Max heart rate.

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jennNva
jennNva Posts: 142
in Fitness and Exercise
I've been reading alot on monitoring your heart rate during workouts and even bought a heart rate monitor which I have grown to love. My question is - when I work out (especially on my elliptical machine when the resistance increase on my program) my HRM beeps something horrible at me because I'm working out at a higher heart rate then it likes. Is there anything wrong with this? Is it bad not to be within your "range"?

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  • jennNva
    jennNva Posts: 142
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    I've been reading alot on monitoring your heart rate during workouts and even bought a heart rate monitor which I have grown to love. My question is - when I work out (especially on my elliptical machine when the resistance increase on my program) my HRM beeps something horrible at me because I'm working out at a higher heart rate then it likes. Is there anything wrong with this? Is it bad not to be within your "range"?
  • His_Kelly
    His_Kelly Posts: 248
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    The standard formula for max heart rate is 220 - your age (in years).

    If you exercise at a higher rate then this, your risk of defribrillation, etc, increases rapidly.

    What HR are you exercising at?
  • jennNva
    jennNva Posts: 142
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    I never exceed my heart rate using that formula. My HRM auto set my range to be between 121-146 when I'm on my elliptical sometimes I hit 158 or 160.
  • His_Kelly
    His_Kelly Posts: 248
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    So, your HR Monitor has set you to exercise at 60-80% of your max heart rate. This is reasonable.

    As you exercise more, your stroke volume per beat will increase, which will then cause your HR to decrease.

    When you are exercising at 158-160, you are at about 90% of your max heart rate. My best advice for you is to really listen to your body here. If you feel weak, dizzy or sick, slow down asap. Take care of yourself and don't push too hard. It isn't worth the risk!
  • songbyrdsweet
    songbyrdsweet Posts: 5,691 Member
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    I turned mine off...I can't take the incessant beeping! Of course I'm going to get my HR up around 90% when I'm running up a hill, who is that HRM kidding? LOL :tongue:

    In a healthy, fit individual, reaching the 90% range isn't going to do any harm. It's just not sustainable because it's past the lactic acid threshold--basically, your muscles are working without oxygen. You can last a couple minutes there before your body will slow down on its own. It doesn't make for a great cardiovascular workout to sprint for 2 minutes.

    Because the population is so different, we can see changes anywhere from 45-90% of a person's max HR depending on their fitness level. Someone who is totally sedentary can cause the heart to strengthen at 45% MHR. A young, fit person needs to maintain about 80% MHR to cause changes because the heart is already strong.

    You won't feel great after a couple minutes above 90% MHR, and neither does anyone. Of course, stop your activity if you feel dizzy, chest pain, chest pressure, headache, etc. But just getting up there and breathing hard if you're a healthy person is just increasing your muscular endurance, nothing wrong with that.

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