Heart Rate...too high?

roseemb

So, I have a heart rate monitor, and I use it not only to count calories burned but also to see how I'm doing keeping my heart rate at a good level.

When I a class like step, or hop on an elliptical or something like that, I try to keep my heart rate between 144 and 150. When it goes higher than the low 150s, I ease back a bit. However, when I run, my heart rate goes up in the high 150s and low 160s. My perceived exertion is not that bad.... I'm not huffing and puffing, I"m not in pain, and I don't feel like I'm dying and have to stop. During my running tonight, my heart rate got up to 169 for a short time at the end. Should my concern be more about how I feel than the number on my heart rate monitor?

I am not looking for medical advice here, but some feedback of what knowledge people here have.

THanks!

rockerbabyy

personally, id go with how you feel.
my HRM always puts me around 160-165 for the majority of my hour long cardio sessions. i dont feel like im dying, and sometimes even push harder.. i think last week i was in the low 170s for 10-15 minutes.

careyharv

I wouldn't necessarily go by just how your body feels. Having heart issues is something that should be taken seriously - as I do. While a doctor would be better suited answering this question, I have found information here that might help you.

http://www.buzzle.com/articles/high-heart-rate-during-exercise.html

kmorris246

Hmmmmm....... I don't consider it a good workout unless I'm up in the 170 range? Up in the 180s if I'm doing HIIT.

cPT_Helice

An easy calculation for your target max heart rate is 220- your age. There are different target zones, dependent on your goals. You can get into hr based training, if you like. But, I don't think that's your question here. Now, I obviously am not a doctor and have no idea if you have heart problems or not. However, the heart rates you are listing are not too high for the exercises you are doing. As you lose more weight and you improve your cardiovascular health your resting heart rate will decrease and along with it so will your heart rate during exercise. Also, your heart rate will drop back to recovery rate much quicker, once you stop working out. That is a much better judge of cardiovascular fitness than actual max rate during workouts anyway.
Again.....I am not giving you medical advice. I am merely telling you the the numbers you are listing are not abnormal and if you talk with others you will see they are in the same range.

For reference, when I run an easy run, my HR is generally in the low 140's. But my resting heart rate is low 40's/ high 30's

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very very low. The average resting heart rate is 68-72.