Do you want to get the most out of those 30 minutes on the treadmill, or any kind of cardio exercise? You maximize the benefits of cardiovascular activity when you exercise in the zone of your target heart rate (THR). In general terms, your THR is 60-80% of your maximum heart rate. There are a couple of ways to figure this out, but here is the simplest.

1. Find your maximum heart rate. To calculate your max heart rate subtract your age from 220. For this example, we’ll say my max heart rate is 200.
2. Multiply your maximum heart rate and your first percentage. So, if my max heart rate is 200 and my first percentage is 60%… 200 x .60 = 120.
3. Repeat step 3 with the second percentage. So… 200 x .80 = 160.
4. Document your zone range. Unless you want to be calculating these often, write down your findings. In our example, I’d write down “60-80% = 120-160 Heart Rate.