Heart Rate monitor and normal zone

PolkaDot_Princess
PolkaDot_Princess Posts: 314 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
I got my HRM yesterday FINALLY!! And i used it in this mornings workout. I noticed it was fluxuating between 160ish and got as high as 190 a few times. Does that sound normal??

I dont have much to compare this too.
What are your #'s?

Replies

  • ahamm002
    ahamm002 Posts: 1,690 Member
    Those are fairly high numbers, but that just means you got a good workout. I usually fluctuate from 140 to 170 when I'm doing intervals.
  • Whyareyoumad
    Whyareyoumad Posts: 268 Member
    My HR flucuates all the time during my work out, dont think I have ever hit 190 though. It has lied to me a few time though. Did you have a rather intense workout? Great avatar btw.
  • scorpio516
    scorpio516 Posts: 955 Member
    I dont have much to compare this too.
    What are your #'s?

    Really, you have nothing to compare it to ;) . Even other people numbers are going to be useless to you!

    What you need is data. You own data. Work out for a while with it, record the data, record your RPE, then analyse the data. You'll be eventually able to tell where your zones are due to how you feel.

    If you REALLY want to know what your max HR is, you need to wait for the summer. On a ~75F day, run a 5K, as hard as you can. You max HR during that time trial will be just about your max HR. Although I warn that setting zones from maxHR isn't very useful either. Instead, you need to find zones based on LTHR... Finding that is a whole different story.

    But, just for completeness, as a 35 year old man, which is not useful to you anyway, my max HR is about 192. When I run, my average HR is 170-175. My LTHR is between 175-180. But I haven't trained with my HR strap in months.

    And drop outs and spikes are par for the course, unfortunately. I don't get many dropouts, but I've recorded 242 and 247 bmp for my heart rate...
  • PolkaDot_Princess
    PolkaDot_Princess Posts: 314 Member
    yea i thought it sounded kinda high! its a cardio DVD Jillian Michaels, it's intense but not too crazy. Resting HR was about 70.
  • _Tink_
    _Tink_ Posts: 3,845 Member
    Mine is usually in the same range as yours when I'm working out.
  • noemibp
    noemibp Posts: 167
    Try this:

    http://www.briancalkins.com/HeartRate.htm

    And here to read about the training zones.

    http://wserver.flc.losrios.edu/~willson/fitns304/handouts/heartRates.html

    There is a lot of information about this. I think it's really interesting.
  • WalkingAlong
    WalkingAlong Posts: 4,926 Member
    It sounds in line with where mine gets and I'm a lot older.

    A rough guide is use 220 minus your age as a guess at your max. You're 30 and 190 is the highest you saw, so sounds reasonable to me!
  • msf74
    msf74 Posts: 3,498 Member
    What kind of workout were you doing (in other words were you doing intervals or a steady state session) and what was your breathing like throughout the session?
  • PolkaDot_Princess
    PolkaDot_Princess Posts: 314 Member
    thanks everyone!! It worried me a little but maybe i'm ok then based on the calculations.

    It was a cardio DVD, moves like punching, jumping squats, burpees, jumping jacks, i was breathing pretty heavy the whole time and my heart rate stayed up, but it fluxuated alot, it the most intense parts it was 180's up to 190 when i wasn't jumping as much it was 150-160 ish
  • iplayoutside19
    iplayoutside19 Posts: 2,304 Member
    Sounds normal to me. When I run I hang in the high 160 to mid 170. If I'm sprinting ,180's, and a couple times that I've run up hills I've touched 190.
  • Phaedra2014
    Phaedra2014 Posts: 1,254 Member
    My resting heart rate is between 38 and 42 bpm. When I work out and do HIIT or run, it goes up to 155 but not higher. Sometimes I wonder if I'm not losing weight fast enough becasue I have a low HR in general. I don't hit very high numbers even during sprints.
  • kelbelll83
    kelbelll83 Posts: 66
    yea i thought it sounded kinda high! its a cardio DVD Jillian Michaels, it's intense but not too crazy. Resting HR was about 70.

    I'm totally confused about the heart rate zones! I never really thought about it until I started using my HRM. I guess I have to get familiar with it. My HRM kept getting up to 190 too, while doing Jillian's cardio 3.
  • msf74
    msf74 Posts: 3,498 Member
    thanks everyone!! It worried me a little but maybe i'm ok then based on the calculations.

    It was a cardio DVD, moves like punching, jumping squats, burpees, jumping jacks, i was breathing pretty heavy the whole time and my heart rate stayed up, but it fluxuated alot, it the most intense parts it was 180's up to 190 when i wasn't jumping as much it was 150-160 ish

    Sounds ok to me.

    If your workout contains different intensities then it is natural that your heart rate your heart rate will rise (and then fall as you recover.)

    You may also experience something called CV drift. This is where your heart rate will rise and continue to stay elevated even though the amount of work you are doing or intensity of the effort has remained the same. Again this is natural but the drawback of being overly concerned with your HR number is that you may not being working out at the desired intensity - hence the question about your breathing. At the same time if you are literally gasping for breadth for prolonged periods of time you may want to take it down a notch.

    Long story short - use the numbers as a guide but don't be a slave to them.
  • ktno1
    ktno1 Posts: 297 Member
    Sounds pretty normal. For me doing JMBR cardio DVDs (especially 2 and 3), I'm in the 150s and 160s on the easier moves and 170s up to 180s and very rarely 190s on the really tough exercises.
  • _Calypso_
    _Calypso_ Posts: 1,074 Member
    190 is quite high IMO.

    During the summer, my long runs would often get up to 180.... but my max is 184 - so I had to slow it down.

    My runs average around 160, but toward the end will get up to about 168 . During Circuits I get it up to mid 160's. Strength traninig is usually 120-145.
  • PolkaDot_Princess
    PolkaDot_Princess Posts: 314 Member
    yea i thought it sounded kinda high! its a cardio DVD Jillian Michaels, it's intense but not too crazy. Resting HR was about 70.

    I'm totally confused about the heart rate zones! I never really thought about it until I started using my HRM. I guess I have to get familiar with it. My HRM kept getting up to 190 too, while doing Jillian's cardio 3.

    oh yea and If i remember correctly we have the same one right? Polar HT4
  • PolkaDot_Princess
    PolkaDot_Princess Posts: 314 Member
    thanks everyone!! It worried me a little but maybe i'm ok then based on the calculations.

    It was a cardio DVD, moves like punching, jumping squats, burpees, jumping jacks, i was breathing pretty heavy the whole time and my heart rate stayed up, but it fluxuated alot, it the most intense parts it was 180's up to 190 when i wasn't jumping as much it was 150-160 ish

    Sounds ok to me.

    If your workout contains different intensities then it is natural that your heart rate your heart rate will rise (and then fall as you recover.)

    You may also experience something called CV drift. This is where your heart rate will rise and continue to stay elevated even though the amount of work you are doing or intensity of the effort has remained the same. Again this is natural but the drawback of being overly concerned with your HR number is that you may not being working out at the desired intensity - hence the question about your breathing. At the same time if you are literally gasping for breadth for prolonged periods of time you may want to take it down a notch.

    Long story short - use the numbers as a guide but don't be a slave to them.

    MAkes sense, thanks for the advice!!
  • noemibp
    noemibp Posts: 167
    Long story short - use the numbers as a guide but don't be a slave to them.

    Good advice!

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