Runners...92%-95% Max for 55min?

You have an incredibly low RHR. But no, I don't think anyone would be able to do that. You would be way anaerobic and your muscles would give out due to lactic acid buildup. The most you can sustain for a long period is lactate threshold or the exercise whereby you are burning only the energy that your body can metabolize using supplied oxygen.

92%-95% for 55 minutes would be insane. I get my heart rate up that high everyday for maybe a total of 5 minutes. My max heart rate (according to the HRM) is 190. I feel at my best when I keep it in the 165 zone.

I have never understood maxHR. I'm 55 and all my workouts including one hour runs are 160-170. I don't do much interval training so I don't know how much I could push it safely. I did have a stress test last fall and had no issues to 180. I hesitate to say this because I don't want people to think this is okay for them. It may not be. But, as you say, maxHR is at most an average and probably more like a safe max that keeps most people safe. So it may be conservative. It sure is for me. I've been doing multi-hour workouts like this for over three years. This is not some exhibit of my ability either. It just is what it is. I run so I am struggling but can keep going and talk with difficulty.

I have an issue with you effectively posting about me here, starting a topic... I mean, seriously, how petty can you get, and to message me, essentially calling me a liar, as if I have something to prove.

I have several HRMs, my main one being the Polar /FT4, thoroughly checked, new battery, not an old machine.
I did indeed run for 55 mins, averaging between 89-92% of my max for much of the time.
The trainers at my gym know and have said I push myself to my absolute max.
I struggled, my legs were giving out, I could hardly breathe, and I have emphysema. I have only 68% lung function. Imagine what that does to the heart rate when engaging in something like outdoor running, involving hills, having only run on a treadmill for months. I have pushed through hour long workouts on the elliptical at 86% of my max, because I do push myself hard, for better or for worse. I have crap lungs and want to do all I can to improve their function.

I think it is despicable and really lowlife that you felt it necessary to message me and essentially call me a liar, over a bloody random internet post. Seriously? Is this all you have to worry about in life? How bloody sad. You know nothing of how my body works, or the issues I am working against when I workout (COPD), clearly.
Hell, if you lived nearby, I would welcome you coming and checking for yourself my heart rate during a 50-55 minute run, no problem, because I am not a liar, and have nothing to prove. There is nothing to be proud of in a simple outdoor run sending your heartrate that high. It is just further evidence of my impaired lung function.,

So yeah. Find someone else to bother. I got enough issues, thanks.

What's more likely, that the generic formula for max HR does not produce the right number for a specific individual or that the individual is running at 95% of his or her max HR for 55 minutes? I would suspect it's the former.

is it even possible to maintain that heart rate intensity for that long without dying...from everything i've read, that intensity is for interval training and one should not be able to maintain it for more than 5-10 min max. for reference, i have a rhr of 35, run 50-80 miles of san fran hills a month, and if i get my heart rate up to 170 there is NO WAY i can go even close to that long...

When I run 5k races, I have my heartrate at maximum (170bpm) for the whole distance - 25-26 minutes worth.

Last year I ran a 10k race, it took 56 minutes for me to run it, my average HR during that time was 169bpm, with 174 being the highest it went somewhere during the race.

My resting HR is nowhere near as excellent as yours though, mine is 65.

Whatever your MHR (and I agree the formulas can be craptastic), doing 92-95% of it for 55 min would be crazysauce.

my RHR is high 40s, I max out around 180 on intense hills, usually in the 150s for long runs. if I had to sustain around 170 for an hour...

...welll I just wouldn't make it

I have an issue with you effectively posting about me here, starting a topic... I mean, seriously, how petty can you get, and to message me, essentially calling me a liar, as if I have something to prove.

I have several HRMs, my main one being the Polar /FT4, thoroughly checked, new battery, not an old machine.
I did indeed run for 55 mins, averaging between 89-92% of my max for much of the time.
The trainers at my gym know and have said I push myself to my absolute max.
I struggled, my legs were giving out, I could hardly breathe, and I have emphysema. I have only 68% lung function. Imagine what that does to the heart rate when engaging in something like outdoor running, involving hills, having only run on a treadmill for months. I have pushed through hour long workouts on the elliptical at 86% of my max, because I do push myself hard, for better or for worse. I have crap lungs and want to do all I can to improve their function.

I think it is despicable and really lowlife that you felt it necessary to message me and essentially call me a liar, over a bloody random internet post. Seriously? Is this all you have to worry about in life? How bloody sad. You know nothing of how my body works, or the issues I am working against when I workout (COPD), clearly.
Hell, if you lived nearby, I would welcome you coming and checking for yourself my heart rate during a 50-55 minute run, no problem, because I am not a liar, and have nothing to prove. There is nothing to be proud of in a simple outdoor run sending your heartrate that high. It is just further evidence of my impaired lung function.,

So yeah. Find someone else to bother. I got enough issues, thanks.

