), ASCM Health and Fitness Specialist (HFS), Strong First Kettlebell Coach (SFG), and Certified Functional Movement Screen Specialist (FMS). AMP Fitness’ mission is to create a community that is inclusive and gives people the tools and support they need to succeed.

Steve Bergeron

Personal Trainer & Strength Coach

Expert Answer

Target heart rate can be deceiving because it doesn't necessarily correspond with your current health and fitness level or your experience. It's really a generalization. A better metric would be just how you feel while you're working out. We generally recommend that most people train at a level between six and seven out of ten in terms of intensity. That will help you see progress without getting overly fatigued.

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Question

What are the stages of an effective exercise routine?

Michele Dolan
Certified Fitness Trainer
Michele Dolan is a Fitness Trainer based in Sidney, British Columbia. She has been a personal trainer and fitness instructor since 2002, and was certified as a Personal Trainer by the British Columbia Recreation and Parks Association (BCRPA). Michele is also a Registered Clinical Counselor, and uses her 20+ years of fitness coaching experience to help clients understand their mind-body connection. She is a Registered Clinical Counsellor (RCC) and Certified Clinical Counsellor (CCC), certified by the British Columbia Association of Clinical Counsellors and the Canadian Counselling and Psychotherapy Association. In her work, Michele uses the tools of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, Dialectic Behavior Therapy and Cognitive Processing Therapy for Post Traumatic Stress Syndrome. She practices and teaches mindfulness and acceptance in all of her coaching work. She holds a Master’s Degree in Counselling Psychology.

Michele Dolan

Certified Fitness Trainer

Expert Answer

Of course the stages vary depending on the goal of the workout, but in the most general terms, a cardio workout begins with a 5 to 10 minute warm up where the heart rate becomes elevated to HRMin, then exercise sustains the heart rate between HRMin target and HRMax target. The length of this sustained period depends on your goals but 20 minutes would be a reasonable length of time. Then a cool down period would follow where one gradually lowers the heart rate to below the HRMin target. This might take another 5 to 10 minutes. Stretching would be a good follow up at this point.

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What is the formula to figure out your target heart rate?

Michele Dolan
Certified Fitness Trainer
Michele Dolan is a Fitness Trainer based in Sidney, British Columbia. She has been a personal trainer and fitness instructor since 2002, and was certified as a Personal Trainer by the British Columbia Recreation and Parks Association (BCRPA). Michele is also a Registered Clinical Counselor, and uses her 20+ years of fitness coaching experience to help clients understand their mind-body connection. She is a Registered Clinical Counsellor (RCC) and Certified Clinical Counsellor (CCC), certified by the British Columbia Association of Clinical Counsellors and the Canadian Counselling and Psychotherapy Association. In her work, Michele uses the tools of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, Dialectic Behavior Therapy and Cognitive Processing Therapy for Post Traumatic Stress Syndrome. She practices and teaches mindfulness and acceptance in all of her coaching work. She holds a Master’s Degree in Counselling Psychology.

Michele Dolan

Certified Fitness Trainer

Expert Answer

Let's say that you are trying to burn fat. You want to keep your heart rate above about 65% of its maximum. A good quick way to get an approximate value is this formula: 220 - (Your Age) x 0.65 = 65% of your heart rate maximum.

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Question

What is the formula of THR?

Michele Dolan
Certified Fitness Trainer
Michele Dolan is a Fitness Trainer based in Sidney, British Columbia. She has been a personal trainer and fitness instructor since 2002, and was certified as a Personal Trainer by the British Columbia Recreation and Parks Association (BCRPA). Michele is also a Registered Clinical Counselor, and uses her 20+ years of fitness coaching experience to help clients understand their mind-body connection. She is a Registered Clinical Counsellor (RCC) and Certified Clinical Counsellor (CCC), certified by the British Columbia Association of Clinical Counsellors and the Canadian Counselling and Psychotherapy Association. In her work, Michele uses the tools of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, Dialectic Behavior Therapy and Cognitive Processing Therapy for Post Traumatic Stress Syndrome. She practices and teaches mindfulness and acceptance in all of her coaching work. She holds a Master’s Degree in Counselling Psychology.

Michele Dolan

Certified Fitness Trainer

Expert Answer

The formulas are as follows: Maximum Heart Rate (HRMax) = 207 - (0.7 x AGE) Resting Heart Rate (RHR) = Pulse at rest Heart Rate Reserve (HRR) = HRMax - RHR Target Minimum Heart Rate (Target HRMin) = (HRR x 0.5) + RHR Target Moderate Heart Rate (Target HRMod) =(HRR x 0.7) + RHR Target Intense Heart Rate (Target HRIntense) : (HRR x 0.85) + RHR As you can see, you need to calculate your heart rate reserve (HRR) first and plug that number into the formulas to determine the target zones.

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Question

How do you find your target heart rate?

Michele Dolan
Certified Fitness Trainer
Michele Dolan is a Fitness Trainer based in Sidney, British Columbia. She has been a personal trainer and fitness instructor since 2002, and was certified as a Personal Trainer by the British Columbia Recreation and Parks Association (BCRPA). Michele is also a Registered Clinical Counselor, and uses her 20+ years of fitness coaching experience to help clients understand their mind-body connection. She is a Registered Clinical Counsellor (RCC) and Certified Clinical Counsellor (CCC), certified by the British Columbia Association of Clinical Counsellors and the Canadian Counselling and Psychotherapy Association. In her work, Michele uses the tools of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, Dialectic Behavior Therapy and Cognitive Processing Therapy for Post Traumatic Stress Syndrome. She practices and teaches mindfulness and acceptance in all of her coaching work. She holds a Master’s Degree in Counselling Psychology.

Michele Dolan

Certified Fitness Trainer

Expert Answer

Your target heart rate for exercise is 60-80% of your heart rate maximum, which is roughly 220 minus your age.

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