What is target heart rate?

The first article in this series, Should You Train According to Heart Rate?, explained that heart rate training can be an ideal tool for runners to use because it's predictable.

Target heart rate calculator What’s a safe range for how fast your heart beats while exercising? Find out with this simple heart rate calculator. Learn more Understanding your results and recommended next steps Learn more Age is generally no barrier to physical activity. The National Physical Activity and Sedentary Behavior guidelines provide recommendations for what types and how much physical activity for children under 5 years old. Talk to your GP or maternal and child health professional if you have any questions about what’s most appropriate for your child. Age is generally no barrier to exercising. However, if you are over 80 years old, check with your doctor first before starting a new exercise regimen and check which activities are most suitable for you. Congratulations on reaching such a milestone! However, as only one person in the world is known to have lived over 120 years of age, we recommend you enter in a more valid numerical age. Using this tool

Enter your age and click ‘calculate’ to find out your maximum heart rate and your Target Heart Rate range for different levels of exercise intensity.

This calculator has been reviewed by Bupa health professionals and is based on reputable sources of medical research. It is not a diagnostic tool and should not be relied on as a substitute for professional medical or other professional health advice. If you are concerned or are at increased risk of heart disease, are pregnant, or have not been physically active for a while, please see your doctor for advice before embarking on any new exercise program.

Aerobic exercise is when your body uses oxygen in a process that breaks down glucose and fat for energy to fuel physical activity. This kind of activity makes your heart and lungs work harder to get oxygen-rich blood to your muscles, and causes your heart rate to speed up. So it’s important to know the safe range – your target heart rate – for how fast your heart beats to help you get benefit from physical activity without overworking this vital muscle. 

The American Heart Association recommends people aim for a general target heart rate (THR) of:

• 50-69% of your maximum heart rate (MHR) during moderate-intensity exercise
• 70-85% of your maximum heart rate (MHR) when exercising at vigorous intensity.

Your maximum heart rate is estimated by deducting your age from the number 220, and is expressed in beats per minute (bpm). 

You’re considered to be doing moderate-intensity activity when your heart rate is slightly increased and you’re breathing harder - as a guide, you can talk comfortably but probably won’t have enough breath to sing. When you’re doing vigorous-intensity activity, you likely find yourself ‘huffing and puffing’, and find it difficult to talk in full sentences.

How much activity do I need?

The Australian physical activity and sedentary behaviour guidelines recommend everyone should aim for at least 30 minutes of moderate-intensity physical activity each day, for most days of the week, increasing up to at least 60 minutes of moderate-to-vigorous intensity every day for children and young people aged 5-17.

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Your target heart rate is 50 to 85 percent of your maximum heart rate. It is the level at which your heart is beating with moderate to high intensity. To determine your maximum heart rate, take 220 and subtract your age.

Sustaining a workout at this pace improves cardiorespiratory endurance. So knowing your target heart rate helps you pace your workouts. Exercising at the right level of intensity will help you avoid burning out or wasting time with a workout that’s not vigorous enough to help you meet your goals.

Help your heart work stronger

Cardiovascular exercise (also called aerobic exercise) is especially effective in keeping your heart healthy and reaching your target heart rate. This specific type of exercise gets your heart beating fast for several minutes at a time.

Target heart rate is defined as the minimum number of heartbeats in a given amount of time in order to reach the level of exertion necessary for cardiovascular fitness, specific to a person’s age, gender, or physical fitness.

The following is an estimate given by the American Heart Association for target heart rate numbers for adults ages 45 to 70:

• 45 years: 88 to 149 beats per minute
• 50 years: 85 to 145 beats per minute
• 55 years: 83 to 140 beats per minute
• 60 years: 80 to 136 beats per minute
• 65 years: 78 to 132 beats per minute
• 70 years: 75 to 128 beats per minute

Measure your heart rate

To determine your heart rate, use your first two fingers to press lightly over the blood vessels on your inner wrist—the side by your thumb. Count your pulse for ten seconds and multiply this number by six.

If your heart rate is 50 to 85 percent of your maximum heart rate, you have hit your target heart zone and are working at the right level of intensity.

Wearing a multifunctional fitness tracker such as the Fitbit, or Nike+ FuelBand SE, does the work for you. The device is worn like a bracelet or watch and measures your heart rate.

Exercising at the right level of intensity improves heart and respiratory endurance and helps keep your workout at a level that is vigorous enough to meet your health goals.

A final note

If you have a heart condition, be sure to discuss your target heart rate with your doctor prior to beginning an exercise program.

One way of checking physical activity intensity is to determine whether your pulse or heart rate is within the target zone during physical activity.1

For moderate-intensity physical activity, your target heart rate should be between 64% and 76%1,2 of your maximum heart rate. You can estimate your maximum heart rate based on your age. To estimate your maximum age-related heart rate, subtract your age from 220. For example, for a 50-year-old person, the estimated maximum age-related heart rate would be calculated as 220 – 50 years = 170 beats per minute (bpm). The 64% and 76% levels would be:

• 64% level: 170 x 0.64 = 109 bpm, and
• 76% level: 170 x 0.76 = 129 bpm

This shows that moderate-intensity physical activity for a 50-year-old person will require that the heart rate remains between 109 and 129 bpm during physical activity.

For vigorous-intensity physical activity, your target heart rate should be between 77% and 93%1,2 of your maximum heart rate. To figure out this range, follow the same formula used above, except change “64 and 76%” to “77 and 93%”. For example, for a 35-year-old person, the estimated maximum age-related heart rate would be calculated as 220 – 35 years = 185 beats per minute (bpm). The 77% and 93% levels would be:

• 77% level: 185 x 0.77 = 142 bpm, and
• 93% level: 185 x 0.93 = 172 bpm

This shows that vigorous-intensity physical activity for a 35-year-old person will require that the heart rate remains between 142 and 172 bpm during physical activity.

Generally, to figure out whether you are exercising within the target heart rate zone, you must briefly stop exercising to take your pulse. You can take your pulse at your neck, wrist, or chest. We recommend the wrist. You can feel the radial pulse on the artery of the wrist in line with the thumb. Place the tips of the index and middle fingers over the artery and press lightly. Do not use the thumb. Take a full 60-second count of the heartbeats, or take for 30 seconds and multiply by 2. Start the count on a beat, which is counted as “zero.” For example, if this number falls between 109 and 129 bpm in the case of a 50-year-old person, he or she is active within the target range for moderate-intensity activity.

1. Deborah Riebe, Jonathan K Ehrman, Gary Liguori, Meir Magal. Chapter 6 General Principles of Exercise Prescription. In: ACSM’s Guidelines for Exercise Testing and Prescription. 10th Ed. Wolters Kluwer/Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, Philadelphia, PA: 2018, 143-179.
2. Physical Activity Guidelines Advisory Committee [PDF-4.6MB]. Physical Activity Guidelines Advisory Committee Report, 2008. Washington, DC: U.S. Dept of Health and Human Services; 2008.