During exercise, working tissues in your body usually need more blood with oxygen and nutrients. Then, your heart enhances its pumping activity by increasing the heart rate and the force of contraction (contractility). It is necessary to raise the heart rate within a certain range (target heart rate/THR) for maximum health benefits. Therefore, you should maintain your heart rate within THR during the workout. Exceeding THR is likely to harm you and your heart. It will put your health at risk.
What is your target heart rate (THR)?
The fastest rate of your heart can achieve and still fulfil its pumping activity is known as the maximum heart rate (MHR). MHR can be calculated based on your age.
MHR = 220 - your age
Or
MHR = 208 – (0.7 × your age)
According to the formula, younger people have a higher MHR compared to elderly. If your age is 20 years, your MHR is 200 beats per minute. If you are 60 years old, your MHR is 165. Therefore, predicted MHR is higher than 200 beats per minute in individuals younger than 20 years. However, the maximum number for MHR should be 200 beats per minute.
Your target heart rate (THR) should be 60-80 % of your maximum heart rate (MHR) during exercise. You should never go beyond your MHR throughout the exercise. It is better not to surpass 80 % of your MHR, because exceeding your THR may cause harmful effects of overtraining. If you are 30 years old, your MHR is 190 beats per minute. Then, your THR is between 114 and 152. Therefore, you shouldn’t exceed your heart rate beyond 152 beats per minute during your exercise. You can achieve maximum health benefits by maintaining the heart rate between 114 and 152. It will improve your overall health. It also helps avoid exercise injuries.
How to identify overtraining?
If you work out too much and hard without providing a sufficient recovery time, you can feel raising fatigue with every subsequent workout. Struggling to perform your workout, which was once endurable, is a typical feature of overtraining. You may be overtraining, if you have at least one of the following features.
- Dizziness
- Lightheadedness
- Chest pain
- Abdominal pain
- Nausea
- Feeling very hot
- Excessive sweating than normal
- Breathlessness severe enough to impact coordination
- Persistent fatigue
- Premature exhaustion
- Persistent pain in muscles, joints, and bones
- Depression
- Lack of motivation
- Irritability
- Elevated prevalence of injuries
- Low heart rate variability
- Increased resting heart rate
- Excessive palpitation or heart beating irregularly
- Raised susceptibility to various infections
Related Links:
Exercise and Your Cardiovascular System
Angina and Workout
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