Calculating Heart Rate Intensities

Calculating heart rate intensities is an integral part of following any well thought-out training program. Your body responds and adapts to activity performed at particular intensity levels for particular durations -- the only practical way to measure the intensity is by monitoring your heart rate during exercise.

To calculate your target heart rate for a particular intensity level, you first need know your maximum heart rate (Max HR) and resting heart rate (Resting HR).

Arriving At Your Maximum Heart Rate
The most accurate method used to measure your maximum is to have a professionally supervised "stress test" where your biological data would be carefully monitored and recorded as you exercised to total exhaustion. If you have access to a heart rate monitor, you can use it to simulate your own test to determine a useful estimate of your maximum. The easiest way to perform your own "stress test" is at the track (running) or on a wind trainer (cycling). After a complete 20 minute warm-up, the object is to start slowly and steadily increase your speed until you reach your physical limit. The closer you come to total exhaustion, the better the quality of the feedback that you will receive.

If you're not excited about the prospects of participating in a stress test in the near future, your maximum heart rate can be approximated by using the standard equation:

Measuring Intensity With the Total Pulse Range
The intensity level for an effort is measured as a percentage ranging from 0-100% the resting pulse (Resting HR) is considered 0% effort and the maximum pulse (Max HR) is 100%. The Total Pulse Range (TPR) is the difference between the maximum and resting heart rates; its value is used to calculate the various target heart rates:

For an example, a 30-year-old with a Resting HR of 50 bpm and a Max HR of 190 bpm will have a TPR of

This means that it is possible for the 30-year-old athlete to elevate his pulse a total of 140 bpm - from 50 bpm at rest to 190 bpm at maximum intensity.

Determining Your Target Heart Rate
In the SUPER Coach program we will state a specific training intensity level as a percentage, which will correspond to a particular heart rate. To determine the target heart rate corresponding to an intensity level, multiply the intensity percentage by your TPR value, and add the result to the Resting HR:

If a 30-year-old wanted to exercise at 70% intensity, the target heart rate would be:

In other words, when this athlete's training program called for 70% intensity, the target heart rate would be 148 bpm.

The SuperCoach HR Intensity Calculator
Use our HR Intensity Calculator below to determine your Target Heart Rate for various combinations of Resting HRs, Max HRs, and intensity levels.  Don't forget theimportant note above when choosing a Max HR for a particular sport (cycling vs. running vs. swimming).

60%: minimum intensity required for aerobic benefit;
75%: maximum intensity for solid aerobic activity;
84%: excellent anaerobic benefit with minimized physical breakdown;
88%: an acceptable estimate for your anaerobic threshold (AT);
92%: the upper limit HR during any high intensity work.