Heart rate jumps during steady walking. Do I trust the treadmill?

Hamsibian

Hi all,

Just FYI, I typically have a high heart rate, but it gets stronger when I work out more consistently. I just started going to the gym again after being sedentary for most of the year, and yesterday I was able to walk for an hour on the treadmill at a steady pace. There were times when my heart rate was 82, times when it was around 175, then lowered to 107, jumped again, you get the picture. Is this typical when you work out, or is it even worth trusting gym machines regarding HR?

I am not freaked out by any of this, it's more out of curiosity.

goldthistime

The treadmills at my gym seem to measure accurately but I get those same wild variations in HR when I try to use my a chest strap with my home treadmill.

cwolfman13

No, that's not normal...particularly walking you HR shouldn't be anywhere near 175...the machine is broken

RoxieDawn

No not normal.. Got to be glitch in the computer read out.. Heck even if my own HR chest strap does that, it will be time to check the batteries or get a new one.

Azdak

Are these readings coming from the handrail sensors or from a chest strap?

Either ways, it's always certainly due to contact issues with the sensors or with you HR strap. Not everyone can get a consistent signal through the hand rail sensors (I cannot when doing an elliptical).

You can also get some irregular readings if you have an irregular heart beat, but those are usually more intermittent and you don't see as big a swing in numbers as you are reporting.

You can always try double checking by doing a manual pulse check to see how it matches the number on the screen.

ZenaidePassini

Buy a multi-cushioning treadmill to give support for secure runs and safety purpose. The extra cushions also provide smooth surface and less wear and tear.

Hamsibian

Thanks for all of the information! I forgot to say that my resting heart rate right now is usually around 110 (anaemia along with other health issues tend to be the cause of it), so that's why I am not worried. it just seemed weird that they would jump that much in just a few minutes, but there were also times where it took forever for the hand rails to read anything at all, so I was suspicious.

SueInAz

I'd think that if your heart rate really increased that rapidly you'd literally feel it happening so it's something weird with the machine. I'm having a similar issue with the chest strap heart rate monitor that goes with my GPS watch. It'll suddenly shoot up to 198 BPM from around 165 and if I settle the strap higher it drops back down to normal. I know it's the battery dying after 2.5 years but don't own a screwdriver small enough to get it open.

rileysowner

Hamsibian wrote: »

Thanks for all of the information! I forgot to say that my resting heart rate right now is usually around 110 (anaemia along with other health issues tend to be the cause of it), so that's why I am not worried. it just seemed weird that they would jump that much in just a few minutes, but there were also times where it took forever for the hand rails to read anything at all, so I was suspicious.

If you are using the hand rails, that is the issue. Bad contact will give wildly incorrect readings. If you really want to track your HR, get a HR monitor with a chest strap.

Hamsibian

Unfortunately, I can't afford any trackers or HR monitors at this point. I am not worried about it as I have been down this road before, but I just wanted to make sure. The hand rails are terrible! Thanks everyone

DancingMoosie

The handrails in treadmills will tell me anything from 60 to 150, I just ignore it most of the time. I use time and speed with my age and weight to calculate calories burned.

ZenaidePassini

Here is information to compare running on treadmill vs outside