The average resting heart rate for a man or woman is between 60 to 80 beats per minute. However, this rate can be much lower for people who are physically fit. Another name for your heart rate is your pulse rate, or the number of times per minute that your heart beats. This rate will vary from person to person and will be lower when you are resting and higher when you are walking, running, exercising or have a sudden surge of adrenalin.
Your heart rate will increase in response to your body’s need for more oxygenated blood to the heart, brain and muscles for movement. Knowing how to take your pulse will help you to evaluate the effectiveness of your exercise program. This is because there are rates in which you will burn more fat or burn more calories.
First, let’s talk about how to take your pulse. Place the tips of your index and second finger on the palm side of your other wrist near the base of the thumb. Press only slightly until you feel the blood pulsing. You might have to move your fingers around slightly in order to find the right spot.
Use a digital stop watch or clock with a second hand to mark off 10 seconds while counting the number of beats you feel with your fingers. Don’t use your thumb, because your thumb also has a pulse in it and you can confuse the number of beats you feel between the thumb and the wrist.
Multiply the number you get by 6 to get your heart rate for 1 minute.
Another place to feel for your pulse is at your neck on the carotid artery. This might be more convenient and easier to find, but if you hold your fingers over the carotid to feel for your pulse when your heart is beating quickly to provide oxygen to your brain and muscles, you are reducing the amount of blood that gets to that side of your brain. It is safer, when exercising, to take your pulse at the wrist. Practice finding your pulse when you are not exercising so it is easier when you are out of breath.
Resources:
American Heart Association: Target Heart Rates
Active: Target Heart Rate Calculator
https://www.active.com/fitness/calculators/heartrate
Cleveland Clinic: Pulse and Target Heart Rate
http://my.clevelandclinic.org/heart/prevention/exercise/pulse-target-heart-rate.aspx
The Walking Site: your Target Heart Rate
http://www.thewalkingsite.com/thr.html
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: Target Rate and Esitmated Maximum Heart Rate
http://www.cdc.gov/physicalactivity/everyone/measuring/heartrate.html
Ontario Ministry of Health and Long Term Care: Target Heart Rate
http://www.mhp.gov.on.ca/en/active-living/about/tools/target.asp
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