How To Determine Maximum Heart Rate
I'll bet one of your first questions when you
start training with a heart
rate monitor is, "How do I determine my Max HR?" Your maximum heart rate is
the basis for all of Heart Zone Training because it's the anchor point around
which you set your five heart zones.
Your maximum heart rate (Max HR)
is a specific number, the maximum number of contractions per minute that your
heart can make. There are a number of basic facts about Max HR that we need for
reference:
. Max HR is
genetically determined; in other words, you're born with it.
. Max HR is a biomarker, it's your individual
number.
. Max HR does not reflect
your level of fitness
. Max HR is
sensitive to certain variables such as altitude, drugs, medication.
.
Max HR is a fixed number, unless you
become unfit.
. Max HR cannot be
increased by training.
. Max HR
does not decline with age.
. Max
HR only declines with age in sedentary individuals.
.
Max HR tends to be higher in women
than men.
. Max HRs that are high
do not predict better athletic performance.
. Max HRs that are low do not predict worse athletic
performance.
. Max HR has great
variability among people of the same age.
. Max HR for children is frequently measured at over
200 bpm.
. Max HR cannot be
accurately predicted by any mathematic formula.
. Max HR does not vary from day to day, but it is
test-day sensitive.
. Max HR
testing requires the person to be fully rested.
. Max HR testing needs to be done multiple times to
determine the exact number.
For us, there's one more point to
remember:
Max HR is the best index to set an individual's training
zones, it's the anchor point.
Max HR is a critical piece of
information, since you design your entire Heart Zone Training program around
it. It serves as a marker for exercise intensity. There are a number of
different approaches to capturing this number. These include taking a Max HR
test to determine the true number or doing a SubMax test from which you can
predict your Max HR pretty accurately.
Guidelines for Determining Max HR
The first
step is follow the guidelines that have been prescribed for exercise testing by
the American College of Sports Medicine. Before taking any tests or following
any exercise prescription, you should follow their prudent guidelines.
For more details refer to the ACSM's Guidelines for Exercise Testing and
Prescription, Fourth ed., 1991.
Here, briefly, is a synopsis of the
recommendations:
Apparently healthy men greater than age 40, and apparently
healthy women greater than age 50, should have a medical examination and
diagnostic exercise test before starting a vigorous exercise program, as should
symptomatic men and women of any age. However, these procedures are not
essential when such persons begin a moderate intensity exercise regimen.
If
in doubt, prior to engaging in any vigorous physical activity or exercise test,
consult your physician for clearance. It's wise to see your physician on a
regular basis regardless, so get a clearance while you are there.
SubMax HR Tests
If you aren't in
shape and haven't been for awhile, you don't want to take a Max HR test
designed to bring you to your actual maximum heart rate. Instead, there are
best-guess methods which are much easier and accurate enough for you to use to
begin training. These methods use sub-maximum testing to predict your Max HR.
There is some error here, but these test/formula combos are better than just
using the mathematical formulas alone, because they're specifically tailored to
you.
Note: For the purposes of these tests, use the following
definitions (these definitions refer to cardiovascular shape--not
muscular):
Poor Shape--if
you do not exercise at all, or if you have not exercised recently (last 8
weeks). Remember, you can be thin, have no weight-loss goals, and still be in
poor shape.
Average
Shape--you walk a mile 3 times a week, or participate in any
aerobic activity 3 times a week for 20 minutes.
Excellent Shape--you regularly have training
sessions that total more than 1 hour a week, or you walk or run at least 5
miles a week.
The SubMax 1-Mile Walking
Test. Go to any high school or college track (most are 400 meters
or 440 yards around) and walk or stride as fast as you can in your current
condition. Walk as fast as is comfortable. Walk four continuous laps.
The last lap is the important one. Take your pulse, or use your heart rate
monitor, to determine your average heart rate for only the last lap. The first
three laps are just to get you to reach a heart rate plateau and to stay there
for the last lap.
Add to this average last lap heart rate the one of
the following that best matches your current fitness level:
1. Poor Shape:
+40 bpm
2. Average Shape: +50 bpm
3. Excellent Shape: +60 bpm
This
final number (for example, an average 135 bpm last lap plus 60 bpm, because I'm
in excellent shape, would equal 195 bpm for me) should be fairly close to your
Max HR.
. The SubMax Step
Test. Use an 8" step (almost any step in your home or in a club
will do) and perform a 3-minute step test. After your warm-up, step up and down
in a four-count sequence as follows: right foot up, left up, right down, left
down. Each time you move a foot up or down, it counts as one step.
Count "up, up, down, down" for one set, with 20
sets to the minute. It is very important that you don't speed up the pace--keep
it regular. After 2 minutes, you'll need to monitor your heart rate for the
last minute. The SubMax Step Test now can be used to predict your Max HR. Add
to your last minute's heart rate average one of the following numbers:
1. Poor Shape: +55 bpm
2. Average Shape: +65 bpm
3. Excellent Shape:
+75 bpm
Your result should be pretty close to your Max HR. (Again, my
last-minute heart rate average might be something like 120 bpm, to which I'd
add 75 bpm, bringing the total to 195 bpm.)
. 5K Race Test. This can be taken by anyone skiing,
running, biking, or snowshoeing. Enter a 5K race, and during the last 1-2
minutes go to a full sprint. Keep checking your heart rate monitor and add 5
beats to the highest number recorded there during this period. The result
should be your Max HR (because of muscle fatigue, you can't drive yourself all
the way to true Max
HR at this point).
