Resting Heart Rate And How To Find It - St. Louis City Fitness printable pdf download

Resting Heart Rate And How To Find It - St. Louis City Fitness

Why I need to know my “true” resting Heart Rate and how to find it

In order to calculate an aerobic training zone that takes into consideration a person’s individual

aerobic fitness level, we use a formula called the Karvonen formula. You need the following

information to use this formula:

1. Age

2. Resting Heart Rate

3. Desired Training Zone (usually 55-85% of your maximum heart rate)

To find your “true” resting heart rate, follow these instructions:

1. When you wake up in the morning, turn off your alarm, lay flat and still for one minute.

2. Do not sit up, but find your pulse either at the carotid artery (side of neck) or radial artery

(wrist). To find the carotid artery, take your index finger and middle finger and follow from the

base of your ear straight down 2 to 3 inches, just under the jaw line. To find the radial artery,

lay your right wrist in your left palm and wrap all four finger of your left hand around your wrist.

3. Take your pulse for one full minute and document it (write it down below). Repeat this process

for three consecutive mornings. Take the average of the three.

Resting Heart Rate (RHR)

Day One _______ Day Two ______

Day Three ______ Average __________

Bring this information to your first meeting with your St. Louis City Fitness Trainer.

We will then use your resting heart rate to calculate your training zone using the Karvonen formula.

The formula uses the following components:

Estimated Maximum Heart Rate (MHR) = 220 – Age = ___________

Heart Rate Reserve (HRR) = Maximum Heart Rate (MHR) – Resting Heart Rate (HRR) = _________

Training Heart Rate (usually 55%-85%) = Heart Rate Reserve (HRR) x percentage = __________

Since your Target Training Heart Rate Zone is a range, we calculate a lower end (e.g. 60%) and an

upper end (e.g., 70%)

► Lower end of target heart rate range = _____________

► Upper end of target heart rate range = _____________

Resting Heart Rate And How To Find It - St. Louis City Fitness