Heart rate question

roseemb
roseemb Posts: 85 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
DIsclaimer - i know this is not a medical form and I'm not looking for medical advice, just input from those with experience :)

While I did spend the summer exercising, my routine was a little less rigerous, but not by a lot, however I stopped really tracking my food. I'm back on track now, and have ramped up my exericse. One thing I have noticed in the last several weeks is that my heart rate is getting higher when I'm working harder than it has in the past. - for the same level of exercise. For example, for my weekly step class, I was generally hitting in the high 140s to low 150s and working hard. Lately, I'm getting into the high 150s and low 160s. I don't' know how much of that has to do with the routines changing, and how much it has to do with fitness. My question is, as fitness increases, does heart rate during exercise get higher than when you were less fit, or should it be going down? I know your resting heart rate should go down, and mine (last time I checked) was pretty good around 55-60.

Any thoughts? Not sure my ramble made sense, but I'll look forward to responses.

Replies

  • Erienneb
    Erienneb Posts: 592 Member
    I don't know about the increase, it would make sense based on my experiences. What I do know (from working with heart rate specialists) is that the more you use your heart in good forms of cardio the smaller the gap between "zones" gets. As I have gotten fitter my heart rate has increased and my ideal fat burning zone went from about 150-160 to 155-160. It's about sustainability.
  • alpine1994
    alpine1994 Posts: 1,915 Member
    I just got my HRM a few weeks ago so I'm not sure about changes, but I know my heart rate can get as high as 185 when really giving it my all (usually during high knees or something like that). It's usually around 160 during some good cardio. It could be increasing because you're more fit and pushing yourself harder? My resting heart rate is also 55-60.
  • iWaffle
    iWaffle Posts: 2,208 Member
    I think it depends on the activity you're doing and how much of a challenge it is. Perhaps you're challenging yourself more now that you're in better shape and harder workouts means a higher heart rate. Mine was lower too when I started running earlier this year because I wasn't pushing myself as much as I do now.

    My resting heart rate is around 60 but I got it up to 182 Saturday morning while I was running. I actually did this on purpose by sprinting up hill at the end of a 2 mile run. Mine typically sits between 160 -170 after about 1 mile and stays that way the entire time till I stop. 30 minutes at 168 never killed me.
  • erickirb
    erickirb Posts: 12,294 Member
    If you are doing the same exercise at the same incline and speed, your HR should go down overtime. But as you get more fit you can increase intensity (incline, resistance or speed) which means your HR may be higher, lower, or similar as it was when you were unfit.

    So unless you are doing the same exercise, with the same resistance, incline, and/or speed, HR during exercise will not tell you how fit you are getting. One thing you can check would be your resting HR, the stronger your heart, the lower your resting HR should become.
  • kimmianne89
    kimmianne89 Posts: 428 Member
    my resting heart rate is around 60. I'm 22, 135lbs. I have seen my heart rate hit 201 while sprinting up a hill (countryside so it's uneven aswell). It comes back down extremely quickly so I assume it's nothing to worry about :D

    I think maybe you are getting fitter, but just pushing yourself harder which creates the increase?
  • johnwhitent
    johnwhitent Posts: 648 Member
    You are probably training with more intensity leading to a higher hear rate. If all things are equal, heart rate will decline as fitness increases. I was just reading about this last night in the book "Heart Rate Training" by Benson and Connolly. It's a pretty good read if you want to learn more about your HRM and training with it.
  • cPT_Helice
    cPT_Helice Posts: 403
    Hi Rose - The best way to judge level of fitness is to look at your resting heart rate and also how quickly your heart rate goes back down (not so low as resting) when you stop exercising. But, yes, without going into too much detail and giving a simple answer, yes, the higher your fitness level, the more efficient your heart, and the lower your heart rate max becomes. This does not mean that you are necessarily doing more work.
    For this reason, I am a big proponent on people not focusing so much on the numbers, when it comes to calories burned based on HR. Look more at trends and changes, rather than absolutes.
    However, if you have gained weight, >10 pounds, you may be burning a bit more because it takes more work to move more weight, all other things remaining constant.
  • roseemb
    roseemb Posts: 85 Member
    As I think about it, i definitely think that the intensity of my workouts has increased... so, that might be a contributing factor. Have gotten more fit, so am able to do more and with more intensity!

Categories