Learn to take your heart rate and determine your maximal and submaximal heart rate. During your medical checkup, your doctor will show you how to feel the pulse at the wrist (radial artery) or the carotid artery in the neck. Count the pulse beat for 10 seconds and multiply the number by 6 to get the heart rate per minute.
The heart rate increases to high levels with vigorous exercise, and these upper limits have been established by doctors engaged in exercise conditioning programs. Several charts have been designed by experts and used in different countries. At age 20 the highest heart rate that the normal heart can achieve is between 200 and 220 beats per minute, and this is called the maximum attainable heart rate (Table 1). To be safe, doctors advise that you should not exceed 85% of this maximal value, that is, about 170 beats per minute if you are young and healthy. During the first few weeks of training, keep the heart rate at about 70% maximum, that is, about 140 beats per minute, and increase the exercise to 85% if you are under age 30. If you are in good health, it is safe to exercise so that your heart rate reaches 70–85% of your maximal value and to keep it at this rate for about 20 minutes. After six to eight weeks of strenuous exercise, you should achieve physical and cardiopulmonary conditioning. At age 40 your maximum heart rate should be approximately 220 — 40, or 180, and your training range, your ‘‘target zone,’’ from

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