Target Heart Rate Calculator

Entering Your Information

During exercise, you want to elevate your heart rate to strengthen it while avoiding rates that endanger it. According to the American Heart Association, the best heart rates to achieve during exercise are between 50 - 85% of your maximum heart rate.

Use our Target Heart Rate Calculator to compute the appropriate heart rate for people your age to achieve during exercise. If you're beginning an exercise program, you should aim for the low end of this range. More experienced exercisers can aim for higher target rates.

1. Enter your age in the space provided.

2. Click SUBMIT.

More About This Tool

You're sweating through another aerobic workout, and you're wondering whether you're overdoing it or not working hard enough. Pacing yourself is extremely important to maximizing the benefits of exercise. What's the right pace for you?

One way of finding the right pace is to monitor how fast your heart is pumping during your workout. According to the American Heart Association, the safest and most effective pace of exercise is one that keeps your heart pumping at a speed between 50 - 85% of your maximum heart rate. Fill in the information below and we'll calculate the range of target heart rates that may be best for you during exercise.

Interpreting the Results

The displayed target heart range is a guideline for people in good health at your age. It should not be used if you're taking heart medication or suffering from asthma, heart disease, or hypertension. If you are under medical care or are beginning a fitness program, consult your health-care professional first.

During exercise, you can measure your heart rate from your wrist or neck. See the illustrations on the results page for more information.

The target heart rate calculator is not applicable to children. Their maximum heart rates can approach 200 beats per minute. Healthy children do not need to restrict activity for cardiovascular reasons.

What Your Results Mean:

If you're just starting an aerobic exercise regimen, you should aim for the lower end of the range and gradually increase the pace. If you're intensely training, you may want to aim for the upper end of the spectrum. Be aware that this range serves only as a guideline and applies to those in good health. The given range does not apply to those on heart medication or those with chronic health conditions such as asthma, heart disease, or hypertension. Please consult your personal healthcare professional to determine the range of target heart rates specifically appropriate for you.

You can measure your heart rate by measuring your pulse at your wrist or neck. To measure your wrist pulse, hold your hand palm-side up and place the pads of your index and middle fingers on the top of your wrist. To measure your neck pulse, place the same two fingers at the side of your neck. Find your pulse and count the number of beats for 10 or 15 seconds. Multiply that number by six or four, respectively, to arrive at your heart rate in beats per minute. The longer you count, the more accurate the calculated beats per minute will be.

Review Date: 6/20/2008

Reviewed By: David Zieve, MD, MHA, Medical Director, A.D.A.M., Inc. Previously reviewed by Alan Greene, MD, FAAP, Department of Pediatrics, Packard Children's Hospital, Stanford University School of Medicine; Chief of Future Health, A.D.A.M., Inc. (6/9/2006)