What should my heart rate be when I exercise? 

Exercise naturally raises your heart rate – also known as your pulse – which is the number of times your heart beats per minute (bpm).

This is because your body and the muscles in your legs and arms need more oxygen during physical activity, which means your heart must pump harder and faster to send oxygen-rich blood to them.

The good thing is, the more often you exercise the more efficient your heart becomes at pumping blood to your muscles.

That’s why it’s important to know what your ‘target heart rate’ is when you exercise, as this will ensure you are exercising at the right intensity for your body.

If you have heart or circulatory disease, exercising too hard may make you feel unwell – so you should check with your doctor or nurse what heart rate you should aim for when exercising first.

For most people exercising at moderate intensity – where your heart rate is increased so you feel the benefits of physical activity, but it’s not at its maximum – is best.

This is because if you exercise at the maximum intensity you could run out of energy too quickly. It may also make the activity less enjoyable.

Moderate intensity means exercising at 50 to 70 per cent of your maximum heart rate. This is your ‘target heart rate’.

Work out your target heart rate

To work it out:

• deduct your age from the number 220 to get your maximum heart rate
• calculate 50 to 70 per cent of that to get your target heart rate.

For example, someone aged 60 years has a maximum heart rate of 160 bpm (220 minus 60) and 50 to 70 percent of that is 80 to 112 bpm. 

Current guidelines from the UK’s Chief Medical Officer recommend you do 150 minutes of moderate intensity exercise a week, such as brisk walking or cycling, which over time will improve your fitness and heart health.

• Read the Chief Medical Officer’s physical activity guidelines.

You can measure your own heart rate (pulse) by placing two fingers on your wrist and counting the ‘pulses’ for a minute.

A normal heart rate is between 60 to 100 bpm when you’re resting, but it may be higher or lower than this.

• You can see how to take your own pulse on this video.

Some people also use smart watches or other fitness trackers to measure their heart rate when exercising.

However, sometimes they do not record your heart rate accurately. There are various reasons for this, but it may be because the device needs a new battery, or your skin is too sweaty for it to pick up your heart rate properly.

If you see a worrying change in your heart rate on your device, try to check your heart rate manually to see if it's accurate. And if you’re still unsure check in with your doctor.

Use the talk test

Another way to tell if you are exercising at moderate intensity, is to do the ‘talk test’ while you’re exercising. 

The talk test is:

• if you can comfortably talk while being active
• feel warm and are breathing a little more heavily than normal
• you're moving at the right pace.

If you can breathe easily, you need to increase your effort to increase your heart rate.

If you are concerned about how fast or slow your heart is beating, or experience dizziness, palpitations or chest pain when exercising, see your doctor.

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