Your heart rate is the number of times your heart beats each minute and varies from person to person depending on factors such as age and overall cardiovascular health. Determining your heart rate is useful when starting an exercise program to help monitor your overall progress and ensure that you are not overexerting your heart. You can easily check your heart rate manually or with a heart rate monitor.

Checking Heart Rate Manually

To check your heart rate manually you only need a watch or clock with a second hand. Find your pulse either on the inside of your wrist or on the lower portion of the outside of your neck. Gently press your fingers into your wrist or neck until you find your heart beat. Once you feel your pulse, count the number of times your heart beats for 10 seconds. Multiply the number of beats counted by six to determine how many times your heart beats per minute. This number is your heart rate. For example, if you count 10 heart beats in 10 seconds you would multiply 10 by six to determine that your heart beats approximately 60 times each minute. For a more accurate calculation, count the number of times your heart beats for a full minute instead of only 10 seconds and then multiplying.

Checking Heart Rate With a Monitor

Heart rate monitors are available in many health and sports stores. Most models are worn around the wrist and are about the size of a watch. Wearing a heart rate monitor allows you to check your heart rate throughout exercise without needing to stop and count the number of times your heart beats. There are many different models available which have various operating instructions, but most models need only initial setup and then are worn during exercise and display your heart rate on the screen. Many cardiovascular exercise machines also feature built-in heart rate monitors. Either press your thumb onto a special section of the machine or hold onto special handles and the calculated heart rate is displayed on a screen. This allows you to maintain a target heart rate and monitor your progress while exercising.

Source:

American Heart Association: Target Heart Rate

CCHS.net: Your Pulse and Your Target Heart Rate

HeartRateMonitors.com