How to Calculate Your Heart Rate for Aquatic Group Exercise

Water exercise is a great way to exercise and increase fitness in people with arthritis or who need to recover from an injury. It's also good for those just starting an exercise program, senior fitness enthusiasts and people who enjoy the water environment. The nature of water exercise can make it difficult to gauge exercise intensity while in the water. A good way to determine exercise intensity is to find your exercise heart rate during an aquatic exercise class. The most common method for finding your pulse is to manually palpate either your carotid (neck) or radial (wrist) pulse. Another great exercise tool is to wear a heart rate monitor while doing water exercise to get real-time feedback on your exercise heart rate.

Things You'll Need

  • Watch timer or pool deck timer
  • Heart rate monitor
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Instructions

  1. Palpation of Wrist or Neck

    • 1

      Prepare to take your pulse either when the instructor signals a break or you are able to slow down enough to take a good pulse measurement.

    • 2

      Place your index and middle finger over either your radial artery in your wrist or your carotid artery in your neck. The radial artery is on the same side as your thumb with your palm facing toward you. The carotid artery is on the side of your neck just beside your windpipe.

    • 3

      Count the number of heart beats you feel for 10 seconds, while looking at either your watch or the pool deck timer. Multiply this number by six. This is your heart rate in beats per minute (bpm).

    Heart Rate Monitor

    • 4

      Wet the chest strap and place it around your chest. The two plastic electrodes should be just below the breast. The heart rate monitor logo should be right in the middle. Make sure the chest strap is tight but comfortable.

    • 5

      Put on the heart rate monitor watch and follow the user manual to activate the exercise mode function of the watch. The watch should begin to display your heart rate. Some models may also have a stopwatch or exercise timer to help track the amount of calories burned during the exercise class.

    • 6

      Go to your water exercise class and fully participate. Monitor your heart rate during the class for instant feedback on your exercise intensity.