How do you get your heart rate on target? When you work out, are
you doing too much or not enough? There’s a simple way to know:
Your target heart rate helps you hit the bull’s eye. “We don’t
want people to over-exercise, and the other extreme is not
getting enough exercise,” says Gerald Fletcher, M.D., a
cardiologist and professor in the Mayo Clinic College of
Medicine in Jacksonville, Fla. First Thing’s First Before you
learn how to calculate and monitor your target training heart
rate, you have to know your resting heart rate. Your resting
heart rate is the number of times your heart beats per minute
while it’s at rest. It’s best to check it in the morning after
you’ve had a good night’s sleep and before you get out of bed.
The average resting heart rate is 60-80 beats per minute, but
it’s usually lower for physically fit people. It also rises with
age. Hitttin’ the Target Now you’re ready to determine your
target training heart rate. As you exercise, periodically: •
Take your pulse on the inside of your w