Calculate Maximal Heart Rate

To perform exercises effectively, you need to monitor your heart rate when exercising, as each heart rate zone will meant different exercise effects and each zones contributes differently to the increase in metabolism.

For example,
Healthy Heart Zone (Warm up) --- 50 - 60% of maximum heart rate (MHR)
Fitness Zone (Fat Burning) --- 60 - 70% of MHR
Aerobic Zone (Endurance Training) --- 70 - 80% of MHR
Anaerobic Zone (Performance Training) --- 80 - 90% of MHR
Red Line (Maximum Effort) --- 90 - 100% of MHR

(For details of what each heart rate zone, click here.)

So how do we calculate the MHR? No worries, as long as you have passed Primary 3 maths, you can do this without much problem.

Let's say we wanna increase our mitochondria, we need to exercise at the Anaerobic Zone of 80% of MHR, and assuming you are 25 years old.

Step 1: Subtract your age from 220 to find out your maximum heart rate
MHR --> 220-25 = 195 beats per minute

Step 2: Multiply your MHR by 80%
195 x 80% = 156 beats per minute

Viola! You should maintain the intensity of exercise once you reach your desired HR.

You can check your heart rate during a workout, but first slow down the pace a little so you can concentrate more. Gently place your index and middle finger on the inner part of your wrist. Now count how many beats in 10 seconds, then multiply the number by 6. Of course, there are effective electronic instruments around which can purchase to make this easier for you, like a watch that measures heart rate, but that's entirely up to you.