Your heart rate.....

SparkleShine

For those of you with an HRM....how high does your heart rate get during exercise? Mine gets really high sometimes. Like today it got to 183 at one point and it's not like I'm gasping for air or anything. I'm female and 40

lyla29

Mine has gotten pretty high before, in the 180's, and like you I wasn't gasping for air and it was for a short time. I think it's okay as long as you don't keep your heart rate that high for a long period of time. I'm female, 35 years old, so pretty close to the same as you.

jillybeanruns

I've seen mine go up to 203 during a race. My normal running heart rate is high 160s-low 190s. For TF workouts, it only gets as high as mid-160s, but it honestly depends on what I'm doing. My asthma controls my intensity usually.

SparkleShine

Ok I feel a little better now. I was kinda freaking out a little. It said my average HR was in the high 150's I think. So I'm good, right?:happy:

Lyadeia

I'm a 31 year old female, and doing Insanity it gets up to 189-191 and stays there until the little breaks...but gets right back up there again.

During Turbo workouts, it stays around 175 or so.

During P90X workouts, it's more like 180 because I work hard to lift heavier weights.

When I do something not so strenuous, like jogging or something like that, it normally stays around 165-170 or so.

The only time I am "gasping for air" would be after 30 minutes or longer of the Insanity workouts. I can carry out conversations easily with the others.

MaybeImNot

My trainer yelled at me when he saw mine was 189 during a session yesterday... "DOES THAT SAY 189!?!? Thats too high!!" and so I"m in HR detention at this moment. He's giving me some ratios, said it depends on my resting heart rate which was my "homework" -- I'll find out at tomorrow's session what he has to say.

I'm 24, Resting heart rate was 60.... elliptical for long time I'm usually in the 150-160.... Zumba classes put me in the 160-170... running or rowing is an automatic 180-190, no questions asked. He said I need to try to keep it at 160-170 max for long periods of time

kjensen15

My trainer yelled at me when he saw mine was 189 during a session yesterday... "DOES THAT SAY 189!?!? Thats too high!!" and so I"m in HR detention at this moment. He's giving me some ratios, said it depends on my resting heart rate which was my "homework" -- I'll find out at tomorrow's session what he has to say.

I'm 24, Resting heart rate was 60.... elliptical for long time I'm usually in the 150-160.... Zumba classes put me in the 160-170... running or rowing is an automatic 180-190, no questions asked. He said I need to try to keep it at 160-170 max for long periods of time

I'm 27 and mine heart ratee numbers are about exactly the same as yours. Any time I run on the treadmill it stay pretty elevated, in the 180 range... I'm not sure what I can do about that, b/c if I slow down, I don't feel like I'm getting a good enough workout.. not sweating, not tired, ect...

Lyadeia

My trainer yelled at me when he saw mine was 189 during a session yesterday... "DOES THAT SAY 189!?!? Thats too high!!" and so I"m in HR detention at this moment. He's giving me some ratios, said it depends on my resting heart rate which was my "homework" -- I'll find out at tomorrow's session what he has to say.

I'm 24, Resting heart rate was 60.... elliptical for long time I'm usually in the 150-160.... Zumba classes put me in the 160-170... running or rowing is an automatic 180-190, no questions asked. He said I need to try to keep it at 160-170 max for long periods of time

I would find a new trainer. That's NOT too high. In fact, the more intensely you workout, the higher it will go...and the fact is, the higher intensity the workout, the more calories you burn, and the more fat you lose.

BoresEasily

My trainer yelled at me when he saw mine was 189 during a session yesterday... "DOES THAT SAY 189!?!? Thats too high!!" and so I"m in HR detention at this moment. He's giving me some ratios, said it depends on my resting heart rate which was my "homework" -- I'll find out at tomorrow's session what he has to say.

I'm 24, Resting heart rate was 60.... elliptical for long time I'm usually in the 150-160.... Zumba classes put me in the 160-170... running or rowing is an automatic 180-190, no questions asked. He said I need to try to keep it at 160-170 max for long periods of time

I would find a new trainer. That's NOT too high. In fact, the more intensely you workout, the higher it will go...and the fact is, the higher intensity the workout, the more calories you burn, and the more fat you lose.

Everything she just said.
Oh, and damn you Lyadeia, you beat me to it yet again!

