Knowing your maximum heart rate (beats per minute) is essential if you must increase your aerobic fitness, because it is the premise for determining your heart rate training zones, which measure the intensity of your aerobic exercise. Exercise at 50 to 70 percent of your maximum heart rate is taken into account the moderate intensity zone, while 70 to 85 percent of your maximum heart rate is taken into account high intensity. Anything above 85 percent and also you’re in your maximum heart rate zone.
Reasons why you may miss your goal
Intrigued why exercise enthusiasts might find it difficult to achieve their maximum heart rate, I asked Dr. Clinton Brawner, clinical exercise physiologist at Henry Ford Health in Detroit, for his contributions. His answer: If you are giving it your all and never meeting your goal maximum heart rate, you either have the mistaken goal otherwise you’re doing the mistaken sort of training to achieve that focus on.
“The big questions are what purpose we’re using and where we got it from,” says Brawner. “For years, heart rate zones were posted on gym partitions and were often based on the formula 220 minus age. However, there is no such thing as a science behind this formula. There is plenty of variation between individuals – half can have a maximum heart rate 15 to twenty beats per minute higher or lower.”
Even though technology has come a good distance since putting signs on partitions, most smart devices and cardio machines – while accurately measuring heart rate – still depend on old-school formulas to supply users with goal heart rate zones.
“A smartwatch typically gives you a goal maximum heart rate based on age, not physiology,” says Brawner. “If my heart rate doesn’t go that prime, there might be a disconnect. Heart rate is just an estimate and the technology has many shortcomings.”
Brawner says one other common mistake is attempting to hit your max heart rate zone during HIIT or other training that involves strength moves like burpees, jacking jacks or plyo lunges. “You’ll experience regional muscle fatigue (like leg burnout) before you reach your maximum heart rate,” says Brawner. “You get aerobic advantages with these exercises, however the response to training is different.”
How to appropriately determine your maximum heart rate
The most reliable option to find your maximum heart rate is with a stress test, which many health and sports centers offer, says Brawner. If that is not an option, an alternate is to measure your heart rate during maximum exertion, with the caveat that you have to be doing purely aerobic exercise comparable to running, swimming, using an elliptical trainer, or cycling (yes, a stationary bike class will work). You’re more likely to reach your maximum heart rate once you’re unable to carry a conversation or maintain a pace for greater than 30 to 60 seconds.
“The highest heart rate you see at highest intensity ought to be your goal maximum heart rate,” says Brawner. “Think about how you are feeling. If you’ll be able to talk or sustain the pace for a couple of minutes, you are not at your max and wish to make changes to work harder,” comparable to increasing the machine’s speed or incline, or ensuring you are using the proper form.
(Note: People who are usually not physically fit, have heart conditions, or are taking heart or blood pressure medications shouldn’t do that as it may possibly be potentially dangerous.)
And while regular exercise won’t increase your maximum heart rate, it should strengthen your heart and ultimately lower your overall heart rate. “You’ll see a lower heart rate at rest and through exercise,” says Brawner. “The same exercises might be easier and you should have to work harder to feel the hassle. It’s an indication of improvement.”
Bottom line: Smart devices and cardio devices are good tools for measuring your heart rate, nevertheless, finding your individual maximum also requires using the potential of the human brain. “We must be smarter than technology,” says Brawner.
