Heart Rate

lambertj

Hi, so glad to find this group. I'm 46 yrs young, almost to my goal and learning new things everyday. I wear a HRM to the gym and love seeing where my heart rate is during the stairmaster and treadmill but last night it got higher than I've ever seen it and it had me wondering if it was ok. My resting heart rate is 64 and I normally workout to a rate of around 157-163 but when I looked down last night it registered a heart rate of 171 and that seemed high to me. I've heard that your max hard rate is 220 minus your age, for me that equals 174 and since 171 is pretty close to 174 it had me a bit concerned. Anyone have any information on this? It should be noted that I felt fine, well as fine as one can feel on the stairmaster but I wasn't any more breathless than normal.

trail_rnr

The 220 minus age calculation is not accurate for most people and usually way off for women.

Since you know your RHR, the best way to get the most accurate range is to do a max HR test and then figure out your zones in between. Working near your max HR (in zones 4 and 5) for short periods of time is not bad. It will not damage you. Your body has a limit; it won't LET you work at that rate for long.

I do a max HR test at least once a year because it can change. I do this running: find a hill that will take you at least a minute to run up. Warm up by doing a short run on flatter terrain. Then do 4 to 5 hill repeats where you run up the hill as fast and hard as you can, until you feel like you are going to keel over and then switch to an easy walk. At the keel over moment, look at your HRM to see what it says. Walk back down the hill. Repeat, looking at the keel over moment every time. You'll see a pattern or something very close each time. This approximates your max HR.

Once you know your max, try something like this website:

http://www.sarkproducts.com/targetzonecalculator.htm

(incidentally, that website gives a pretty good approximation if you don't know your max)

Your max could be different for different activities. My max HR for cycling is lower than my max running.

lambertj

Thank you, good information. What I find strange is that on Monday my HR was around 157 and I thought i was going to keel over yet at 171 yesterday, it didn't feel too awful.

Agefyter

On a hard workout for me I range from 150 to 175. I try to back off before 170 then ramp up again because I hear it's a better, more efficient burn but yesterday on Jacob's Ladder I notice 180. It scared me for a moment until I realized I hadn't passed out and I didn't feel bad at all. I don't want to get that high and certainly wouldn't stay there but thought I'd let you I too have been too high with no consequences.

And yep, sometimes 140 seems like it's going to kill me. I think it's just how well I slept and how much energy I have to exercise that day. Glad to hear you're using a HRM though! Good for you!

laurarpa

I am almost 46. I just wore my HRM to the most intense class I do, Body Combat (Les Mills). For the 70 minutes (turned it on few before we started and let it run thru ab work/stretching) my AVERAGE was 159. My max was 183 (which I saw, because I looked down when I thought to myself "this is it, I cannot give it anymore"). I was in the high 160s /low 170s a good chunk of the time

Even 10 years ago when I first started spinning I could easily get up to 183. I think I'm in better shape now. I do recover pretty quickly. Anyway, back then my spin instructor who had been teaching for years and was doing 3 or 4 classes a week said hers would spike to high 170s/180s on sprints. She said what someone else here said - 220-age is grossly inaccurate for most.

CailleachBeara

I need to get a heart rate monitor, I'm not sure I trust those machines at the gym. I've been on the elliptical and it told me my rate was 170+ is that even possible? I usually do body pump and spin but I have no idea what my HR gets up to in those classes, I push myself hard though.

lambertj

Ironically today my HR stayed steady at 161 while jogging so I wonder if the other day was a fluke. I love having an HRM, not only are the machines grossly inaccurate (although the stairmaster is very close), it creates a personal competition to beat my best burn. Best investment i've made for myself in a long time. Personally I have the Polar 4, nothing too fancy but the chest strap is very comfortable and it was reasonably priced ($75.00)