BoresEasily

I have the opposite problem that you all have. I have a hell of a hard time getting my heart rate over 80%. In fact I only know of a few ways to do it at the moment: HIIT sprints or HIIT stationary bike sprints and outdoor running, not jogging.

MegJo

Do you all have heart rate moniters? I go by what is on the gym machines and often I go over 200... I have to work really hard at staying in the 190s. Although - now that I have been working out consistantly for the last 3 months I have noticed that I usually can keep myself in the high 180's for the most part.

Are gym machines an acurate HR reading? I have a bodybugg that shows calories burned, steps taken etc.. but unfortunatly does not show heart rate.

BoresEasily

I have a HRM and I know the calories burned on most gym machines is off or so I've read from a thousand experts. I don't know if they're accurate for the actual HR or not though. I'd be curious to see what Az, Tonya, Lyadeia, or SHBoss have to say on the matter.

tlp8rb

Your maximum heart rate depends on your age and your weight.

There's a formula you can use as a guideline:

Males: 210 minus 1/2 your age minus 5% of your body weight + 4
Females: 210 minus - 1/2 your age minus 1% of your body weight + 0

Here's an example. I am 69 years old and weigh 176 pounds. My arithmetic formula then would be as follows:
210 - 34.5 (50% x 69 years) minus 1.76 + 0 (female) = Max HR of 173/4 bpm

Someone half my age would have a higher maximum heart rate.

Important not to hold your MHR for more than one minute.

Lyadeia

I have a HRM and I know the calories burned on most gym machines is off or so I've read from a thousand experts. I don't know if they're accurate for the actual HR or not though. I'd be curious to see what Az, Tonya, Lyadeia, or SHBoss have to say on the matter.

I have an HRM and don't ever use the calories burned estimations on the gym machines. They are very high estimations and make it look like I burn 1000+ cals for a slow jog (4.5 mph) in an hour.

jmijares

I have an HRM and don't ever use the calories burned estimations on the gym machines. They are very high estimations and make it look like I burn 1000+ cals for a slow jog (4.5 mph) in an hour.

The calorie calculations on gym machines are way off for me too. Unless you can enter height, weight, age, gender, and max heart rate, it'll always be off. I always rely on my HRM for calorie counts.

Max heart rate is genetically determined but the formula CSchachel put down there is really close. I'm 40, but I've pushed my heart rate as high as 191 during a hill run. I ran the data through some software to see if there were any errors in the recording and there were none.

funkyspunky871

Normally the highest mine ever gets is around 177. However, every now and then, I'll have a workout wear my heart rate goes into the 180's for a minute or so.

Whenever I go into the 180's, I'm not really gasping for breath either, but it's not like it's a walk around the neighborhood either. Jeez. You're average of 150 sounds perfect to me. That's where mine normally is.

EDIT: Actually, just thought about it, and I have gotten up to 203 once, but not for long. I immediately started lowering my intensity when I saw that. It can't be good to stay in the 200's for long. (And, yeah, I do believe I was gasping for breath at that point.) I'd say that MaxHR equation is pretty darn close. 210 - 8 - 1.88 + 0 = 200.12.

Bryan190

Mine has peaked at 171 a couple of times, which is a bit higher than the standard formula suggests for a 57 y.o. male, 163. I've adjusted my max HR in my Polar FT7 to 171.

btuman43

I a fairly healthy 38 year old male and I can keep my heart rate in the 180's for a full 30 minutes while running. I keep reading that this isnt really good, but if im not feeling any chest pain should I slow it down? Last thing I want to do is keel over. lol But I want to work as hard as possible as well.

jmijares

I a fairly healthy 38 year old male and I can keep my heart rate in the 180's for a full 30 minutes while running. I keep reading that this isnt really good, but if im not feeling any chest pain should I slow it down? Last thing I want to do is keel over. lol But I want to work as hard as possible as well.

What's your max HR?

btuman43

185

jmijares

It might be higher than 185... How many days do you have to recover before running again and not feeling any strain? Bottom line is that the human body can sustain a high HR for a short amount of time, but the penalty is that you burn more glycogen (fuel in the form of food you just ate) vs fat. So you'd need adequate recovery time, probably a few days, before you can exercise again.

btuman43

It might be higher than 185... How many days do you have to recover before running again and not feeling any strain? Bottom line is that the human body can sustain a high HR for a short amount of time, but the penalty is that you burn more glycogen (fuel in the form of food you just ate) vs fat. So you'd need adequate recovery time, probably a few days, before you can exercise again.

