By Marnie Kunz, NASM-certified trainer, USATF- RRCA-certified run coach

If you’re wondering what heart rate during exercise you should aim for, this guide will break it down for you. Whether you’re doing a hard run such as a speed workout or a recovery walk, knowing your heart rate zones can help you train smart and dial your intensity up or down as needed. This guide will help you figure out what your heart rate should be during physical activity and when to dial up the intensity or tone down your exercise intensity. As a trainer, I have helped many people use heart rate to improve their fitness and hit their target zone.

What Is Heart Rate? The Basics

Your heart rate is the number of times your heart beats in a minute. This number is usually between 60 and 100 beats per minute (bpm) for adults. Your heart rate during exercise will go up and how far it goes up depends on your age and the intensity of your exercise. Vigorous-intensity workouts will make your heart rate go up higher than more moderate workouts like Zone 2 training.

Whether you're an elite athlete or a beginning runner, heart rate training can help you monitor and adapt your exercise program to suit your fitness goals. Knowing what your heart rate is at rest and during exercise can help you measure the intensity of your workouts and determine when you can push yourself more and when you need to slow down.

What Is Resting Heart Rate?

Resting heart rate is the number of beats per minute that your heart makes while your body is at rest, when you’re relaxing and sitting or lying down. In general, the lower your resting heart rate, the higher your fitness level. When your heart does not have to work as hard - with a lower amount of beats per minute - this means you have a strong heart and most likely do regular cardiovascular workouts like walking, running, or cycling.

The average adult resting heart rate range is between 60 and 100 bpm. Athletes may have lower resting heart rates, even going down to 40 beats per minute, according to the American Heart Association. People who are more sedentary and less active generally have a higher resting heart rate. Age also factors into your resting heart rate, which we will cover later in the article.

Exercise and Heart Rate

Exercise increases your heart rate and strengthens your heart. Cardiovascular - or aerobic - exercise improves your circulation and heart health. Cardio workouts also provide long-term fitness benefits and lower your resting heart rate so your heart doesn’t have to work as hard when you’re at rest.

Research demonstrates that endurance activities like running and walking can lower your resting heart rate, prevent diabetes, and lower your risk of stroke and heart failure. This is why cardio exercise is so important to help strengthen your heart and lower blood pressure, reducing your risk of heart disease.

What Is Maximum Heart Rate?

Maximum heart rate is the highest number of times your heart can beat per minute when you’re doing hard exercise or under high stress. In general, a good maximum heart rate guideline is to subtract your age from 220 to get your maximum heart rate. This will also help you determine what your heart rate during exercise should be, based on a percentage of your max heart rate.

What Is Target Heart Rate?

Your target heart rate is a range where your heart is working and you’re improving your cardiovascular fitness without going beyond your safe maximum heart rate. Your target heart rate may be 50 percent of your maximum heart rate if you’re beginning a fitness program, or it may be 85 percent of your maximum heart rate if you’re an experienced runner doing a speed workout such as interval training or a tempo run.

Your target heart rate will depend on your age, fitness level, and goals. If you need a training plan that uses heart rate training to suit your needs, check out the Runstreet Training Center for options. In general, your target heart rate zone will be in the range of 50 to 85 percent of your maximum heart rate.

Finding Your Heart Rate

There are several ways you can find your heart rate. Here are the most common methods to determine your heart rate during exercise and while at rest:

Use a heart rate monitor. A monitor is the most accurate way you can determine your heart rate on your own.
Use a smartwatch or fitness tracker to measure your heart rate. If you’re a runner, you may have a Garmin watch or Apple watch that you use for tracking your fitness. These devices will be able to tell your heart rate as well. The most accurate digital devices will have a heart rate sensor that you wrap around your chest.
Count manually. You can count your resting heart rate by using two fingers and placing them over your opposite wrist. Count your pulse for 30 seconds. Multiply this number by 2 to get your resting heart rate. You may want to do this a few times to get an average number that is most accurate.

Heart Rate During Exercise Chart

Here is a chart with target heart rate during exercise numbers according to age. Your fitness level and workout will determine the exact percent of your maximum heart rate that you should target during a workout.

For moderate-intensity exercise like brisk walking, your heart rate should be 50 to 70 percent of your max heart rate. For runners, I recommend hitting 60 to 70 percent of your maximum heart rate for regular, relaxed-pace base runs and long runs. For recovery runs, warm-ups, and cool-downs, aim for 50 to 60 percent of your max heart rate.

Moderate speed workouts like tempo runs should hit in the range of 70 to 80 percent of your maximum heart rate. And your faster speed workouts, such as intervals and fartleks, should fall in the 80 to 90 percent range of your maximum heart rate. The highest intensity - and shortest distance in general - intervals you do such as Tabata running or sprinting at the end of a race - may fall between 90 to 100 percent of your maximum heart rate.

Recommendations from a Trainer and Run Coach

As a trainer and running coach, I like to geek out with numbers as much as the next person. Knowing your VO2 max and resting and target heart rates can help you set goals and adjust your training as needed. In general, it’s important to work with your doctor to make sure you have a healthy resting heart rate and healthy fitness goals. If you’re taking blood pressure medicine or medication for certain conditions, this can affect your heart rate, so talking to your doctor is crucial.

Knowing your heart rate can improve your running by letting you know when you need to step up your pace or dial it down. It’s not always easy to see your exact heart rate while doing hard workouts, however, and using a perceived effort level (such as running your tempo run at 70 percent effort level) can help you fill in the gaps when you don’t know your heart rate.

Working with a trainer can also help you set and achieve your fitness and weight loss goals in a healthy, sustainable way. A trainer can prescribe cardiovascular exercise and strength training that helps you achieve your fitness goals. If you need a customized training plan from me, head to the Runstreet Training Center for help.

Have you used your heart rate during exercise to help you train smarter? Follow and tag @Runstreet on Instagram to share your training and get cheered on. Happy - and healthy - running to you!

Marnie Kunz is a NASM-certified personal trainer and USATF- and RRCA-certified running coach based in Brooklyn, NY. Marnie likes helping people get and stay active to enjoy a better quality of life. When she’s not doing fitness things, Marnie enjoys exploring with her dog, a mischievous rescue Akita.

Guide to Heart Rate During Exercise