DON’T MISS A BEAT
Understanding Your Activity Tracker’s Heart Rate Data
About 20% of Americans wear fitness trackers — and if you’re one of them, your watch of choice probably has a function to track your heart rate. Those who take a more relaxed approach to physical activity might also hear a nurse announce the pulse rate during a doctor’s visit. But do you know what those numbers mean? We’ve got the answers. There are three heart rate metrics: resting, target, and maximum. Resting heart rate is calculated when a person is not engaged in any activity. A target heart rate indicates the ideal heart rate to reach during exercise. Finally, your maximum heart rate reflects the number you should never exceed. An adult’s average resting heart rate is between 60– 100 beats per minute. Lower numbers within that range are better for a person’s health. Elite athletes may have heart rates below 60, but tell your doctor if you’re a marathon runner, or they will be very concerned when they take your pulse! Your resting heart rate can vary based on your stress, activity level, hormones, or medication, and your doctor can help with tips on improving it.
Maximum heart rate is calculated by subtracting your age from 220. So, a 40-year-old would have a maximum heart rate of 180. Even then, you shouldn’t go beyond approximately 95% of your maximum heart rate — meaning you shouldn’t exceed a heart rate of 171. If you do, it means the exercise you’re doing is putting more strain on your heart than the potential benefit is worth. Finally, your target heart rate reflects 50%–80% of your maximum heart rate. It is the range you should aim for when performing moderate to intense exercise, and it’s how your fitness tracker is most helpful. You can use the tracker to determine if you’re exercising hard enough, and many will also alert you once you’ve hit your target heart rate zone. Finally, while fitness trackers can be helpful, it’s important to remember that they’re not medical devices. If your heart rate is abnormally high or low, it’s not necessarily indicative of a problem — but you should mention it to your doctor for safety’s sake. Additionally, different fitness trackers calculate your heart rate with different formulas. So, if you switch and notice a change in your heart rate, rest assured that you didn’t magically become less (or, unfortunately, more) healthy overnight.
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