Predicted Maximum Heart Rate Calculation

Establish resting heart rate, target heart rate, and predicted maximum heart rate before starting a new workout program. It is important from several aspects both from establishing a base and as a way of measuring progress. This gives a goal for each workout.

Calculation of resting heart rate is best done before getting out of bed and you are still horizontal. This is a good method to determine the minimum heart rate. A stop watch or clock can be used to measure the pulse rate. This is better taken over a minute for more accuracy but some people take it for 6 seconds and then multiply by 10 to get the number of beats per minute.

There is often a considerable difference in resting heart rate between people depending on genetics, fitness levels, and age, often resting heart rate can increase with age. This gives a starting point for you.

Often the easiest and most common way to take the heart rate is on the wrist. Take the radial artery heart beat on the side of your hand on which your thumb is located. To avoid confusion the fingers should be used to get the beat, the thumb has a beat of its own which makes it tricky to count. Another option often seen on TV programs is to take the pulse under the jaw on the carotid artery on the side of the neck

Having established your resting heart rate the next measure is the the predicted maximum heart rate calculation. This is to determine how many beats your heart could reasonably do in a minute. This point is used to work out what the target maximum heart rate base is.

The best way to get data for a predicted maximum heart rate calculation is to use the cardiac stress test. Supervision by a doctor is really required for the test which won’t suit everyone. A doctor has the skills to look for changes that occur in the heart when it is stressed and this is used as the maximum. Top athletes are often tested this way because they are really working hard but it is not so common for the regular exerciser.

The age of the person is often used to calculate the predicted maximum heart rate using a formula. Doctors have used the cardiac stress test to work out these formulae. Keep in mind that there are still significant variations between individuals.

You will often have seen a chart on the wall at the gym, and sometimes it is on the powered exercise machines that gives a guide along the following lines:-

At age 30         At age 55

Maximum Heart Rate = 220 minus your age                 190                165

Another acceptable formula is

Maximum Heart Rate = 205.8 minus (0.685 × age)       185                168

As can be seen the range is narrower for the second formulae and the maximum heart rate is also a little higher at an older age.

As mentioned before there is a significant difference between different people even if the fitness level and age is similar. As a point of interest this has been tested on members of the same team who have undergone the same training regime and are close to the same age. Therefore these tests cannot really be applied to comparing the relative levels of fitness.

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