At what pace should I be exercising in terms of heart rate?

Q: I have always been involved in lots of vigorous exercise, including running, cycling and swimming. Lately I have been looking at my heart rate. I have no knowledge of what is good or bad, but wanted to know what my cardiovascular training zone heartbeat might be. To do this I need to know my maximum heart rate. I have noticed it as high as at least 220 bpm while running. Is this a cause for concern, as my suggested maximum is meant to be around 188 bpm? My resting bpm is 45. Please advise.

A:This is the formula you can follow to give you an idea of how you can train. But I must emphasize here, that you need to do this in consultation with your doctor. Minus your age from 220, to get a figure that is your maximum heart rate. This is theoretical figure. Now 65% to 85% of this figure is what you should aim for in your aerobic workout, depending on the intensity of the workout. If you are looking for a fat burning zone, you should be at 65% of this figure for a longer period . If you want to train your cardiovascular system in the higher zone, take 80% of this and that is what your heart rate should read when you are in your peak zone.