Figuring out Target Heart Rate

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RDR29
RDR29 Posts: 14
in Fitness and Exercise
I've done some of those quick calculators but not sure if they are correct.

Can anyone help me figuring mine out.

I am 5'9
27 years old
169lbs
resting heart rate 77
(I don't know if i took that right. I am sitting down and just measured it with my watch, i am not supposed to do any type of light exercise before taking resting heart rate am i? i don't know why i vaguely remember something about that from my high school fitness class).

THANK YOU!

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  • BrianSharpe
    BrianSharpe Posts: 9,248 Member
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    Your resting heart rate should be taken first thing in the morning (most accurate) or after lying quietly on your bed for some time (no TV on etc - you need to be fully relaxed) for a reasonably close result. Even when resting your heart rate will be higher when sitting up.

    Here's a link to several formulae (none of them are as accurate as a stress test) for MaxHR http://www.brianmac.co.uk/maxhr.htm

    Here's what Alex Hutchinson said (Runner's World 01/07/2008)
    Find Your True Max Heart Rate
    The newest and most accurate way to find your max heart rate. By Alex Hutchinson

    The gold standard for finding your maximal heart rate is a treadmill stress test in a lab, but you can simulate one on your own with a heart-rate monitor. At a track, do a warmup mile or two, followed by a mile at tempo pace, then gradually increase your speed over 400 meters before running a final quarter all out. "After every 100 meters during the last 400, look at your monitor and accelerate," says Atlanta-based coach Roy Benson. The highest number on your monitor will be close to your maximum heart rate. Once you know your true rate, you only need to update it every five years to see the effect of aging on your max heart rate.


    Once you've determined you MaxHR you can use the percentages as a guideline.

    BTW when you say Target HR are you referring to the so-called "fat burning zone"? If you are, read these.....

    http://www.active.com/triathlon/Articles/The-Myth-of-the-Fat-burning-Zone.htm

    http://exercise.about.com/od/weightloss/a/The-Truth-About-The-Fat-Burning-Zone.htm

    http://www.canada.com/topics/bodyandhealth/story.html?id=1740622b-d130-486c-a4d3-f05d14878ff9

    and forget you ever heard the term!
  • RDR29
    RDR29 Posts: 14
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    thanks! I will look into these :)

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