Targeting Heart-Healthy Exercise

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To maximize the benefits to your heart and lungs, the American Heart Association recommends exercising at your target heart rate. At this rate, your heart works most efficiently to pump blood. Your target rate equals about 50 to 75 percent of your heart's maximum rate, which you can calculate by subtracting your age from 220.

Some heart medications—beta-blockers and calcium channel blockers, for example—lower the maximum heart rate. If you take such medication, ask your doctor what your own target heart rate should be.

In the first few months of your exercise program, aim for the lower end of your target zone. You can increase the benefits of your activity by gradually building up toward the higher end.

To determine whether you have reached your target zone, check your pulse immediately after you stop exercising. Place the tips of your first two fingers on the inside of your opposite wrist, just below the base of your thumb, or on your neck to one side of your Adam's apple. Count your pulse for 15 seconds, then multiply by four. This is your exercising heart rate. Compare it with your target rate on the chart.

While your target heart rate is an important indicator of how you are doing, remember not to make your body work too hard. When jogging or walking, for example, you should be able to have a conversation without becoming breathless.

After six months of regular exercise, you can try working toward 85 percent of your maximum heart rate. But you do not have to exercise at this level to stay in good condition.

If you are looking for additional ways to increase the benefits of your exercise, you can increase duration or frequency. Walk for an hour instead of a half-hour, or exercise every day instead of four times a week.