High heart rate when running

Grumpelina

Disclaimer: I know a HRM would be a good thing to have - just not got 'round to it yet!

I'm currently on w5d2 of c25k. According to the HRM on the treadmill I'm working pretty high and am at around 170+ when I check at the beginning of my recovery walks. According to what I've worked out I shouldn't be going that high and wondered what this could be doing for/to me. If I was to stay around 130--40 I wouldn't ever move much faster than my 'brisk walk'!

Am I setting myself up to keel over?

Tracy184

The HRMs on the equipment can be massively inaccurate. The elliptical at my gym said I was over 200, and I thought I was dying! But my HRM (with chest strap) puts me at 155 or so when the elliptical says 200+, so I know the elliptical is just wrong. (PS, my polar FT4 is awesome)

ashley0616

As someone who is a fitness novice, I just think it's silly to think that an overweight person would be able to keep their heart rate between 130 and 140 while getting a good workout like running. It's just not possible in many situations. I run and I'm usually around 175-180, then when I walk as soon as I hit 130 I start up again. i don't think you should worry unless you are getting nauseated, light headed, unusually short of breath, or blurry vision. Then there's a problem.

jonikeffer

You're my age and I was definitely hitting those numbers when I first started working out. As you get in better cardiovascular shape, you will find it gets *really* hard to achieve those HRs so enjoy it while you can! :laugh: It won't hurt you to hit that high, but you simply don't *need* to get that high to be effective. If you think your *average HR* over the time you work out is like 160 or under, then you're fine to keep doing what you're doing. I agree, there is no way I could ever stay in the so-called "fat burning zone" if I even look at a cardio machine.

Note: always get cardiac clearance aka "the OK" from your doctor before starting any new vigorous exercise routine. As long as your heart is healthy, you're fine to get to 170.

astovey

My HRM says I should be between 127 and 166. When I run...My heart goes crazy, probably bc I HATE running and just started doing it on a regular basis. When I ran my 5K my highest was 201 (I know), and was rarely under 150....
You sound pretty normal compared to me lol

Jellyphant

My heart rate used to skyrocket like that (as in, 170-180) when I treadmill jogged, but I never felt faint or anything. As someone else said, it should only be something to worry about if you genuinely feel like crap, aka extreme dizziness, nausea, ect.

JDMPWR

Disclaimer: I know a HRM would be a good thing to have - just not got 'round to it yet!

I'm currently on w5d2 of c25k. According to the HRM on the treadmill I'm working pretty high and am at around 170+ when I check at the beginning of my recovery walks. According to what I've worked out I shouldn't be going that high and wondered what this could be doing for/to me. If I was to stay around 130--40 I wouldn't ever move much faster than my 'brisk walk'!

Am I setting myself up to keel over?

Questions,

Does it stay dead at 170 or linger around it and if so for how long? the whole time of your workout?

For reference I tell people to take 220-your age then times that by 80-85% and that is a rough guess at your max hr and then also take 220-your age and times that by 60% for your minimum.

To be frank last winter I had my hr max out at 185bpm while bike riding. I normally run at about 148-155bpm and have seen it hit up to 165 while running.

Other thing to watch is if you are breathing properly, in through nose, out through mouth, people that do not breath properly are more prone to a higher HR, thats why they give people oxygen when they are hyper ventilating or have a higher HR.

funfitfoodie

My highest on my HRM is like 180, I'm breathing like I dragon but I never feel unwell/nauseous...

notoriousgtt

Im about 185-189 when i finish my cardio, I'm still alive... I think,

JDMPWR

My HRM says I should be between 127 and 166. When I run...My heart goes crazy, probably bc I HATE running and just started doing it on a regular basis. When I ran my 5K my highest was 201 (I know), and was rarely under 150....
You sound pretty normal compared to me lol

The 200 is NOT good but it's not within reason for this to happen when you first start running but if you see a rate about 180 constantly then I would go to a doc BUT I also have heard of some of the most physically fit people getting a really high hr reading sometimes.

Grumpelina

Questions,

Does it stay dead at 170 or linger around it and if so for how long? the whole time of your workout?

For reference I tell people to take 220-your age then times that by 80-85% and that is a rough guess at your max hr and then also take 220-your age and times that by 60% for your minimum.

To be frank last winter I had my hr max out at 185bpm while bike riding. I normally run at about 148-155bpm and have seen it hit up to 165 while running.

It's been over 180 - I have no idea for how long it's high but I'm guessing quite a lot of the time I'm actually running. According to your calculations 80% of my max is about 147! I do come down to below that within around a minute of walking, if that makes any difference!

60% is about 111 - which I reach within the first minute of so of my warm up walk!

Grumpelina

(I'm not usually so exclamation mark crazy, honest - sorry!!!! ;-) )

Swimgoddess

Uh, after 20 min of jogging at 5.6mph on a .5 incline I'm up at 182bpm
Just walking at 3.6mph on a 5.0 incline I sit around 165bpm.

I also take Adderal, but most users only report a 7-8% increase in HR.

TourThePast

I asked my gym instructor about this, and she advised that now I'm getting fitter it's okay for my heart rate to go high for interval training, but that if I'm doing anything with a sustained effort it's not healthy to keep it too close to the maximum for long periods.

This is why I'm running at almost the same pace as a brisk walking, but apparently that's okay because the most important thing to work on to start with is endurance, speed can be worked on afterwards.

