Couldn't get heart rate up...

fitnh

This morning I headed to the gym like any typical week day. It is a cardio day so on to the elliptical I go. Put in the random mode at level 10 for 50 minutes...my heart rate would not go above 118! I gave it a little time then decided to get off the elliptical and jump on to the treadmill for some interval running to get my HR up there.

Incline of 1.5, speed 5.6 and took off. 123 for HR....that's it. What???? What is going on? Tried the elliptical one more time and still nothing. Being a little frustrated I ended up on the track at our gym running for about 40 minutes, the sweat came, I did get warm, but my HR which would normally go into the 140's stayed at the low 130's.

Is there an explanation for this?

scottb81

That can be a symptom over overtraining/exhaustion. If you have been training a lot lately with little rest then that could be it. If that is the case then take a rest day or two and then train easy (no hard efforts) for about two weeks. That will cure it.

pinkraynedropjacki

Were you just going by the machine or did you have an actual heart rate monitor on? I never once trusted any machine at the gym for my rate....... 276bpm....yeah right.

fitnh

I did have my HRM on. I have been pushing it quite a bit lately, I'll back off a bit and see if this helps.

Thanks for the feedback!

samcorvus

Perhaps you've reached a level of cardiovascular health greater than what you were originally. The body will only increase HR if it needs to move more volume to compensate for O2 use and CO2 generation. If you're stable it will not increase. Try increasing intensity and see if that helps. If it does not I'd say you've reached your max level of compensation.

murphy612

If it is overtraining your resting heart rate will be higher than normal. You can test this by following these steps:

•Lay down and rest comfortably for 10 minutes the same time each day (morning is best).
•At the end of 10 minutes, record your heart rate in beats per minute.
•Then stand up
•After 15 seconds, take a second heart rate in beats per minute.
•After 90 seconds, take a third heart rate in beats per minute.
•After 120 seconds, take a fourth heart rate in beats per minute.

If you are well rested the heart rate should remain about the same each time you record your HR. If you are over trained your heart rate will increase a little each time.

If you are not overtrained and you are not having any issues with getting dizzy or anything I'm guessing you have just reached better cardiovasular health and your heat doesn't need to work as hard! :-)