Heart Rate questions - Running

sgtchester
sgtchester Posts: 20 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
I've started running after not being very active for some time ( the last two years have been intermittent)

I'm 32 years old, 6'2" and about 292 lbs and my max heart rate by a formulat (not tested) should be like 184-194 depending on the formula.

I've been jogging three times per week, and just bought a heart rate monitor that works with mapmyfitness.com According to it, I spent 60% of the time in the "anaerobic" zone 5. I'm going about 5.6 km with a 500m warmup and cool down I spend about 35-40 minutes of that jogging. Most of the jog seems to be spent between 170 and 180 bpm. Mapmyfitness assumed that my MHR is 186, and has zone 5 being 90% plus, however I did hit 189 bpm near the end of the run.

Does this make sense? Should I be slowing down, or just go with it? I want to do well, but I don't want to injure myself either. I'm wondering if I should go to my doctor to schedule a stress test or something.

Replies

  • sgtchester
    sgtchester Posts: 20 Member
    update: I've called my doctor to book an appointment.
  • jorbjorb
    jorbjorb Posts: 26
    i would honestly slow down and try and stay in zone 5. that zone has the most benefits for you.

    i've hit 200 before though during sprinting
  • jacksonpt
    jacksonpt Posts: 10,413 Member
    wait, what?

    You spent the majority of your 35ish minute run between 170 and 180bpm? But because some formula/website told you your max HR was 186 you now think something is wrong with you?

    I'm not saying the appointment is wrong, but the far simpler answer is that the formula is wrong for you, and that your actual max HR is significantly higher than 186.
  • jacksonpt
    jacksonpt Posts: 10,413 Member
    jorbjorb wrote: »
    i would honestly slow down and try and stay in zone 5. that zone has the most benefits for you.

    i've hit 200 before though during sprinting

    Zones are garbage. They only matter for about 5% of the population in 5% of circumstances. So, probably not anyone on MFP.
  • sgtchester
    sgtchester Posts: 20 Member
    jacksonpt wrote: »
    wait, what?

    You spent the majority of your 35ish minute run between 170 and 180bpm? But because some formula/website told you your max HR was 186 you now think something is wrong with you?

    I'm not saying the appointment is wrong, but the far simpler answer is that the formula is wrong for you, and that your actual max HR is significantly higher than 186.

    I'm not saying that something is wrong with me. I'm saying that I don't know much about heart rate, and wanted to ask other people who know more than I do what they think.
  • kCalCrusher
    kCalCrusher Posts: 54 Member
    Always a good idea to check with your doctor if you're concerned. I had similar concerns. My heart rate usually is around 180 and hangs out there when I run. I saw my doctor and he said don't worry about it as long as it comes back down you're good. I had to ditch the heart rate monitor for awhile because I got obsessed about it lol. Your body will most likely let you know if you're pushing it too hard!
  • Wheelhouse15
    Wheelhouse15 Posts: 5,575 Member
    Jack is right, those max HR were never made for what they are used for but they were casual observations of some data. My HR regularly goes over 190 when I push my pace and I usually train my runs within the 160-180 range, which at 44 would be way too high by the charts -- in fact I'm usually dead based on MHR charts. You need to figure out your max HR and your working HR and be looking more at Borg Perceived Exersion Scale and train in the somewhat hard to hard range.

Categories