Measuring Target Heart Rate
4th Grade Mathematics & Physical Education
Common Core Standard
PE 4.3.8—Measure and record changes in aerobic capacity and
muscular strength, using scientifically based health-related physical fitness assessments.
Common Core Standard 4.OA.2—Multiply or divide to solve word problems involving
multiplicative comparison, e.g., by using drawings and equations with a symbol for the
unknown number to represent the problem, distinguishing multiplicative comparison from
additive comparison.
Did you know that when we exercise, it is recommended that we make our hearts beat at a
certain rate? By rate I mean a certain number of heartbeats in each minute. The rate is
expressed as beats per minute, or BPM. However, that rate is different for all of us because it
depends on our age. That rate that is specific to each of us is called our target heart rates.
Why do we have target heart rates? Well, if our hearts aren’t beating fast enough while we
exercise, then we may not be getting all the benefits, or good things, for our bodies that we
could be getting if we exercised harder. If our hearts are beating too fast, this can be bad for
our bodies. Don’t worry, you’d have to be working pretty hard to get your heartrate up that
high. So lets learn about our target heart rates and how to measure them! This is going to be a
lot of new and confusing information, so we’ll walk through it together.
Materials:
• Pen or pencil
• Piece of paper
• Calculator (if you’d like)
