How to Raise Your Heartbeat

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Studies have shown that just as little as 30 minutes a day of activities that raise your heart rate can have profoundly positive health effects.^{[1]XResearch source} Also, as you age, a lower heart rate can make you feel cold more easily. In order to combat this, you'll need to partake in some particular daily movements. While there are ways to increase your heart rate without exercise, there are no health benefits to an increase in heart rate without the accompanying muscle work.

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Instead of just sitting in a normal chair, try sitting on an exercise ball instead. Sitting on an unstable surface engages and strengthens your core muscles while sitting in a normal chair does not. You can even forgo sitting, and stand as much as possible during the day. Even these small changes can affect your heart.
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Do chair exercises. Seated exercises can be a good way to start increasing your heart rate. Try marching while sitting or seated jumping jacks. Be careful only to choose exercises that aren't beyond your limits.
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Instead of parking as close as possible to your work or the grocery store, park as far away as you can. Instead of taking the elevator to get up just one or two floors, take the stairs. Simply being more active will help you increase your heart rate.^{[2]XResearch source}
Walk in order to get around or just go for a walk for the sake of a walk. Walking is a great way to increase your heart rate. You don't even have to walk very fast! Just a normal pace will get your heart rate up and your body working.^{[3]XResearch source}
Swimming is a great exercise that has the added bonus of being gentle on your bones. Swimming is also great if you have weight or joint problems that keep you inactive because the water will redistribute your weight, taking the pressure off of your body and allowing you to move.^{[4]XTrustworthy SourceHarvard Medical SchoolHarvard Medical School's Educational Site for the PublicGo to source}
If you have trouble doing standard exercises, yoga and tai chi are good options. These will increase your heart rate and provide excellent low-impact exercise, helping to skirt weight problems and muscle or joint issues.^{[5]XResearch source}

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Hiking will not only get your heartbeat up, but it will also get you outside and experiencing the incredible world around you. You can hike in local nature areas, or you can even hike around your city! All you need is a couple of inclines and a route!^{[6]XTrustworthy SourceHarvard Medical SchoolHarvard Medical School's Educational Site for the PublicGo to source}
Ride a bike through your local neighborhood or in an area that is safe for bikers. You can even bike to get around, riding your bike to work or to your daily activities. You can go for a less strenuous workout and keep to the flat roads, or you can give yourself a bit more exercise and climb some small hills.
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Do squats. Squats are an exercise where you stand with knees apart and bring your butt down as if you're sitting in a chair. It's harder than it sounds to do it right! However, it's also an excellent exercise that will raise your heart rate and improve your core muscles, helping you to sit up straighter.
- Bodyweight squats (without additional weight) are much less intense, but you can gradually increase intensity by slowly adding weights in the form of dumbbells or barbells.
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Start weightlifting. Lifting weights is a low impact exercise that allows you to tailor the intensity of your workout precisely by gradually adding or removing weight if necessary.
Jogging (which is a relatively slow, exaggerated running motion) is an excellent way to increase your heart rate. Start with lower impact exercises before working your way up to this, though. Starting on higher impact exercise too quickly can cause injury to your joints.

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Rock climbing, which can easily and safely be done indoors on your own or with a coach, is a wonderful way to raise your heartbeat and get in shape. Rock climbing can be a slightly more expensive exercise, but it's worth it (if you ask those who do it)!
Progress from jogging to a full blown run. Having a track to run on is important here, as it will help you not only maintain speed but also reduce the chance of injury. Running can quickly raise your heart beat a tremendous amount.
You might think of this as a kid's activity, but jump rope is actually incredibly good exercise. You'll be breathing heavy and feeling your heart pound before you know it! Just make sure you pick up a jump rope that is the right size for you. A child's rope will be too small and difficult to use for adults. Additionally, if simple jumping gets boring you can challenge yourself some tricks!
The gym class classic, while hard and uncomfortable, is actually really good exercise that will get your heart racing and build up important muscles all over your body. Your gym teacher's weren't lying! Just make sure to do warm ups before doing exercises like this.
Burpies are like the combination of all those exercises you always did in gym class. Start in a standing position, jump down onto your stomach, do a push up, and then jump back into a standing position. Repeat these movements as quickly as you can. Your heart will be absolutely racing.

Expert Q&A

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Question
What is a healthy heart rate for a woman 59 years old and fairly active?
Michele Dolan
Certified Fitness Trainer
Michele Dolan is a BCRPA certified Personal Trainer in British Columbia. She has been a personal trainer and fitness instructor since 2002.
Michele Dolan
Certified Fitness Trainer
Expert Answer
Your training zone would be approximately 97 -137 beats per minute which is 60-85% of your heart rate maximum (approximately).
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What is a safe heart beat for a 35 year old woman?
Michele Dolan
Certified Fitness Trainer
Michele Dolan is a BCRPA certified Personal Trainer in British Columbia. She has been a personal trainer and fitness instructor since 2002.
Michele Dolan
Certified Fitness Trainer
Expert Answer
A normal resting heart rate is anywhere from 60 to 100 beats per minute. Exercise heart rates in the range of 60-85% of your heart rate maximum would be 111-157 beats per minute.
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Warnings

Do not overdo it. If you have been sedentary for a long time, 8 weeks or more, talk to your doctor before trying to get your heart rate any higher than 60%. If you aren't overly sedentary, to be safe, keep your heart rate within 60 percent of your maximum heart rate. To estimate this number you can subtract your current age from 220 and multiply by .6. Higher numbers than that could put too much stress on your heart.^{[7]XResearch source}
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