Maximum heart rate, or HRmax, is the largest number of times your heart is able to beat in any one minute. It is also the predicted heart rate that you could achieve during maximal physical exercise, although it should not be confused with the target heart rate during exercise. Knowing find your maximum heart rate is useful for a variety of reason and it allows you to more effectively track the intensity of your workout routine. Your maximum heart rate is used as the base number when calculating your target heart rate, a rate that enables you to better plan your workouts to burn the most calories without tiring out or injuring yourself.
Instructions
1. Speak with doctor before beginning any exercise routine to determine if you suffer from any health conditions that may lower your maximum heart rate. Certain health conditions and many medications may alter your HRmax and you may need to lower your maximum heart rate per your doctor's instructions. If you are currently taking medications for, or have been diagnosed with, heart disease, hypertension, or diabetes, it is especially important to consult your doctor.
2. Subtract your current age from 220 to calculate your predicted maximum heart rate. For example, a 35-year-old man would subtract 35 from 220, and would have a predicted HRmax of 185 beats per minute. This method of calculating your maximum heart rate should only be used as an estimate. Current fitness level and other factors may raise or lower your actual HRmax.
3. Ask your doctor for a cardiac stress test. This is the most accurate way of measuring your maximum heart rate, and requires you to exercise while being connected to, and monitored by, an ECG machine. During the cardiac test, the intensity of your exercise is periodically increased until the ECG detects changes in your heart's function.
4. Calculating your maximum heart rate at home is another option. Begin by warming up thoroughly on a stationary bike or treadmill with a heart rate monitor built in. Increase your effort every minute for 5 or more minutes until you are unable to walk or ride any faster. Once you have reached this point, put all of your energy into the exercise for a full 15 to 20 seconds. Stop peddling or running, and then immediately check your heart rate for a full 60 seconds. For the most accurate results, repeat this test several times on different days.
5. Rating the difficulty level of your exercises is another method of determining your maximum heart rate. Using the Rate of Perceived Exertion (RPE) scale method, you assign a number from 0 to 10 to the intensity of your exercise, with 0 being no exertion at all, and 10 being extremely difficult. Combining this rating scale with other methods can assist in establishing a new frame of reference for your exercise intensity. This method is especially useful if you believe your predicted maximum heart rate does not coincide with your perception of how hard you are working out.
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