Measuring Heart Rate Before and After Exercise
About this lesson
Students learn to find their own pulse, count their resting heart rate, then do one minute of exercise and measure how quickly their heart rate rises and recovers. They practise an accurate pulse count and connect it to fitness. You need a clock or timer and scrap paper. It takes about 12 minutes.
- Grade
- 7
- Subject
- Gym & PE
- Time
- 12 min
- Prep
- 2 min
Objective
Students will accurately measure their heart rate by counting their pulse for 15 seconds and multiplying by 4, and describe how exercise and rest change it.
Prep
2 min: draw a three-column chart on the board labelled Resting, After Exercise, After 1 Minute Rest
Materials
- clock with a second hand or a timer
- scrap paper
- pencils
Steps
- Show students how to find their pulse by placing two fingers, not the thumb, on the thumb side of the wrist or gently beside the windpipe on the neck, then explain that they will count beats for 15 seconds and multiply by 4 to get beats per minute.
- Have everyone sit quietly for 30 seconds, then call 'Start' and 'Stop' for a 15-second count, and have students write their resting heart rate on scrap paper.
- Lead one minute of jogging on the spot or jumping jacks at a steady, hard effort, keeping it safe in the available space and letting any student who needs to march in place instead.
- Immediately run another 15-second count, have students record it, then have them sit, rest for one minute and take a final 15-second count to record.
- Ask pairs to compare how much their heart rate rose and how much it dropped after one minute of rest, then explain that a faster drop back toward resting is a sign of good heart fitness that improves with regular activity.
Quick Check
Ask students to show with fingers how many seconds they count and what number they multiply by, then call on two students to explain why heart rate goes up during exercise.
Differentiation
Make it easier: Count the pulse for a full 30 seconds and multiply by 2, and let students check a partner's count at the same time.
Make it harder: Have students calculate the change in beats per minute between each reading and predict how a lower-intensity exercise would change the results, then test it.
Good For
- Morning warm-up
- Brain break
- Supply teacher
- Before lunch
