HR- how high is too high?

jarrettd

My 22 yr old daughter and I work out together. She is morbidly obese (49.4 BMI), but committed to change and works out like a beast daily! She gets very red and out of breath. Last week she even made herself sick.

I recently bought HRM's for us so we could track our calories better. At those times when she can't get her breath and she's glowing like a hot coal, her HR reads in excess of 175bpm. Is this safe? How long should she max out like that? I've made her stop or slow down, at least until she can breathe easily, but I worry that she's putting too much strain on her heart. Am I wrong?

chevy88grl

I do believe your max heart rate is 220-your age. So, hers would be 220-22= 198. You don't want keep your heart rate at its max for too long - it is too hard on your heart.

If she is out of breath and glowing red - she probably needs to drop it down just a notch. You don't want her to pass out. Good cardio can make you winded, but not to the point of it being difficult to breathe.

registers

My 22 yr old daughter and I work out together. She is morbidly obese (49.4 BMI), but committed to change and works out like a beast daily! She gets very red and out of breath. Last week she even made herself sick.

I recently bought HRM's for us so we could track our calories better. At those times when she can't get her breath and she's glowing like a hot coal, her HR reads in excess of 175bpm. Is this safe? How long should she max out like that? I've made her stop or slow down, at least until she can breathe easily, but I worry that she's putting too much strain on her heart. Am I wrong?

The general answer is "no you're not wrong." There are many factors to take in to considerations... her goal, how long is the workout... her current fitness level... things like that.

rileysowner

This is one of those questions that really doesn't have an answer. People will talk about 220-a person's age being their maximum heart rate, but that number has no science behind it. It simply has been used so long that everyone knows it and uses it. If she is having a hard time catching her breath she should slow down a bit. As for doing damage to her heart, I am not a doctor. I do doubt she is doing any damage though unless she has some unknown heart problem. Pushing oneself that hard though is a recipe for overtaining and burning out. Intensity it good, but can be overdone.

TinaS88

No I personally think you are doing the right thing. I suggest consulting a doctor first though if she is doing an 'extreme' workout for her size. The doctor would be able to tell her what's safe and what's not. I myself, get really red in the face and struggle breathing at times too, but as your body gets used to the exercise it will get better. Make sure she is drinking lots of water and taking rests when she needs it. Congrats to you and her for getting healthier!

juliapurpletoes

http://www.racedaynutrition.com/HeartRate.aspx

this website helped me tremendously when trying to understand heart rate zones and where to work efficiently. There are actually several formulas that one could use to find their zone. Some are adjusted for women or other various factors.

This site explains alot! And, it does have a calculator that will compute it for you according to these several methods. Try it !

Best of Luck.

jarrettd

Thanks, all!

TrainingWithTonya

Is she on any kind of medications? The reason I ask is that they can effect heart rate and the accuracy of heart rate monitors. So can caffeine and smoking.

As for her heart rate, I would figure it based on the standard formula since I don't have her resting heart rate to be able to use the Karvonen formula (which is more accurate). With that, I use a range of 65-85% of Max Heart Rate.

220 - 22 = 198 Max Heart Rate

198 x 0.65 (65%) = 128.7 Low end of the training zone

198 x 0.85 (85%) = 168.3 High end of the training zone

So, just from a heart rate basis, I would recommend she stay in a range of 129 to 168 beats per minute. In our cardiac rehab program, we would stop her for working out above 168 bpm.

That being said, there is a better formula called the Karvonen formula that uses resting heart rate, but you have to have an accurate resting heart rate to figure it. So, have her take her heart rate 3 days in a row as soon as she wakes up without being startled awake (IE: NO alarm clock) and I'll figure a more accurate zone for her.

Also, getting sick or having trouble breathing or being excessively red faced are things to avoid while exercising. The easiest way to determine intensity level is the Talk Test. When working out you should be able to talk in short sentences, but not sing.

Finally, the redness while exercising is how I diagnosed my DH's blood pressure in the gym. I could see him from across the room while he was going through an assessment with a trainer at a new gym. (I declined their initial session because of being a trainer myself.) I walked over and stopped his session and took him home and took him to the doctor the next morning. The next time I went to that gym I gave the trainer and the manager what for because his resting blood pressure was 170/110 at the doctors office the next morning. Their job is to screen for things like that before they train someone. I hadn't screened him myself because at the time he did as most family members and didn't listen to me so getting him to a gym and letting them do a screening was a better option for the harmony of our marriage. It was almost a fight to get him out of the gym that night but when I shouted that I wasn't going to have to do CPR on my husband because their trainer was an idiot, they all kinda got the message and my DH started listening to me. I guess sometimes it takes theatrics to get the point across to family members. LOL Anyway, sorry for that long ramble, but my point is that excessive redness while exercising can be a sign of excessively high blood pressure. I would recommend checking her blood pressure a couple times a day for the next few days so you can see an average of what it is at rest and then get her in to a doctor if it is elevated at times other then when she is exercising. Make sure, though, that if you have to take her in to a doctor for it that they know she is starting an exercise program so they can monitor the effects of both the exercise and medications on her BP. My DH is now off of blood pressure medication because of the exercise program I put him on controlling it. But before he went off the meds, we had to decrease them because the original dose + exercise was causing low blood pressure problems. So, make sure your doctor is familiar with the long term effects of exercise on BP.

And if there is anything I can do to help you with your programs, please feel free to PM me.