The best judge of intensity during training is the heart. It can be measured by hand, with a pulse watch, or there are built-in watches in modern cardiovascular machines.
It is important to determine your maximum pulse rate, so that you can measure the different intensity levels.
To work out your maximum pulse rate, subtract your age from 220. The calm pulse of an adult is about 60-70 per minute, but a highly-trained sports person's value can be below 50, because their hearts work more effectively.
Only active sports people can train on their maximum pulse rate, because it challenges the body so much.
The optimal pulse rate for training is up to 50-90% of the maximum.
Within this range, you can train for 3 targets:
| Training target | Pulse rate | Who is it suggested for? | In what kind of exercise? |
| 1: Health protection | 50-60 % of maximum | For beginners and older sports people | Faster walking or minor running |
| 2: Fat burning | 60-75 % of maximum | For those who want to lose weight or for the more experienced | Medium intensity running |
| 3: Improving stamina | 75-90% of maximum | For advanced sports people, who have been training for years | High intensity training |
Pulse rates according to age:
| Age | Maximum pulse (220 minus your age) | 1: Health protection (max. pulse 50-60%) | 2: Fat burning (max. pulse 60-75%) | 3: Improving stamina (max. pulse 75-90%) |
| 20 years | 220-20=200 | 100-120 | 120-150 | 150-180 |
| 30 years | 220-30=190 | 95-114 | 114-142 | 142-171 |
| 40 years | 220-40=180 | 90-108 | 108-135 | 135-162 |
| 50 years | 220-50=170 | 85-102 | 102-127 | 127-153 |
| 60 years | 220-60=160 | 80-96 | 96-120 | 120-144 |
| 70 years | 220-70=150 | 75-90 | 90-112 | 112-135 |
IMPORTANT NOTICE! You will burn fat more efficiently by closing in on the upper limit of your fat burning pulse rate range. This way fat burning will continue for up to 30-60 minutes after you finished training!
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