Heart Rate Calculator for Cardio Workouts

Doing cardio without knowing your heart rate is like lifting weights without knowing how much they weigh. You're training without crucial information! But once you calculate your maximum heart rate and heart rate percentages, you can customize your cardio for maximum fat loss, calorie burn, and overall health!

Try to maintain a heart rate between 65 and 70 percent of your maximum heart rate for 30 to 45 minutes during each session of steady-state, moderate-intensity exercise. Your heart rate may reach 80 to 95 percent of its maximum while you are engaging in high-intensity interval training (HIIT). These workouts are shorter and can last anywhere from 4 and 20 minutes, including a Tabata workout. These cardiac exercises each have pros and downsides.

The range of a resting heart rate is 40 to 100 beats per minute. The typical heart rate for a male is around 70 BPM, whereas the typical heart beat for a woman is 75 BPM. Your level of cardiovascular fitness can be improved with a focus on lowering your resting heart rate.

Heart rate monitors, many cardio machines, and smart watches all offer heart rate tracking. But you can also test it yourself.

To test your heart rate, place the tips of your index and middle fingers over the radial artery, in line with the base of the thumb, and apply light pressure to it. Do not use your thumb because it has a pulse of its own. Either count the beats for one full minute to get your heart rate, or for 30 seconds, then multiply by two to calculate your BPM.