2 Questions: Max heart rate & laying down

Steph_135
Steph_135 Posts: 3,280 Member
edited September 27 in Fitness and Exercise
Hey, I was running/walking intervals earlier today, and saw that my heart rate was pushing 97% of it's max. The beats/min were around 175-180 give or take.

My 2 questions that I'm hoping you can help with are:

1) Is 97% max heart rate too high? I wasn't in that range for every long, but I was reaching it at almost ever running interval.
2) Does laying down while your heart rate is up (causing it to lower, fairly quick), have any risks? (I mean high, like around 60-70%.)

Thanks!

Replies

  • anolan807
    anolan807 Posts: 273 Member
    I don't know if its to high when working out, but do not lay down with it that high. It does have health risk to just stop a workout with your heart rate still high. Walk slowly and bring it down before sitting or laying..
  • NoAdditives
    NoAdditives Posts: 4,251 Member
    If you don't have any heart trouble I wouldn't worry about your max heart rate at this point. When I first started exercising I would get it up about 183 bpm on my high intensity intervals. After a few months my cardiovascular health improved and now the highest I get is about 165 bpm for most of my exercise time, and it'll get up toward 175 bpm at the end. And, my heart rate slows to about 145-150 bpm on my low intensity intervals. So give yourself time and your heart will get stronger.

    As far as laying down goes, I don't know whether that's safe or not. Your best bet would be to have longer low intensity intervals to give your heart the chance to slow down and take long deep breaths. You don't need to stop and lie down just to get your heart rate down.
  • aanddplusoanda
    aanddplusoanda Posts: 189 Member
    Good questions. Wish I had the answers.... I know in the beginning when I first started working out mine would get up to 180 bpm but it hasn't gotten that high in awhile since I lost about 5 pounds and kept up with my working-out...I don't know if that has anything to do with it though.
  • jonikeffer
    jonikeffer Posts: 218 Member
    Working out at 97% of your heart rate isn't necessary, but isn't hazardous if you are in good health and feel like you can handle it. I know I've done 170/186 for extended periods and felt fine myself. But working out THAT hard just isn't needed to lose weight. You're basically doing some major endurance training at that level, like if you were a serious athlete.

    As far as laying down goes, I don't know if it could cause an issue, but you really want to lower your HR gradually with your cool down. I wouldn't lie down to do that unless you were experiencing a problem like chest pain or other serious symptoms.
  • erickirb
    erickirb Posts: 12,294 Member
    hitting your max or going above is okay, but not for any length of time the max HR is the MAX training HR. So if your max was 185 and most of your workout you are at 170 but happen to hit 190 for a few seconds, that would be fine, assuming you don't have a heart condition.
  • kateistoned
    kateistoned Posts: 116
    Bump!

    My heart rate (according to the elliptical machine) generally runs 180-190 while doing my workout. I do interval training so it does go down to about 170 but for the most part, it stays in the 180-190s. I don't feel light-headed or woozy when my heart rate is this high. Just wanting to make sure that its safe...
  • bmontgomery87
    bmontgomery87 Posts: 1,260 Member
    heart rate is too high.
    I don't think you should be at that percentage.


    And don't lie down when its up. You should be doing a good cooldown to let it return to normal, or atleast close to normal.
  • thekern
    thekern Posts: 21
    One of the few things I actually remember from my kinesiology class is max heart rate. Max HR = 220 - (age).
    Apparently, there was a 20 year study that found that this isn't a very accurate formula.
    I believe the target heart rate (thr) should be between 50-85% so, yes, 97% is too high.
  • Steph_135
    Steph_135 Posts: 3,280 Member
    Thanks for all the replies!! I appreciate all the thoughts.

    No heart troubles here, I just feel like I'm pushing really hard, before I return to walking again.

    I see the point you all have about laying down. I read once that if you couldn't get a good cool down, then you should lay down with your feet elevated... In my particular case, I had done a cool down, but my heart rate was still up, and then I did crunches (more or less laying down, and bringing my heart rate from about 135 to more like 100-105.
    Working out at 97% of your heart rate isn't necessary, but isn't hazardous if you are in good health and feel like you can handle it.
    :laugh: It's not like I was TRYING to get that high. It just so happens that after I run for a minute or so, my heart gets that high. I want to improve my lung capacity, and it WAS my first time running in the past few weeks...
    _________

    For those of you that think 97% is too high, do you have any other suggestions on how to build up my stamina/lung capacity?
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