Determine your target heart rate depending on what you're trying to accomplish. For weight loss purposes, you want to maintain a heart rate between 60 to 70 percent of your maximum. This is called the fat burning zone. To build endurance and stamina, you want to target a heart rate around 80 percent of maximum. This is the aerobic zone.
Step2
Start out by determining your resting heart rate and your max heart rate. You need these two parameters in order to target your heart rate for the purposes you want. After all, you can't know when you've reached 70 percent of your maximum heart rate if you don't know what your max is.
Step3
Take your resting pulse. Do this as soon as you wake up or after you've been resting comfortably for some time without movement. Find your pulse on your neck below your ear or on your wrist just below the thumb. Count the beats for one minute. This is your resting heart rate (RHR).
Step4
Calculate your target heart rate as follows. Subtract your age from 220. This gives you your max heart rate. Now, subtract your resting heart rate from your max heart rate. Take this number and multiply it by your target. If you're going for fat burning, for example, multiply the number by 60 percent. Finally, add that number to your resting heart rate to determine your target heart rate.
Step5
Look at the following example for determining target heart rate. Imagine you are 40 years old and have a resting heart rate of 65 beats per minute. You want to target a heart rate of about 70 percent of max. This is the formula: 220 - 40=180. 180 - 65=115. 115 x .70 = 80.5. 80.5 + 65 = 145, so your target heart rate is 145 beats per minute. Be careful when you get to this point, and always stop working out immediately if you feel any pain or are short of breath.
Step6
Learn an alternative target heart rate computation from essortment.com (see Resources below).
Tips & Warnings
Don't worry about monitoring your heart rate constantly. Instead, take your heart rate two to three times during your workout. Take it after you've warmed up, in the middle of your workout, and once right before you cool down. Average the three together to see if you've maintained your target heart rate throughout.