FWIW I believe you, because I do the same as per my reply just now.

I have always had a high HR when exercising though, shame really because I would be a hell of a better runner if it would stay lower.

Yes, I find It frustrating too, but in my case, it is my lungs letting me down. Out of all exercise I do, running outside seems to put the most strain on my breathing. This means I will never be able to run long distances.

I have an issue with you effectively posting about me here, starting a topic... I mean, seriously, how petty can you get, and to message me, essentially calling me a liar, as if I have something to prove.

I have several HRMs, my main one being the Polar /FT4, thoroughly checked, new battery, not an old machine.
I did indeed run for 55 mins, averaging between 89-92% of my max for much of the time.
The trainers at my gym know and have said I push myself to my absolute max.
I struggled, my legs were giving out, I could hardly breathe, and I have emphysema. I have only 68% lung function. Imagine what that does to the heart rate when engaging in something like outdoor running, involving hills, having only run on a treadmill for months. I have pushed through hour long workouts on the elliptical at 86% of my max, because I do push myself hard, for better or for worse. I have crap lungs and want to do all I can to improve their function.

I think it is despicable and really lowlife that you felt it necessary to message me and essentially call me a liar, over a bloody random internet post. Seriously? Is this all you have to worry about in life? How bloody sad. You know nothing of how my body works, or the issues I am working against when I workout (COPD), clearly.
Hell, if you lived nearby, I would welcome you coming and checking for yourself my heart rate during a 50-55 minute run, no problem, because I am not a liar, and have nothing to prove. There is nothing to be proud of in a simple outdoor run sending your heartrate that high. It is just further evidence of my impaired lung function.,

So yeah. Find someone else to bother. I got enough issues, thanks.

The internet is serious business. gif

It must be for you if you have time yourself to waste on posting a pointless gif rather than contributing something remotely useful.

Whatever your MHR (and I agree the formulas can be craptastic), doing 92-95% of it for 55 min would be crazysauce.

my RHR is high 40s, I max out around 180 on intense hills, usually in the 150s for long runs. if I had to sustain around 170 for an hour...

...welll I just wouldn't make it

I do not usually run outside for more than about 35 minutes, I just happened to take a slightly different route, and it does involve some uneven terrain and hills. I am also probably accustomed by now to working out with fairly high heart rates because even when I do not feel breathless and can still talk fine, my HR can be at 85% for a long period. I do not start to get breathless until it hits around 90%. It took me very little time to recover from the run, I was happily sat on here typing within a few minutes, having already taken my trainers off and got a glass of water. It only hit 95% a few times on long hills, remained between 89 and 92% most of the rest of the run, other than the first 5 or so minutes.

I don't want to sound like you're not putting in a hard workout, but if you're not getting breathless until 90%, its probably not really your 90%
90% is edging up to an all-out sprint

Whatever your MHR (and I agree the formulas can be craptastic), doing 92-95% of it for 55 min would be crazysauce.

my RHR is high 40s, I max out around 180 on intense hills, usually in the 150s for long runs. if I had to sustain around 170 for an hour...

...welll I just wouldn't make it

I do not usually run outside for more than about 35 minutes, I just happened to take a slightly different route, and it does involve some uneven terrain and hills. I am also probably accustomed by now to working out with fairly high heart rates because even when I do not feel breathless and can still talk fine, my HR can be at 85% for a long period. I do not start to get breathless until it hits around 90%. It took me very little time to recover from the run, I was happily sat on here typing within a few minutes, having already taken my trainers off and got a glass of water. It only hit 95% a few times on long hills, remained between 89 and 92% most of the rest of the run, other than the first 5 or so minutes.

I don't want to sound like you're not putting in a hard workout, but if you're not getting breathless until 90%, its probably not really your 90%
90% is edging up to an all-out sprint

Possibly not, I simply went by the generic 220 - your age calculation basically, when setting up my polar FT4. Bear in mind, by breathless, I mean uncomfortably breathless, as in breathing hard and loud enough that people look round as I come along (yes this did happen the other day, lol).
I do not know if the fact I have low bodyfat% would have any impact on my max heart rate, someone has suggested that my lung condition alongside genetics may play a role in my ability to sustain activity at a high heart rate and that my max might be higher than I have calculated. I shall probably try a different method of calculating my max, though I am not immensely fussed as I tend to just get my workout in and carry on. I do not want to have to be obsessing and worrying about my heart rate every time I run or exercise. I been there and done that the first year I had a HRM.

Well...

I have a heart murmur... so my heart beats 3 times instead of two times.

My HRM says that my heartrate (sustained) for my entire hour-long run is 210... which, if you drop that extra 1/3... equates to 140bpm.

