Max heart rate when working out

I, too, would like an explanation because mine gets well into the 190s...or at least that's what the elliptical tells me. I was a little on the athletic side as well as a kid.

My trainer always tells me to just stop if I get dizzy or feel something is wrong. Other than that, doesn't seem to matter too much. I'd be careful of trusting what the elliptical says as well...I've gone on there from 220 to 61 bpm in a few seconds, and there was nothing wrong with me, and when I checked properly on something else it was sitting happy at 160ish.

I may be wrong but I think to accurately determine your MAX HR you need to start with your resting heart rate. Take HR first thing in am before getting out of bed. Then from that you can determine zones and MAX HR.

http://www.runningforfitness.org/faq/hrmax

After warming up, run at an even pace for three minutes, as fast as you can. Jog for two minutes; then run again for three minutes as fast as you can. Your maximum heart rate is the maximum level reached during the second 3 minute run.

I go over 200 and I'm 43. My resting is mid 50s without caffeine. When I race 5k I average 184. It used to freak me out but I researched it and there's nothing to worry about. There's lots of info out there about working within heart rate zones, one of the benefits of heart rate monitors. But it's also good to just go from how you feel too, using the perceived rate of exertion method.

The 220-age is an average, but the variation in the population is huge. Go by feel.

^^^ This.

I thought my maximum was 170 from pushing myself to exhaustion in the gym but when I went to a sports science lab for a proper VO2 max test I got up to 176 and hit all the requirements for a true maximum HR. If you haven't done a maximal test you will be surprised how hard it is!
By the simple 220-age formula I "should" be 166 but it's not a big difference.

My older brother (so "should" have lower max) however, has always had a far higher maximum than me by about 25bpm although we both have low minimum HR (in the 40's). Just individual variances.
As long as you aren't in distress then don't worry about being different from the norm.

CM9178 wrote: »

I know this is old.. but.. I'm 36 so my Max HR is supposed to be 184.
I wear an HRM when working out and it is almost always at least 180, sometimes 184 for most of the time. So am I really working out for 40 minutes at my max heart rate?? or is 184 really not my max? I'm not exactly in shape by any means. Only been working out consistently for a few months and I have at least 50 lbs to lose.

I'm pretty certain that if you're maintaining your whole workout at or near your estimated max HR, then it's not actually your absolute max HR. Also, if you're looking for more responses you might be better off starting a new thread, I didn't realize your new question was at the bottom until I read through the whole thread, and lots of people don't read that far, lol.

I will say that I wouldn't put much stock in the 220-age calculation, if that's what you're using. Seems to be quite a lot of variation for people. Mine would supposedly be 188, and I've definitely gotten into the 190s

I agree with what has already been said. But I also want to add that you will not be able to maintain your max HR for any significant length of time, so if you are maintaining between 180-184 for an entire workout, you max HR is probably closer to 200.

peachyfuzzle wrote: »

My max is supposed to be 188, but I start being unable to function well right around the 175 mark. I am almost useless over 180bpm.

Yep, that's about exactly how it should be...although, next time you get to 180...push yourself even farther and see if the rate goes up. If it doesn't, then your max HR may simply be 180 (and you can forget about the calculation).