Where should my heart rate be while exercising, based on my current fitness level and my fitness goal?
The Karvonen formula is a more personalized method to determine your exercise target heart rate. Enter your age, your resting heart rate, and the your intensity level during exercise and let this calculator help determine the target heart rate (THR) zone that will maximize the effectiveness of your cardio workouts.
Field Help
Input Fields
Title: A title for these calculator results that will help you identify it if you have printed out several versions of the calculator.
Age: Your current age.
Resting Heart Rate Average: Your one minute resting heart rate (RHR), averaged over 3 to 5 mornings. Use the ‘Resting Heart Rate Average Calculator’ to help calculate your average RHR then enter the resulting one minute number here. If that calculator is not available, use your index and middle fingers to find your pulse at the side of your neck or on your wrist before getting out of bed in the morning or after sitting down and relaxing for at least 5 minutes. Count the number of heart beats for 1 full minute. Do this for 3 to 5 mornings or days, calculate the average and enter your result here.
Fitness Goal: Choose the fitness goal closest to your actual goal.
Output Fields
Target Heart Rate (THR): Exercise at an intensity that will keep your heart rate within this range to best meet your fitness goal.
Max Heart Rate (MHR): Based on your age, this is your maximum heart rate. Even during high intensity exercise you should not let your heart rate go above this number.
Beats Per Minute (bpm): The number of heart beats per minute (bpm). If your exercise equipment has a pulse sensor it will be expressed as beats per minute.
Beats in 10 Secs: Find your pulse at your neck or wrist. Using a clock or watch with a second hand, count each heart beat for 10 seconds. (This number times 6 will be your heart beats per minute (bpm).)
Exercise Intensity Table: Your fitness goal helps determine the intensity of your exercise. In turn, exercise intensity and your age determines your target heart rate range to meet your fitness goal. This table shows the exercise intensity and target heart rate range for each fitness goal.
I don’t see a button to tell it to calculate anything. I enter the data and it just sits there…??
The values change as you tab off each field or select a fitness goal in the drop down.
You just click beside it and it calculates it