Is my heart rate during exercise safe?

markrgeary1

I used to worry about that too.. Then I thought how foolish it was to worry, if your heart is healthy. If I was running away from a Grizzly bear or having great sex would I care what my heartrate was? Nope.

CharlieBeansmomTracey

SueSueDio wrote: »

CharlieBeansmomTracey wrote: »

wii fit is not accurate at all when it comes to those things. so dont rely on that to give you an actual heart rate number.

Oh, I don't get the number from that - it comes from my wristband that's measuring my pulse directly. I don't even rely on the Wii for my weight, it fluctuates so wildly that I don't believe it's accurate (maybe because the board is on a carpet, not a hard floor). I just use it for the exercises.

oh ok gotcha

KathleenKP

You should ask your doctor.

I'm encouraging you to do that, and not being trite. I had a stress test done by a cardiologist, and he told *me to ignore all the "220-" rules and everything posted at the gym. I had it done, in part, b/c my IRL friends were freaking out about my high workout HR - when I felt fine. You probably won't get to the point of having a stress test done. I have a family genetic issue, and also have some EKG abnormalities, so he thought it would be good to do the test on me to be sure.

But ask your doctor - soon if you are worried; at your next checkup otherwise.

In general, your resting HR is high for your age, but will also likely come down nicely as you continue your activity. But your workout HR sounds fine.

SingingSingleTracker

armydreamers wrote: »

I'm 36 and just recently started exercising regularly. I'm 5'7" and 152 lbs. so not terribly overweight but definitely out of shape. I just got a Fitbit charge HR to track my heart rate during rest and exercise. My goal is to lose about 15-17lbs but my main reason for starting to exercise regularly is health. I'm doing a pretty intense 60 minute cardio workout with body weight exercises at the end. According to the Fitbit, my average bpm during the workout is 134 but gets as high as 186!! And who knows if it's accurate so it may be higher. Is it safe to get that high?

Yup, that's totally fine. At your age I was always hitting up into the 190's during HIIT. Now at age 54, the old ticker beats slower for the same effort. So I routinely go up to 179-181 for my most intense short duration outputs on the bike (steep climbs and full out sprints at race speed). Those would be my VO2Max intervals from this chart below. If I push it beyond that into the Anaerobic Capacity and Neuromuscular (a few seconds to 30 seconds max) it costs me an awful lot and is hard to recover.

The more "in shape" you get, you'll see your resting heart rate lower. My resting HR is about 52 after a cup of coffee in the morning resting in bed. When not trained, it can be in the 60's - 70's for me.

Most likely during your workouts at the end with the body weight exercises, your HR gets up in the Threshold to V02Max for short durations. There's nothing wrong with that! We cannot sustain V02Max for very long durations (3-8 minutes), but the Threshold we can.



Good link here on HR Zones, typical maximum durations of each and what not...

http://home.trainingpeaks.com/blog/article/power-training-levels

Machka9

When I was in my early 30s ... so that 220-age thing would have totalled about 188 ... I would hit 194 cycling up steep hills. That was a "seeing red" situation ... I would literally see red when I hit that sort of heart rate.

Because I do have two damaged heart valves, I went for a whole battery of heart tests, and the Drs and Cardiologists determined that I was OK. They also confirmed that the 220-age thing can be right ... and it can be wrong too.

In my late 30s I was doing running sprints as a part of a physical education class in university ... teaching us to teach physical education. I was wearing my HRM, and hit 197 several times.


If you have reason to be concerned ... see a Dr. Otherwise hitting 186 now and then could be normal for you. Especially if your usual exercising HR is around 136.

armydreamers wrote: »

My resting heart rate seems to be between 70-80. Is that bad? I'm hoping my new routine of regular exercise will help to lower it.

As for this ... 70-80 is a bit high. Is that your HR when you wake up in the morning, but before you get out of bed?

jacksonpt

Do you have any medical reasons to be concerned about high HR? No? Good. Did you die? No? Good.

You're fine.

EvgeniZyntx

latineyes2 wrote: »

A lot of advice by well intentioned people. Something like this calls for a visit to your MD! You should talk to your Dr about what's healthy and what's not and what's safe and what's not! Then you will have your answer.

If not your Dr, then a certified Athletic Trainer, not a Personal Trainer who could get their certificate online, but an Athletic Trainer who has a BA degree and 1000's of hours working with athletes.

Aside from the fact that any inactive person starting an exercise regimen SHOULD have a full check up - you are wrong. The information people have been posting is generally correct.

As people have mentioned:

- HR in the upper 180s for intense work out for someone in their 30's starting out are not abnormal.
- return to base rates are more important
- focus more on how you're feeling when you're exercising. Getting dizzy, short of breath, shaking, pain or other signs should be looked at right away.

Do see a doctor regularly.

sarahboyle963

armydreamers wrote: »

My resting heart rate seems to be between 70-80. Is that bad? I'm hoping my new routine of regular exercise will help to lower it.

Not at all. A normal resting heart rate is 60-100. Athletes are usually on the lower side of the spectrum.