How to Find Your Maximum Aerobic Heart Rate

Effective cardiovascular -- or aerobic -- exercise or training depends on your heart rate. The fundamental measurement used as a starting point to derive specific types of fitness benefits from specific levels of exercise is known as your maximum heart rate. In exercise terms, maximum rate means the highest heart rate at which you can exercise without pushing your body past its limits. Once you know your maximum rate, you use it to determine aerobic zones that deliver precise benefits such as fat burning, endurance or speed.

Instructions

    • 1

      Use the method developed by cardiovascular fitness expert Sally Edwards, recommends Fit Zone. If you're male, start with the number 210. Then subtract one-half of your age. Then subtract 1 percent of your body weight. Then add 4. The resulting number is your maximum heart rate. For example, a 45-year-old man weighing 190 lb. would subtract 22.5 from 210, then subtract 1.9, then add 4. The resulting maximum heart rate would be 189.

      If you're female, start with the same 210. Subtract one-half of your age, then 1 percent of your body weight. The resulting number is your maximum heart rate.

    • 2

      Stay in the right zone, advises Fit Zone. Once you've calculated your maximum heart rate, use it properly. For example, you must exercise at 50 to 60 percent of your total heart rate to gain any fitness benefit at all. That range, known as Zone 1, is right for you if you're just starting an exercise program or you're older or out of shape. Zone 1 training is particularly beneficial if you want to lose weight because it uses fat as your body's primary fuel. You will begin to see real heart benefits from your exercise if you work out in Zone 2, or at 60 to 70 percent of your maximum heart rate. Because Zone 2 also burns stored body fat, it is called the "weight management zone," reports Fit Zone.

    • 3

      Exercise in Zone 3, or at 70 to 80 percent of your maximum heart rate, if you seek the most effective training range for overall cardiovascular fitness, says Fit Zone. That's why it's known as "the aerobic zone." Training in that range not only strengthens your heart, but also helps your body more efficiently use oxygen. Train in Zone 4, or at 80 to 90 percent of your maximum heart rate, if you want to surpass the aerobic zone and enter the so-called anaerobic zone. This means your muscles can no longer get rid of lactic acid and you will suffer fatigue and discomfort. Anaerobic training is popular with marathon runners and other extreme athletes who must push their bodies to the limit to compete. Train in Zone 5, or at 90 to 100 percent of your maximum rate, if you specifically want to increase your fast-twitch muscle response, which is how sprinters increase their speed. However, even the fittest athletes can train in Zone 5 only for brief periods because of the rapid buildup of lactic acid.

    • 4

      Use the Karvonen formula. An alternative method, the Karvonen formula uses your resting heart rate (RHR) as an essential metric. Your RHR will help you determine your heart rate reserve (HRR), or working heart rate. HRR is the difference between your maximum heart rate (MHR) and resting heart rate (RHR). The larger the difference between these two rates, the bigger your HRR.

      To use the Karvonen formula, measure your resting heart rate first thing in the morning, before you get out of bed. Calculate your resting heart rate by counting your pulse for 15 seconds, then multiplying by 4. To use the formula, subtract your RHR from your MHR. For example, if you have a MHR of 180 and a RHR of 60, subtract 60 from 180. The result is 120. To figure your maximum rate for training at 70 percent of your MHR, multiply 120 by 70 percent. That number is 84. Then add your RHR of 60. This means your ideal heart rate to train at 70 percent of your maximum capacity is 144.

    • 5

      Get a cardiovascular stress test from your doctor. Although the commonly used methods for calculating your maximum heart rate are fairly accurate, only a stress test can measure your maximum heart rate with total accuracy. That's why many professional endurance athletes such as marathoners routinely use stress tests to assess their training and cardiovascular fitness.