title: Target heart rates for the development of cardiorespiratory fitness.
abstract: The American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) recommends the use of 40%, 60%, 80%, and 85% of maximal oxygen consumption (VO2max) as target values in developing exercise prescriptions. Further, the ACSM states that 55%, 70%, 85%, and 90% of maximal heart rate (HRmax) may be used as indices of these respective levels of % VO2max for the general population. The current study evaluated this relationship between %HRmax and %VO2max in apparently healthy, young adults. Eighty-one men and 81 women between the ages of 18 and 34 engaged in an incremental exercise test to exhaustion. Linear regressions of %HRmax and %VO2max were performed on each subject. From these regressions, target values of %HRmax were computed for each individual. Mean percentages of HRmax were 63%, 76%, 89%, and 92% at 40%, 60%, 80%, and 85% of VO2max, respectively. At all of these values of %VO2max, the values obtained for %HRmax were significantly greater (P < 0.001) than those used by the ACSM. Fitness affected these results, particularly among men. High fit men averaged 2% higher in %HRmax than low fit men at any given value of %VO2max.
authors.affiliation: Human Performance Laboratory, Marshall University, Huntington, WV 25755-2450.
authors.forename: D P
authors.initials: DP
authors.lastname: Swain
authors.forename: K S
authors.initials: KS
authors.lastname: Abernathy
authors.forename: C S
authors.initials: CS
authors.lastname: Smith
authors.forename: S J
authors.initials: SJ
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.forename: S A
authors.initials: SA
authors.lastname: Bunn
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D005260:Female; D006339:Heart Rate / Q000502:physiology*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D010101:Oxygen Consumption / Q000502:physiology*; D010809:Physical Fitness / Q000502:physiology*; D012044:Regression Analysis; D012727:Sex Characteristics