Running & Heart Rate

fairestthings

I've been on MFP for a while now, and have progressively built myself up to running a consistent 5 miles when I do run over the course of 1.5 years. I'm in pretty good shape now (still not my best) and my sitting heart rate has come down from 90 (I'm like a hyper chihuahua) to 65-70. My personal goal is to bring it down to 60.

I went running with my (fit and runner) husband for the first time last month and he was surprised at the amount of energy I had during the run (a lot). My heart rate, calculated by my HRM (Polar FT4 - new), easily would go up to 170-180. According to medical articles here on the internet, it's not beneficial to go over your range much and in fact can be more detrimental than good for you cardiovascularly.

He was wondering if I shouldn't go get checked by the doctor to get what MY ideal range is since I had energy at 180 to keep going and my body very much wanted to go faster than the pace that kept me at a safe 165-175.

Any advice as to why my heart rate during exercise hasn't gotten better?

fairestthings

Bump :flowerforyou:

RideaYeti

I would definitely suggest going to see a dr. and get a stress test done. I would trust that more than any bro-science advise you will get on a forum.

fairestthings

I would definitely suggest going to see a dr. and get a stress test done. I would trust that more than any bro-science advise you will get on a forum.

Thanks

KCarpenter83

I had this same question when starting out. I also wear an HRM and noticed I was often at 170 or so when not even going very fast. I really worked at staying in my zone ( for me that means staying at 155-165) when doing easy runs. At first I had to stop and walk a lot which was so annoying bc I had been running with out walking for a while. I was embarrassed at how slow my times were! But it paid off and eventually I could go faster without my HR going way up.

Being dehydrated can have a huge impact on your HR, making it higher. Also if it's hot or humid that can be a huge factor.

I also went and volunteered at a local university where their PT dept was doing a research project that enabled me to get VO2 max testing done for free. This testing tells you lots of things, one being what HR range for you is aerobic, anaerobic, etc instead of a having to go by the rough estimates that you will find when reading articles etc. I found out I'm still aerobic up to 165 bpm which is higher than most people. Some fitness centers will do this testing for a charge too- or maybe even a cardiologist. Ask around in your town's running clubs etc- I'm sure someone there would know where you might get this done.

BerryH

Some of us are just made that way. My heart rate can easily go into the 180s when I'm running, and I'm 44 and I've been running for 15 years. My resting heart rate is 52.

If you're a gym member, get a trainer to help you work out your actual maximum heart rate (MHR) (warning, this is hard work and can make you feel bit ill) and use this along with your true resting heart rate (RHR) taken first thing in the morning to work out your working range. Your percentages should come form this, not just a percentage of the highest.

e.g. to calculate your 70% rate it would be (MHR-RHR) * 0.70 + RHR

So for me that would be something like (185 - 52) * 0.7 + 52 = 145

I can recommend a book called Heart Rate Monitor Training For The Compleat Idiot (spelled like that) if you want to design your training around your heart rate. But the most basic takeaway from it is that your long base session should be run at 70% HOWEVER SLOW THAT IS. By sticking to it, this run will get faster and faster, and shorter, faster higher HR runs during the week will make all your running faster SO LONG AS YOU HAVE THE SLOW RECOVERY RUN.

More info here:
http://www.fetcheveryone.com/article-view.php?id=87

fairestthings

These are very helpful responses! Thanks you guys.

It sounds like I should go visit my regular doctor and see what he has to say or recommend. I do notice some slight chest pressure when I get above 176 if I stay at that rate too long. That's what caused my concern.