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PE 131 Training Heart Rates
General Information and Worksheet for Calculation
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General Information and Worksheet for Calculation

The heart is a specialized muscle. If it receives exercise it will continue to beat strong and be able to pump blood and deliver the oxygen the body needs. Heart disease is the number one killer in the USA today. We need to exercise our hearts throughout our life in order to be healthy and physically fit.

The heart needs a specific level of activity that will be sufficient to produce training effects while not being so high as to produce nausea or harm. We call this a TARGET HEART RATE RANGE, This range can be calculated on an individual basis using Karvonen's formula.

Karvonen's Formula
THR range = (Max. HR - Rest HR) X (.60 to .80) + Rest HR

The predicted maximum heart rate is calculated by substracting your age from 220. It is reported that an average infant heart rate at birth is 220 beats per minute and that we lose 1 beat per minute for each year we age.

The resting heart rate is calculated as follows:

When you first wake up in the morning, the pulse is counted for one full minute. The index and middle finger are used to find the pulse in either the neck or at the wrist. The thumb is never used as it has a pulse of it's own that could interfere with a correct count. The first count begins with zero, then 1, 2, 3 and so forth during the minute you are counting. The resting heart rate represents the minimum number of beats needed to sustain the body.

When the resting heart rate is subtracted from the maximum heart rate, it leaves a HEART RATE RESERVE which is then multiplied by .60 to compute the lower end of the range and then multiplied by .80 to compute the upper end of the range. These numbers are not complete as the resting heart rate must be added to them. These values are used for the general public. Athletes typically work at higher values, but this is not recommended for use by everyone and could be harmful to some.

The steps to computing the target heart rate range are placed into a worksheet below for your convenience.

Computational steps:

  1. Resting HR = _____________
  2. Max. HR = 220 - age = ________________________
  3. Max. HR - Rest HR (Answer 2 minus Answer 1) = ______________
  4. Answer 3 times .60 (for lower end) = ____________________
  5. Answer 4 plus Resting HR = __________________
  6. Answer 3 times .80 (for upper end) = ____________________
  7. Answer 6 plus Resting HR = __________________
  8. Your personal THR range for one minute = Answer 5 and Answer 7 = __________________
What this means is that when you run or jump, you want to have your heart rate fall within this range of numbers (answer 8). This is an acceptable range for normal, healthy adults. If you are older, have medical problems, you would use a lower rate, such as 55% to 70% of heart rate reserve to compute your training heart rate range. If in doubt, consult your doctor for the appropriate level or listen to your body and go on perceived levels of exertion.

When you count your pulse during exercise, you only count for 10-15 seconds and then multiply by six or four to get the beats per minute and compare it to your target heart rate range.

If you do water exercise you would subtract 17 beats per minute due to the effects of the water upon the heart rate. You would also take a six-second count to determine exercise heart rates and multiply it by ten. The reasons are several and include the following:

  1. Water increases the pressure on the outside of the body and increases venous return, decreases the workload on the heart slightly.
  2. Water removes the effect of gravity upon the body.
  3. Water at normal temperatures of 80-82 degrees Fahrenheit cools the body and removes the heat caused by exercising.
Copyright(c) 1994 Linda Delzeit