Have to say though that running slowly really does go against the grain, I want to be able to just RUN!

JDMPWR

Uh, after 20 min of jogging at 5.6mph on a .5 incline I'm up at 182bpm
Just walking at 3.6mph on a 5.0 incline I sit around 165bpm.

I also take Adderal, but most users only report a 7-8% increase in HR.

I take Addy and that stuff jacks up my hr about 10-15bpm when doing cardio.

JDMPWR

I asked my gym instructor about this, and she advised that now I'm getting fitter it's okay for my heart rate to go high for interval training, but that if I'm doing anything with a sustained effort it's not healthy to keep it too close to the maximum for long periods.

This is why I'm running at almost the same pace as a brisk walking, but apparently that's okay because the most important thing to work on to start with is endurance, speed can be worked on afterwards.

Have to say though that running slowly really does go against the grain, I want to be able to just RUN!

Actually as your body get more acclimated to doing cardio it actually should be harder for you to raise your hr not easier. For instance Lance Armstrongs HR while training is something like 145 bpm while riding his track bike full on for 2+ hours.

Also keep in mind his VO2max is way beyond normal peoples. Your VO2max goes up as you become more fit.

astovey

My HRM says I should be between 127 and 166. When I run...My heart goes crazy, probably bc I HATE running and just started doing it on a regular basis. When I ran my 5K my highest was 201 (I know), and was rarely under 150....
You sound pretty normal compared to me lol

The 200 is NOT good but it's not within reason for this to happen when you first start running but if you see a rate about 180 constantly then I would go to a doc BUT I also have heard of some of the most physically fit people getting a really high hr reading sometimes.

Im thinking its because it is kind of a new cardio for me...I used to just do ellipticals. the 200...I felt like I was going to explode...mostly bc I was running the 5K and my husband was encouraging me to keep going. It probably doesn't help that I have pretty bad asthma....

TourThePast

Actually as your body get more acclimated to doing cardio it actually should be harder for you to raise your hr not easier.

I didn't say it was easier.

When I first started, even a brisk walk at 0% gradient had me bordering on 85% max, and I was advised at that time that it was not a good idea to ever go over 85%. Now I've lost a lot of weight and am fit enough to run a mile without stopping, extended periods of running mean that I do reach 85% max and above.

I'm advised that now I'm fitter and with less fat, for interval training it's now considered safer for me to exceed 85% max if it's for short periods, if that's incorrect do feel free to point me to information about that.

rileysowner

Disclaimer: I know a HRM would be a good thing to have - just not got 'round to it yet!

I'm currently on w5d2 of c25k. According to the HRM on the treadmill I'm working pretty high and am at around 170+ when I check at the beginning of my recovery walks. According to what I've worked out I shouldn't be going that high and wondered what this could be doing for/to me. If I was to stay around 130--40 I wouldn't ever move much faster than my 'brisk walk'!

Am I setting myself up to keel over?

First, being at 170, unless you have a heart problem, won't do anything to you except get your heart more fit. When I do HIIT I get to that often.

My question is why you thing 130-140 is where you should be?

dinichols

This is all so interesting to me..I just bought a HRM a week ago and was shocked at how high my heart rate was when running and even walking!
I had a doctors appointment today and asked him about it..he said I was correct my absolute max is 172 (220 minus age) I have been hitting up to 175 when running. He wants me to keep my max at 150 and wants me to exercise longer at that rate so 1 hour of walking with some running is better for me right now rather than running for 25 minutes..then as I build my endurance I can pick up the running..I need to lose a minimum of 50 pounds and my bp isnt as low as he'd like so I am sure he calculated that into my equation..hope that helps someone out there.

rileysowner

220 - age is not exact. It is not based on solid science. http://www.drmirkin.com/fitness/heart_rate_monitor.html

jvkh127

220 - age is not exact. It is not based on solid science. http://www.drmirkin.com/fitness/heart_rate_monitor.html

Isn't it 220- age x .80? thats what I was taught...is that accurate?? (I haven't looked at your link yet)

JDMPWR

220 - age is not exact. It is not based on solid science. http://www.drmirkin.com/fitness/heart_rate_monitor.html

This is true but for most people that cant afford a cardio fit test this is a decent reference point otherwise I tell people to get a Cardio Fit test and find out their VO2MAX rating.

bbush18

your heart rate range depends on whether you're targeting a cardio workout or a fat burning workout...if it's high, then you're doing more cardio than you are fat burning...your range will be different depending your age and on how often you do cardio in general. the more frequent you do it, your heart rate should take longer to reach a max and when you stop, then your heart rate should get down to RHR quicker. but i'm sure that as long as you're still running and you're still comfortable, you're fine. that's my opinion anyway!

live4turns

The HRMs on the equipment can be massively inaccurate. The elliptical at my gym said I was over 200, and I thought I was dying! But my HRM (with chest strap) puts me at 155 or so when the elliptical says 200+, so I know the elliptical is just wrong. (PS, my polar FT4 is awesome)

If your elliptical reads heart rate then you should not be wearing your watch at the same time. The sensors mess each other up. Most elliptical models are designed to read almost all heart rate monitor chest straps. When I'm at the gym I don't wear my watch. I only wear my chest strap.

TourThePast

The sensors mess each other up.

The sensors don't transmit, they simply passively receive whatever signal is within range and frequency. How can they mess each other up?