What’s Your Target Heart Rate?

After suffering a life-changing event such as a stroke, oftentimes patients wonder “Now what? What can I do outside of therapy to help with my recovery?” One of the best things you can do is MOVE! What is good for your heart is also good for your brain. To help drive that recovery, exercising at a certain level of intensity can be one of the best things you can do. It increases blood flow to the brain and helps drive neuroplasticity. Neuroplasticity is the brain’s ability to reorganize itself by forming new neural connections and adapt.

A general rule of thumb for how hard you should exercise when you are performing an aerobic activity such as walking, cycling, etc., is to imagine that you are talking to someone simultaneously; you should be a little short of breath. If you would like to get more specific, you can monitor your heart rate. For optimal benefits with exercise, you should shoot for 60 to 80 percent of your maximum heart rate.

Here is how to calculate your maximum heart rate, as well as your 60 to 80 percent range:

• 208 – 0.7 x your age = Maximum Heart Rate
• 208 – 0.7 x your age x 0.6 = Lower Target Heart Rate Range
• 208 – 0.7 x your age x 0.8 = Upper Target Heart Rate Range

For example, if you are 65 years old, your maximum heart rate is 162.5 beats per minute (BPM), your lower target heart rate is 97.5 BPM, and your upper target heart rate is 130 BPM. So, the goal is for your heart rate to be somewhere between 97.5 and 130 BPM while exercising.

When exercising, your heart rate should not surpass your max heart rate. Again, you want to aim for somewhere between 60 and 80 percent of your heart rate max.

Technology makes it easy to monitor your heart rate with options such as the Apple Watch, Garmin, and FitBit. If you don’t have a smart watch, you can purchase a pulse oximeter at your local drugstore, or you can calculate it manually.

To check your pulse:

1. Simply place your index and middle fingers on the left side of your left wrist, the same side as your thumb. (Your left wrist is ideal, but you can do this on your right wrist as well.)
2. Have a stopwatch, clock, or timer nearby so you can count how many pulses you feel in 30 seconds or 60 seconds. If you count it for 30 seconds, make sure to multiple by 2. That will give you your heart rate!
3. You can also check your pulse by feeling your neck as well. Place your index and middle fingers along the left side of your neck (or right) and count your pulse for either 30 or 60 seconds.

The American Heart Association recommends 150 minutes of moderate intensity aerobic exercise per week. Start slowly and try to progress over time by simply taking the stairs more or getting up every hour to walk around the house – any movement is better than none!