race

The first step to calculating your heart rate zones is to determine your Maximum Heart Rate (MHR) and Resting Heart Rate (RHR). MHR is calculated as 220 minus your age, so at age 24 your MHR would be 190 (220 - 24). RHR is the heart rate at rest, taken when you are fully rested and relaxed.

Once you have those two numbers, you can calculate your training zones. These are the five training zones:

Zone 1: 50%-60% of MHR Zone 2: 61%-70% of MHR Zone 3: 71%-80% of MHR Zone 4: 81%-90% of MHR Zone 5: 91%-100% of MHR

As you are preparing for a 10K race, you will want to be working in Zone 2 and Zone 3, to help your body learn to race. To determine what these percentages mean in terms of your actual heart rate, you will need to subtract your RHR from your MHR.

In this case, if your MHR is 190 and your RHR is 48, then your range for Zone 2 would be 113-132 beats per minute (190 - 48 x 0.61-0.7). For Zone 3 it would be 142-161 beats per minute (190 - 48 x 0.71-0.80). So in training for your 10K, you will want to aim to keep your heart rate between 113 and 161 beats per minute.