. Biggest Number Test. This is one of those that is
simply obvious. Given that you've worn your heart rate monitor a while,
especially during hard workouts, your Max HR is the biggest number you have
ever seen on your heart rate monitor (the biggest reasonable number, not 300
bpm, say--you don't want to take one that's influenced by interference).
. The Best-Fit Formula. After
years of searching for an arithmetic formula that's more accurate, we have
developed the "best-fit" formula and believe it to be the most accurate to
date. Use this formula in conjunction with the sub-max tests above to determine
your maximum. When you average all of these sub-max and arithmetic formula's
together, you'll be close to your true
maximum heart rate. Here's the
formula:
210 minus 50% of your age minus 5% of your body weight
(pounds) + 4 if male and 0 if female = Estimated Maximum heart rate.
Max HR Tests
There are a lot of
ways to determine your Max HR and, of course, the least-risky method is to have
your physician supervise your test. If a physician does this, also ask for a
ventilatory threshold or anaerobic threshold test at the same time so you can
have an accurate value for your
anaerobic threshold heart rate as well (but
more on this later). You can also take a supervised graded stress test (GSX) at
a sports laboratory. Call your local sports club for a referral.
Many fitness testing facilities offer sub-maximal exercise tests designed to
bring you to 75-85% of your age-determined Max HR. The usefulness of these
SubMax tests is questionable. Besides comparing your results to tables that
suggest how "fit" you are based on your chronological, not biological age,
their basic value is in recording your current exercise workload and
corresponding heart rate in hopes that you will re-test and see changes (this
might be helpful, but you'll very probably know you are getting fitter without
it). Some testing facilities will say they are taking you to your Max HR, but
really they will only take you to your age-predicted Max HR
(calculated as
220-age). This test is not what you want because it doesn't give you your
"true" Max HR, just the mathematical one. Make sure you know what they are
going to do in advance or request (maybe demand) a true Max HR test.
If you want an adequate test and exercise screening, invest in a Max HR test
performed by an Exercise Test Technologist, certified by the ACSM, at a
qualified facility. There is a broad range of fees and types of tests but the
normal range for just a Max HR test is $75-$150 (or less if you are a student).
Add another $100-$300 for a blood workup and VO2max test. Many times, your
health insurance will cover some or all of these costs. By taking these tests,
you are also able to keep a record of your fitness levels and changes as you
age. It's advisable to take these tests every five years and compare the
results over that time. This practice is good, sound preventive
medicine
because you take responsibility for measuring and monitoring your aging
process.
An alternative is to take one of the self-administered Max HR
tests described below--if you are apparently healthy and have no risks for
cardiovascular or other diseases and meet the ACSM Guidelines outlined above --
the fun begins.
. 2-4 Minute
Test. This is a protocol that we have developed and refined that
requires (without warm-up and warm-down time) between 2 and 4 minutes to
complete. The test is best taken on a track, and it requires a partner who can
run/bike with you throughout the test, to give heart rate readings aloud and
set the pace. The runner being tested wears the chest transmitter belt
and
the partner wears the wrist monitor.
Start the test with an easy
warm-up of at least 5 minutes or 2 laps. Your goal during the warm-up is to get
your heart beating to 100-120 bpm (or to an estimated 60% of your Max HR).
Without stopping, begin the test by gradually accelerating your speed so that
your heart rate climbs about 5 bpm every 15 seconds. At each 15-second
interval, your partner should tell you the exercise time and your heart rate
and offer encouragement as he or she gradually, very gradually pushes you
faster.
Within a 2- to 4-minute period, if your partner has set the
pace correctly, your heart rate will cease to climb even with increased effort
and pace. You'll know you are there when you can no longer accelerate and you
hear your partner repeating the same number. At this point you've reached your
Max HR and either you or your partner can call an end to the test.
Here's how a graph of this test might
look.
200 . Max HR =
200
bpm
190
180
170
160
150
140
130
120 . Test
starts
110
100 I I I I
I I
Warm-up 0 1 2 3 4
Warm down Test
Time in Minutes
10 9 8 7
10 12
Minute Per Mile Running
Pace
Maximum heart rate is sport specific so
you need to do a maximum heart rate test for each of your different sports
activities. I'll give you an example because I am a triathlete.
I am now 52 years old and have trained my entire
life. My maximum heart rate has not dropped one single beat in those 52 years
of being fit. Here are my numbers:
Activity Maximum Heart
Rate
Running 195 beats per minute
Biking 185 beats per minute
Swimming 170 beats per minute
I
train in different heart zones in different sports workouts because my zones
are different based on the different maximum heart rate numbers that I have.
The reason that most concur that maximum heart rate is different in different
sport is the nature of the activity. For example, when you swim you are in a
cooler ambient environment, water. You are in a prone position so your heart
doesn't have to pump blood against gravity as in running. You are using mostly
upper body muscles which are smaller in mass and don't require the same cardiac
demands. Maximum heart rates in swimming are lower than in other sports.
The reason that we use Max HR to set training zones is that it's a fixed
number and doesn't change. Your resting heart rate changes and drops when you
get fitter. Your anaerobic threshold heart rate changes and increases when you
get fitter. Using either of those two numbers to set zones then requires
constant re-testing as you get conditioned or deconditioned and that can be
difficult and expensive tests. It requires changing your training zones as you
get fitter or less fit.
In summary,
knowing your max is key. The best way to determine it accurately
is to take a maximum heart rate test. This is only for those who are fit and
qualify according to the American College of Sports Medicines Guidelines. The
next best way is to take a "sub-max" test. I recommend that you take at least
four of these and then average the results and use that number as your
"predicted" maximum heart rate. Once you have your anchor point, your maximum
heart rate, you are set to train in your heart zones. Enjoy.
