Your “heart rate zones” might be completely wrong.
And that maximum heart rate calculation?
Its incorrect for huge swaths of the population.
What does it mean to know your maximum heart rate?
Your maximum heart rate is, by definition, the fastest your heart can possibly beat.
You have simply found out that 180 isnt your max at all.
Your actual max must beat least190.
The only way to truly know your max heart rate is to test it with intense exercise.
Ill give you some ways to do that below.
The most popular formula simply subtracts your age from 220.
There is no formula that can tell you what your own personal max heart rate actually is.
Think about how you shop for shoes.
you oughta try on different shoes, or at least measure your feet.
Maybe youre a size 6.
Maybe youre a size 9.
Its the same for max heart rates.
But check out this graph from a2012 studywhere researchers measured theactualmaximum heart rates of over 3,000 people.
(The lines represent two of the supposedly more accurate max heart rate formulas.)
If youve ever been confused about your own max heart rate, this will make you feel validated.
The same study also found that the formulas get even further from accurate as you get older.
But I know that my max heart rate is 202.
I would not consideranyheart rate calculation to be accurate enough for setting your own personal zones or exercise targets.
How can the formula be so wrong?
I feel like I should say something here about the mysteries of the heart being unknowable.
(Surely some poet has beaten me to it.)
That’s why we keep seeing these flawed numbers over and over again.
(Im certified through ACE, and can confirm that this is whats in the textbook.)
If youre a beginner, you dont need a heart rate goal at all.
No need to overthink it.
If you really truly want to know your max HR, you’re able to test it.
With that in mind, here are a few different ways of finding your real-world max heart rate.
Runhardup a moderately steep hill that is at least a quarter-mile long (Pfitzinger recommends a 600-meter hill).
As soon as you get to the top, jog back down and repeat.
After three repeats, the test is over.
The highest number your watch recorded is your new max.
The highest number you see is your max.
A 10 to 15 minute warmup as above should do the trick.
Repeat the four-minute hard interval again, and then another three minutes of active recovery.
Finally, start another four-minute interval.
This time, once you’re two minutes in, sprint as hard as you could.
Your heart has to work harder to pump blood around when youre upright versus horizontal.
If you work best without numbers, thats fine; if you do use numbers, ensure theyre accurate.
