What Should Your Heart Rate Be During Exercise?

The heart is an amazing muscle that beats without stopping for its whole life. Its main job is to circulate blood and oxygen throughout the body. And it adjusts how much it pumps based on what your body needs. During exercise, your muscles need oxygen and sugar for energy — and they get those nutrients from blood. 

So, the heart’s ability to deliver blood to the muscles is an important part of physical fitness. This is why the heart pumps faster — increasing your heart rate — when muscles need more fuel. 

In general, the harder your muscles are working, the higher your heart rate. People often track their heart rate during exercise as a measure of exercise intensity. 

It’s also important to track heart rate if you have heart disease. Healthy hearts can adjust and recover quickly from intense exercise. But people with a heart condition need to be more mindful of how fast their heart is pumping. If their heart rate gets too high, it can affect blood flow through the heart. This can lead to symptoms like chest pain and even cause injury to the heart muscle. 

All hearts benefit from exercise, but the intensity should be adjusted for each individual. And heart rate is one of the easiest ways to measure your exercise intensity. 

What is the average heart rate during exercise?

Your age is the most important factor when determining your ideal heart rate during exercise. And your ideal heart rate will vary based on how intense you are wanting to exercise. When it comes to exercise intensity and your ideal heart rate, there are three numbers to keep in mind. 

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Resting heart rate

Your resting heart rate is the number of times your heart beats per minute while you are at rest. It’s best measured first thing in the morning — before you get out of bed and before your first sip of coffee. For most adults, a normal resting heart rate is about 60 to 100 beats per minute (bpm).

Resting heart rate is affected by genetics, fitness level, stress, and medications. For example, elite athletes can have resting heart rates as low as 30 bpm.

Maximum heart rate calculation

Maximum heart rate is the highest rate your heart should go during exercise, based on your age. The maximum heart rate calculation is one way to measure how intense you’re exercising. Figuring out your maximum heart rate is pretty easy. You can calculate your maximum heart rate by subtracting your age from 220. 

If you’re 50 years old, your maximum heart rate is 220 minus 50, or 170 bpm. Maximum heart rates may vary a bit depending on your age, but the calculation is surprisingly accurate for most people.

Target heart rate

Your target heart rate is the heart rate you are aiming to sustain during exercise. This number is determined by your target exercise intensity and is a percentage of your max heart rate. Depending on exercise intensity, this is usually 50% to 85% of your max heart rate.

Heart rate ranges by age

As you age, your maximum and target heart rates should theoretically decrease. Keep in mind that some older adults are more physically fit than others and may be able to safely reach higher heart rates. The chart below lists basic guidelines. But if you are newer to exercise, you may find that the exercise needed to reach these target heart rates is too intense.

Children’s resting heart rates vary a lot more than adults. Children may not reach target heart rates, even with vigorous play. But in general, children have healthy heart rate ranges that change as they get older. Resting heart rates based on life stage are:

• Newborn (0 to 4 weeks): 100 bpm to 205 bpm

• Infant (4 weeks to 1 year): 100 bpm to 180 bpm

• Toddler (1 to 3 years): 98 bpm to 140 bpm

• Preschool (3 to 5 years): 80 bpm to 120 bpm

• School age (5 to 12 years): 75 bpm to 118 bpm

• Adolescent (12 to 20 years): 60 bpm to 100 bpm

What should your target heart rate be when exercising?

Your target heart rate depends on your age and the level of exercise intensity you’re aiming for. Calculate your target heart rate as a percentage of your maximum heart rate:

• Moderate-intensity exercise: Your target heart rate should be 50% to 70% of your maximum heart rate. In the example above, someone who is 50 years old would keep their heart rate in the 85 bpm to 119 bpm range during moderate exercise.

• High-intensity exercise: This is when your target heart rate is 70% to 85% of your maximum. From the example above, your target heart rate should be between 119 bpm and 145 bpm during high-intensity exercise.

So, how intense should your exercise be? Each week, healthy adults should:

• Aim for a minimum of 2.5 to 5 hours of moderate-intensity, or 75 minutes of high-intensity aerobic exercise. You can also combine moderate-intensity and high-intensity exercise throughout the week to reach your goals.

• Engage in moderate-intensity strength training at least 2 days a week. Focus on full-body, muscle-strengthening activities for maximum health benefits.

It’s important to remember that your exercise routine should be customized for your needs. This is especially important if you:

• Have a history of heart disease

• Take medications that affect heart rate

• Have other exercise limitations 

How do you find your target heart rate while exercising?

It's possible to achieve your intended intensity and target heart rate with a broad range of activities — from walking or playing sports, to weight lifting. No matter what kind of exercise you do, a wearable heart rate monitor or simple pulse check can keep you on target during your workout.

You can tell if you’re reaching your target heart rate by checking your pulse for 30 seconds and multiplying by 2. You should check your heart rate as soon as you stop exercising. Wearable devices are convenient and accurate for tracking target heart rates.

Who should be careful about their heart rate while working out?

Most people can exercise without any limitations. You can do high-intensity exercise and feel good about the way it improves your health and fitness — without any risks. But there are some conditions that can lead to health complications with heavy exertion. 

People with certain personal or medical histories have an increased risk for heart or circulation problems during exercise. For example:

• A history of smoking can cause narrowing of arteries in the heart and throughout your body.

• A high body weight can predispose someone to circulation problems and high blood pressure.

• Diabetes is a risk factor for cardiovascular disease.

• High cholesterol directly contributes to atherosclerosis.

• Heart disease including irregular heart beats, heart attacks, or decreased pump function (heart failure) can increase risk.

• High blood pressure can lead to long-term damage to arteries. This can also make it harder for the heart to pump blood to muscles and vital organs during exercise.

Exercise is an important part of the treatment for all of these conditions. And not getting any exercise can be riskier than exercise itself. It’s always a good idea to visit a healthcare professional for a regular checkup if you plan to start a new exercise program. 

What is considered a dangerous heart rate?

In general, your heart rate should not go higher than your maximum heart rate based on your age. But if you have underlying health conditions, your maximum rate may be a little bit lower than this. 

There’s no magic formula that can help you figure out what is a dangerous heart rate for you. But the answer may be simpler than you think — listen to your body. 

Your body will tell you when your exercise intensity is too high. Exercise will feel hard. But if you feel chest pain or short of breath, these could be signs your heart is not getting enough blood. And headaches or dizziness can be signs your brain is not getting enough blood. 

A dangerous heart rate is: 

• Associated with chest pain, severe shortness of breath, nausea or vomiting, or dizziness

• Greater than your maximum heart rate 

• Lower than your usual resting heart rate 

• Very high for unclear reasons (without exercising)

• Irregular and erratic (this be a sign of arrhythmia like atrial fibrillation)

If something seems unusual to you, don’t push it. Lower your exercise intensity or give your body a chance to rest. And if it happens more than once, it’s best to get checked out. It’s important to see a healthcare professional about any of these symptoms related to heart rate.

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Written by:

Valerie Anne Jones, MD

Val Jones, MD, is a physician who is certified by the American Board of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation (ABPMR).

Edited by:

Karla Robinson, MD

Karla Robinson, MD, is a medical editor for GoodRx. She is a licensed, board-certified family physician with almost 20 years of experience in health through varied clinical, administrative, and educational roles.

Reviewed by:

Frank Schwalbe, MD

Frank Schwalbe, MD, is an assistant professor of anesthesiology at the Yale School of Medicine. He has practiced anesthesiology for 30 years.

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