And some say neither one is that accurate because they re based on averages anyway. There s no question that the new formula s most significant potential is to make healthy older adults work out a little harder. But it also has the potential to render obsolete all the heart-training charts in books, Web sites and workout programs built into electronic cardio machines. HRmax is the estimated highest number of beats your heart can drum in a minute. Some cardiologists use HRmax in prescribing exercise intensity for better health.
People use it, usually with a heart-rate monitor, to figure out how hard to work out.
Previously, people had no way of tracking their intensity or progress other than by how they felt. The buzz began with a study in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology earlier this year. Researchers at the University of Colorado at Boulder unveiled a new maximum heart-rate equation. Also, the old formula s validity has not been established in a large enough study - one with many adults, Tanaka said. Using the new formula, the maximum heart rate is higher for people older than 40.