How to find your maximum heart rate
Maximum heart rate formula and test
If you are new to running, or only want an approximation of your maximum heart ate, you can use the formula of 214 – (0.8 x age) for men and 209 – (0.9 x age) for women.
Unfortunately for 5-10 per cent of the population, this figure can be wrong by up to 24 beats per minute. A better way to find your max is to do a running test.
Run evenly as fast as you can for three minutes (ideally on a treadmill), resting with two or three minutes gentle running, then repeating the fast three minutes. During your second run you should get a higher maximum reading than with any other method – although you or a helper should use a heart rate monitor to take readings throughout the interval, because your pulse may peak before the finish.
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