Fitness Tips: Measuring Your Target Heart Rate

Updated OnMarch 19, 2015
Written by
Susan Grant Legacki

Heart-Rate Training

Here are some workouts to help familiarize you with using heart rate zones during training. Ideally, you'll have a heart rate monitor and will know your target zones before beginning the workout.

Elliptical

  • Warm up for 5 minutes at an easy pace.
  • At the end of the 5 minutes, take note of your heart rate, which should be within your active recovery range.
  • Continue for another 5 minutes, slowly building your pace and/or incline level over the five minutes until you can see or feel that your heart rate is at your target HR level.
  • Recover for two minutes.
  • Begin the following sequence and repeat it 4 to 5 times: 3 minutes at target HR, active recovery HR for one minute.
  • Cool down for 5 to 10 minutes.

Treadmill

  • Warm up by walking at a 1-percent incline at a moderate effort for 5 minutes, slowly building up to your active recovery heart rate.
  • Increase your pace to a jog/run so that you are hitting your target heart rate.
  • Hold this for 5 minutes, then slow down either to a slow jog or walk and allow your heart rate to come down to an active recovery level for 2 minutes.
  • Increase your pace again, this time pushing the speed one more setting above what you did previously (for example, if you were running at 6.0 mph, increase it to 6.1 mph).
  • Hold for 4 minutes, and then slow down again for two minutes.
  • Increase your pace again, this time bumping it up by two more settings from your original speed, and hold for 3 minutes.
  • Decrease your pace and recover for two minutes.
  • Increase your pace by four speed settings and hold for 2 minutes then slow down and recover for 2 minutes.
  • Increase your speed one more time, this time by five settings above your original speed and hold for one minute.
  • Cool down by walking easy for 5 to 10 minutes.

Bike Trainer

  • Warm up for 5 minutes at a comfortable pace.
  • Increase your cadence and effort so that you build into an active recovery HR level and hold this for 3 minutes before building to your target HR for an additional 2 minutes.

Recover for one minute and then complete the following ladder twice through:

  • 5 minutes building to target HR
  • 1 minute active recovery
  • 4 minutes building to target HR
  • 1 minute active recovery
  • 3 minutes building to the high end of your target HR
  • 1 minute active recovery
  • 2 minutes building to lactate threshold HR
  • 2 minutes active recovery
  • 1 minute building to lactate threshold HR
  • 2 minutes active recovery
  • Cool down by spinning easy for 5 to 10 minutes

As you get more familiar with your heart rate, you'll discover that it's telling you all sorts of information about your fitness level. For example, try taking your pulse in the morning when you wake up. This number, known as your resting heart rate, will become lower the more fit you become. It will also slightly spike if you are overtrained, becoming ill or under extreme stress.

Always speak to your doctor before beginning any new fitness program.

More: Is It OK to Exercise When Sore?

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About the Author

More by Susan? Susan Grant Legacki Active.com Contributor
Susan Grant Legacki is the founding editor of LAVA Magazine, and currently serves as the magazine's features and online editor. Prior to joining LAVA, she worked as a Senior Editor at Inside Triathlon and Triathlete Magazine. She is an Ironman finisher, Boston-qualifying marathoner, certified Pilates instructor—and a fitness and nutrition enthusiast. You can read more about her on Susanegrant.com and follow her on Twitter at @susanglegacki.