I usually have at least one rest day in between, but since I am more concerned with burning fat maybe I am better off keeping my heart rate around 160-165 and not try to make it as intense as I possibly can stand. Thanx for the info!!! I will have to do some more homework on this since now I have a direction to look.

jmijares

I usually have at least one rest day in between, but since I am more concerned with burning fat maybe I am better off keeping my heart rate around 160-165 and not try to make it as intense as I possibly can stand. Thanx for the info!!! I will have to do some more homework on this since now I have a direction to look.

You could also widen that fat burning range as well. It kinda depends upon which heart rate formula you use to calculate your training zones. At 40, with a max HR of 191, my aerobic zone is roughly between 150-165 bpm. I use the Karvonen formula so it also factors in your average morning resting heart rate. That particular formula works better for me. It makes the zones just wee bit higher than the standard formula, but when I push things so that I'm training for extended periods in the Lactic Threshold zone (Zone 4 of 5), then I'm usually too tired to work out the next day.

One of the best books I've ever read on heart rate monitor training is "Heart Rate Monitor Training for the Compleat Idiot" by John L Parker. It's out of print, but can be found from sellers on the internet. Lots of good advice in the book. I actually started running because of it.

Definitely try to experiment with different training zones. And most importantly, have fun!

BoresEasily

I usually have at least one rest day in between, but since I am more concerned with burning fat maybe I am better off keeping my heart rate around 160-165 and not try to make it as intense as I possibly can stand. Thanx for the info!!! I will have to do some more homework on this since now I have a direction to look.

You could also widen that fat burning range as well. It kinda depends upon which heart rate formula you use to calculate your training zones. At 40, with a max HR of 191, my aerobic zone is roughly between 150-165 bpm. I use the Karvonen formula so it also factors in your average morning resting heart rate. That particular formula works better for me. It makes the zones just wee bit higher than the standard formula, but when I push things so that I'm training for extended periods in the Lactic Threshold zone (Zone 4 of 5), then I'm usually too tired to work out the next day.

Please tell me you don't mean the 60-70% so-called aerobic zone which is a myth perpetuated by the fitness industry.
I love that you're using Karvonen though.

HealthyChanges2010

bump

floridabootcamp

The easiest way to calculate your Max Heart Rate (MHR) is to subtract your age from 220. (The more accurate ways involve knowing your resting heart rate.)

220 - 40 = 180

Based on this method I wouldn't suggest going above 180.

There are other methods that involve knowing your resting heart rate......Everyone's body is different so no one method is 100% accurate but they all are effective tools. As your body gets stronger it will take much more to get your heart rate up that high....

floridabootcamp

Most of the machines at the gym are going to be "off" a bit. If you need accurate numbers they you might have to go out and get your own devise. You can get by without one though...

jmijares

Please tell me you don't mean the 60-70% so-called aerobic zone which is a myth perpetuated by the fitness industry.
I love that you're using Karvonen though.

Didn't know it was a myth perpetuated by the fitness industry. What's the backstory behind it?

I only have three zones that I use. Well, I'm only supposed to use two: less than 70% MHR and greater than 85% MHR. Lately, I've been running between those two zones because of the weather. Running in the rain is okay, but once it gets harder and water starts running off in the streets, it ain't too much fun so I pick up the pace and I find myself between the two...

BoresEasily

The aerobic/fat burning zone doesn't mean you're burning more fat which is what people have been led to believe and so continue to tell everyone they know. It simply means that the % of fat calories will be greater during the mythological fat-burning zone. You will burn less calories than you would if you were working at a higher intensity where you would burn more over-all fat but with a lower % coming from fat. By exercising at a higher intensity you will burn more calories over-all and more over-all from fat. One of the pages I was on recently had recommended a change in where the aerobic zone should be and it was at 70-85% I think. They also recommended making 60-70% zone your recovery zone. I thought that was a great idea. I'll see if I can find the link. I have so many links it's not funny.

BoresEasily

Found it. Here you go I hope you enjoy.

http://shadowfit.com/articles/index.php/archives/1210

floridabootcamp

Agreed....the fat burning zone is a complete waste of time unless you have medical issues that won't allow you to do anything more intense. Companies that make the cardio equipment don't make it any better by putting these charts on the machines that lead people to believe the myth.