Max Heart Rate Question

alanaosu

I just worked out my max target HR (220 - age - Resting Heart Rate = Y. Y * 0.90 = X. X + RHR = Target HR). It's 176. However when I run or take part in high intensity training my HR regularly hits 198 - 202. If I try to slow down to get my HR lower I don't feel like I'm 'pushing' that hard. I can easily run with my HR at these higher levels for 30 minutes without feeling terrible during or after. Am I right to continue pushing to what for me feels like a hard level? I'm 5'2" and small framed if that makes any difference.

ProTFitness

can you talk when your HR IS that HIGH? How do you feel? If not you reached your AT anerobic threshold. You can work there but not long.

alanaosu

I can talk although I prefer not to when I'm working out at that pace. Like I said I don't feel like it's killing me but I'm definitely pushing myself. If I drop my pace to get my HR down I'm hardly jogging and it feels easy. I can definitely hold a full on conversation and send texts etc at the slower pace.

I did read somewhere once that smaller people tend to have higher heart rates but I can't for the life of me remember where I read it!

BerryH

I'm not a smaller person and I have a very high heart rate when pushing myself!

The short answer is it won't harm you if your RPE (rate of perceived exertion) isn't that high BUT you won't get the best out of your training if you do that for every session.

I can thoroughly recommend the book "Heart Monitor Training for the Compleat Idiot" by John Parker. In it he recommends setting a goal HR for a session and sticking to it. When you do your long, slow runs, you will find this feels so slow you can barely do it BUT within a few weeks you'll suddenly find not only are your steady runs at slow speeds faster, but your speedy runs get faster too, like magic!

A quick summary from one of the reviews: "Parker offers the example of a typical runner who runs six times a week at 80-85% heart rate effort. While Daniels and Pfitzinger would note that's not hard enough to achieve lactate threshold effects, Parker looks a it from the other direction, pointing out that it's six hard workouts a week. Using a monitor and allocating hard workouts carefully, Parker would substitute four runs of 70% or less, with two tempo (lactate threshold) runs at 85%. This is an easier week of training -- two hard runs compared to six -- that is also less likely to lead to injury and has greater positive training effect. I'd add, it's more pleasurable, too."

The book also gives you a more accurate calculation of you MHR, summarised here. Be warned, reaching your "actual max" is not a pleasant experience!
http://www.fetcheveryone.com/article-view.php?id=87

Hope that helps!

Aries03

Bump

AlsDonkBoxSquat

I can talk although I prefer not to when I'm working out at that pace. Like I said I don't feel like it's killing me but I'm definitely pushing myself. If I drop my pace to get my HR down I'm hardly jogging and it feels easy. I can definitely hold a full on conversation and send texts etc at the slower pace.

I did read somewhere once that smaller people tend to have higher heart rates but I can't for the life of me remember where I read it!

I used to be this way, before I had my son. I would just do it and not worry about it, I had to talk through it though because I was teaching my step class. As long as you can talk some, I think you're fine, but talk to your doctor.

As an aside, since I've had my son I can't get up past 189 anymore without falling over, even though I'm in far superior shape now.