Heart Rate Monitor Questions...

KelsLovesRando

I worked out for the first time with my Polar FT4 today and it worked great! I love how it tells me my heart rate and a more accurate calorie count than MFP can give me. However, I noticed something that concerned me a bit. I am 21 years old and it said the maximum heart rate I should reach in my work out is 169 in the target zone. I was in the target range it specified for 39 minutes out of 54 minutes of my Zumba class, but when I looked at the stats after it said I got up to 189 at some point during the class. Knowing that, I'm sure the 15 minutes I wasn't in the zone was probably spent above the target zone and not below. Is this a bad thing? I don't want to harm myself. I didn't feel like I was pushing myself too hard or anything, just working out at my normal pace. It was my first time going to the gym this week because I'm just getting over this awful sickness that was going around my office and could barely move before... maybe that has something to do with it? I am new to tracking my heart rate but I've been working out for a long time. I just don't know how this works.