How to get your heart rate up
4 minute read | Published April 04, 2025
Medically Reviewed | Last reviewed by Carol Harrison and Amaka Agbor on April 04, 2025
Exercise is an important part of disease prevention – and that includes cancer prevention. But not all exercise is created equal. It’s essential that you do some exercise that makes your heart beat faster than it does when you’re resting.
Getting your heart to beat faster trains your body to move oxygen and blood to your muscles more efficiently. It also helps you burn more calories and lowers your cholesterol. All of this can help you stay healthy and help lower your cancer risk, says Carol Harrison, senior clinical exercise physiologist at MD Anderson.
The American Institute for Cancer Research recommends at least 150 minutes of moderate physical activity or 75 minutes of vigorous exercise each week to help lower your cancer risk. It’s the vigorous exercise that helps get your heart rate up.
How to measure your heart rate
One of the easiest ways to measure your heart rate is with a monitor, says Amaka Agbor, health education specialist at MD Anderson’s Lyda Hill Cancer Prevention Center. This is typically a watch or strap that wraps around your arm or chest and syncs with a watch or another device. Many wearable fitness trackers include heart rate monitors.
If you don’t have a heart rate monitor, you can measure your pulse to check your heart rate. To find your pulse, use your middle and your index fingers to find your carotid artery, located on your neck on either side of your windpipe. Then, count the beats you feel for 10 seconds. Multiply that number by six. That’s roughly the number your heart beats per minute.
Understanding your heart rate
Now that you know how to measure your heart rate, you can determine your:
- Active heart rate: This is how fast your heart beats when you’re active or exercising.
- Resting heart rate: This is how fast your heart beats when you’re resting or relaxing.
- Maximum heart rate: This is the highest rate your heart reaches during activity. To find your age-related maximum heart rate, subtract your age from 220. For example, if you’re 40 years old, subtract 40 from 220 to get a maximum age-related heart rate of 180. Aim for a percentage of that maximum rate when you exercise.
Check your pulse or your heart rate monitor while you’re resting and then again while you’re exercising to compare your resting heart rate to your active heart rate.
If you’re working at 65% to 75% of your maximum heart rate, that exercise is considered moderate. If you’re working at 76% to 85% of your heart rate, then it’s vigorous exercise. Be cautious if your heart rate goes beyond 85%.
If you’re worried about an increased heart rate causing other health problems or you’ve had heart problems in the past, talk to your doctor before you begin exercising at a higher intensity.
Why your heart rate might be low
The average heart rate for most adults is about 70 beats per minute, says Harrison. A low heart rate is 50 beats a minute or less. It’s important to see your doctor if your heart rate is low, so they can figure out whether it has always been that way, or if an underlying issue is causing it.
Some reasons for low heart rate include:
- Genetics
- Low iron or another type of deficiency
- Age: As you get older, your resting heart rate is a little bit lower.
- Heart disease
- Being well-conditioned: If you’re well-conditioned and fit, your heart can pump more blood per beat. So, it will take less beats per minute to pump the same amount of blood.
Ways to get your heart rate up
Now that you know how to determine your heart rate, the next step is to find exercises that will help boost it to improve your health. Here are a few ways to increase your heart rate.
- Do strength training. Strength training exercises, like squats and push-ups, build and tone your muscles. Incorporate strength training into your exercise routine two times per week.
- Set an incline. If you’re on the treadmill, increase the incline. Or if you’re walking outside, look for hills. This will challenge your muscles and help increase your heart rate.
- Take the stairs. Just like adding an incline, stairs bring a new challenge to your workout.
- Raise your arms. Lifting your arms above your head several times during an activity like walking or riding a stationary bike will boost your heart rate. You can even wear small wrist weights or use two small dumbbells as you lift your arms for an extra boost.
- Alter your pace. Whether you’re walking, riding a bike, swimming or practicing yoga, you don’t have to increase your pace for the entire workout. Add in short bursts of increased effort at a faster pace. This can help increase your heart rate quickly.
- Change your mode of exercise. Varying your type of workout sends a signal to your body to adapt to something different, which ensures your body works more efficiently. For example, if your body has gotten used to walking, change your mode of exercise to something strengthening, like squats or lunges.
- Take shorter breaks. If you’re doing an interval workout or lifting weights, take shorter breaks in between the different exercises.
Request an appointment at MD Anderson online or call 1-888-423-0251.
