The American College Of Sports Medicine as well as most fitness organizations recommend maintaining a heart rate of 65%-85% of your maximum heart rate. In order to accurately find your maximum heart rate, you would need to perform a fitness test with monitors etc. Because most fitness facilities don't have access to this expensive equipment, you can use a basic formula which was developed to give a general range for performing cardio at an optimal heart rate range.
The formula to find your TARGET HEART RATE IS...
(220-age) X.65
(220-age) X.85
For example: I am 47 years old. So, to determine my TARGET HEART RATE...
(220-47) X.65= 112.45
(220-47) X.85= 147.05
Therefore, my ideal target heart rate when doing cardiovascular exercise would be between 113-147 heart beats per minute.
There are factors which may affect Target Heart Rate. Target Heart Rate is not effective for those who take blood pressure medicine or other medications which may affect resting heart rate and blood pressure. Athletes who are conditioned such as tri athletes and hockey, soccer players etc, may have a lower resting heart rate and may find it difficult to elevate their heart rate in their target zone. In this event, Borg's Rate Of Perceived Exertion would be a more effective way to monitor your cardiovascular workout. I will cover Borg's Rate Of Perceived Exertion in a future blog!