Dear Doctors: I'm a 55-year-old man, and I have been active all my life. I know target heart rates are based on age and was surprised that my heart rate while running is often between 150 and 195. Should I slow down a bit? I jog alone in a rural area and rarely carry my phone. Is this dangerous?
Dear Reader: Target heart rate refers to a rough guideline for how fast your heart should beat during exercise. We say "rough" because it is based on a one-size-fits-all formula. While target heart rate can be a useful tool for assessing safety and progress during exercise, it should not be viewed as absolute. As we'll discuss in a moment, when it comes to exercise intensity and overall fitness, other factors come into play.
Let's begin with the calculation often used to identify target heart rate. The method suggested by the American Heart Association starts with subtracting your age from 220. This gives you a suggested maximum heart rate. In your case, that's 165 beats per minute (bpm). Then, depending on the desired exertion, calculate between 50% and 85% of that maximum to get a range. With your numbers, your target heart rate range is between 83 and 140 bpm.
