Heart Rates in Sports

When it comes to elevating your heart rate, not all sports are created equal. High-endurance sports such as basketball or soccer require athletes to maintain an elevated heart rate for prolonged periods of time. Other sports, such as weight lifting, rely on burst strength and peak heart rates that reach maximal levels in short periods of time. To maintain a safe training environment, try using a heart monitor to keep tabs on your heart rate as you exercise.

  1. Estimated Maximum Heart Rate

    • Knowing your estimated maximum heart rate allows you to know when to push harder and when to hold back. To find your limit, simply subtract your age from the number 220, as recommended by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention website. If you are 20 years old, your estimated maximum heart rate will be around 200 beats per minute. Comparatively, a 50-year-old would have a heart rate ceiling of 170 beats per minute. This means older athletes have to be considerably more watchful of their pulse to maintain a safe distance from their maximum heart rate.

    Target Heart Rate

    • The ideal heart rate range for a given cardiovascular exercise is between 50 and 70 percent of your estimated maximum heart rate. For a 20-year-old, this would mean elevating your heart rate to somewhere between 100 and 140 beats per minute. While this would be sufficient for most exercisers to reap aerobic benefits, some athletes push their heart rates to considerably higher levels, ranging from 70 to 90 percent of their estimated maximum heart rate.

    Heart Rates for Different Sports

    • Endurance athletes who participate in sports such as basketball, soccer, rugby or tennis typically keep their heart rate in the so-called aerobic zone, between 70 and 80 percent of their estimated maximum heart rate. Training and competing in this range improves your cardiovascular system’s ability to supply oxygen and remove carbon dioxide from your muscles, according to the Brian Mac Sports Coach website. Athletes who engage in sports like track and field, gymnastics and weightlifting frequently access what's called the anaerobic zone by elevating their pulse to 80 or 90 percent of their estimated maximum heart rate. When you reach these intensive levels, your body begins to use up the glycogen stored up in your muscles, resulting in increased levels of lactic acid.

    Implications

    • The more you exercise, the longer it takes to reach the target heart rate zone for your particular sport. However, factors such as environmental conditions can actually counteract this by unexpectedly increasing your heart rate. For example, heat and humidity can increase your heart rate by up to 10 beats per minute. Dehydration can also play a factor, along with changes in altitude. For best results, monitor your heart anytime you train or compete in a new environment, and consult your doctor or personal trainer for advice.