MAX Heart Rate

sammiehof
sammiehof Posts: 18 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
so I went to the gym for the first time today was on the cross trainer it was flashing at me and telling me I was at my max heart rate 197 I had only been on there for 3 mins should I be worried? I have been exercising for the past 3 weeks just walking/jogging and have been pushing my self a lot harder than I did today

Replies

  • 00Collins
    00Collins Posts: 4
    Well it depends on your age but yes that rate is too high. I dont think you should be concerned about your health, if fitness is an issue for you and you're just starting then yes 3 minutes can do this too you. Especially if you're going straight into it without warming up or starting slow. Then again are you sure your heart rate was that high? When i used the heart rate monitors in the gym they sometimes don't work so be careful of that, i check mine with my finger on my neck. I think that its possible you may be pushing too hard to start with. 3 weeks isn't that long, your body still isn't quite used to the exercise just yet but its great you're doing it. I suggest taking it a bit easier but try going for longer? As long as you can breathe ok and don't feel ill or pain then its fine. Theres a chart online that helps you find your max heart rate. Try the NHS couch to 5k podcast if you havnt already, that really helped me start jogging. Also once you work out, stop and take your pulse then wait 2 minutes and see how much its fallen within that time. Thats a measure of fitness. If your heart rate drops a lot then great. If not it will improve :) good luck hope i helped.
  • peachypants
    peachypants Posts: 34 Member
    My max hr is about 185-190 at the very top end. It usually takes me about 15-20 minutes before I hit my max. I have a polar hr monitor that I love! You might look into investing in one. It calculates calories burned, max and average hr. and time 'in zone'. The machines hr readers have never been very accurate when compared to the one I wear.
  • kennie2
    kennie2 Posts: 1,170 Member
    i always hit my max if im doing HIIT however i do think my hrm is very broken as it says i pretty much burnt the same amount of calories after 20 mins of HIIT as i did walking for 20 minutes back from the gym.
  • summertime_girl
    summertime_girl Posts: 3,945 Member
    I don't know. But my heart rate when I exercise is HIGH. Resting heart rate is in the 60s, but I can run for a solid hour keeping my HR at or above 190. I think my max is 180 for my age. I did ask the doctor about it, because I was worried, but was told that as long as I feel comfortable maintaining that, it should be ok. It's a guideline, not an exact figure. But you should ask your doctor what is right for you.

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