YES... trainers have checked my heart monitor and FLIPPED OUT previously... but it's just me... it's how I'm built... I'm NOT dizzy, nauseated, suffering muscle cramps, stomach cramps, light-headed-ness, or any other side effect issues.

Because technically... my heart is at 140bpm.

My advice to you? Get a stress-test. Because if you actually HAVE a heart condition (like me) the Doctor is going to tell you what you need to do, and how you need to adjust your thinking. (Like my math: "subtract a 1/3, & that's your real heart rate"). Heart rate monitors are really sensitive, & don't take into account such things as irregular heart beats. Maybe you have one---like me---and just don't know it? How do you FEEL when your HRM says your heart rate is that high? Cuz personally... I feel JUST fine when mine reads 210 for 60 minutes!

And for the record, before I get any hate-filled troll-style posts... my Doctor says I'm in great shape for someone with my condition, and LOVES that I'm active, taking care of myself, and keeping my weight down. Because being overweight with a heart condition is WAY more dangerous that MONITORED exercise with a heart condition!

I have had hearts tests before, had a monitoring device attached for a long period as well, a few years back, when I was getting panic attacks, to check everything was okay. I don't get dizzy, faint or nauseous at that rate, but I do get pretty breathless. But that is to be expected because running puts a lot of stress on lungs that are not fully functional. I will never be able to run up inclines or at any great speed outside, without getting out of breath, that is part of having COPD (emphysema). Outside the breathlessness and slightly stiff legs going up the hills, I manage fine. I wont deny it is uncomfortable to be breathless, of course it is, but I am hoping that when I have been running outside for longer, it will improve.

I actually work with several doctors - a sports guy and an ER guy, and the sports doc wanted me to try interval training, because he thought it would help with my weight-loss and fitness-gaining journey.

Many months ago, I gave it a shot. And I ran between 90-97% of my "max" HR for two effing miles (23 minutes) straight. I could not seem to reach the 'topping out' point, where I just HAD to stop or die. I kept going for the full five for that day, but my HR never dropped under 80 until I was in cool down mode. A few minutes after the run, I was fine and ready to go again.

I have since spoken to several other doctors, including a cardiologist, because, y'know, that was kind of worrisome. The resounding answer I have received? Some people are just wired differently. It is not totally unheard of, and nothing to be concerned about, after you get the nod from whatever doc you are seeing for this sort of stuff.

I ran a 5K a few weeks ago.

I was 91% average for the race. I missed my PB by 30 seconds

I'm wondering if my HR was so high because I pulled my hammy six days earlier and it was only 70% on the bad leg and I was really pushing it. Does this sound logical? :huh:

Of course it goes back to the 220-age thing I suppose, no?

Indoors on the treadmill, I can do HIIT with sprints of 17km/hr lasting 60 seconds, and I managed to run 10k in less than an hour, with little issue. I can do 5km in just over 24 minutes on the treadmill, with a few inclines along the way, but shove me outside onto the sidewalks, and the park with it's hills, and the bumpier ground, and I am pulled right back to around 10km/hr, faster downhill or on the flat. I never imagined how much of a difference running outside would make. However, I found on the treadmill, I was getting a frequent knee injury, that did not cause me issues running outside (usually the opposite, apparently).

I would say I ran about 5 miles, maybe a little more, in those 55 minutes. It was my 6th time running outside, spread out over a month. (because I tend to mix things up a lot). I remember a time when I first tried the treadmill, when I would get as breathless on that, as I do now running outside, so I have hope. Thanks for being so positive.

Well... you're leaps & bounds ahead of me! I do a mile in about 11 minutes... I run at about 5.8-6 on the treamill... incline SET to 1. I haven't done any outdoor races yet (I was supposed to last week, but the humidity was too high, so I chickened out... runners got rained on!!) I can run a 10k in about 65 minutes on the treadmill though... but I have to stop the treadmill at 60 minutes (because it auto-stops) and restart it, & that's kind of frustrating. But I wanted to know if I COULD do a 10k... and was happy to find out I can!

I've been trying to add speed with intervals of 5 minutes at 6.5 then dropping back down to 5.5 to recover... it's been making my muscles sore... so it's doing something good.

I have met people with COPD that can't walk up a flight of stairs! It's very impressive that you push yourself so far, and is so inspirational. You should keep up the good work!!

Thanks, I got lucky in that I was caught before it hit the more serious level and stopped smoking immediately. 28 was young to be diagnosed though. I did a lot of skating when younger, always been a big walker, cycled for a few years etc, and swam a lot when younger, so I guess the fact I was never sedentary for long might have helped me somewhat there. I do get slightly breathless up some stairs, but I can still run up them. I do push, I was born with a competitive streak, I am insanely competitive. If I see someone on a posh road bike up ahead of me as I cycle, I will go hell to the pedals to try and catch up, haha, I hate having something holding me back.