heart rate during exercise question

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rudy336
rudy336 Posts: 66 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
hey everyone. quick question..i notice when im exercising (either brisk walking or elleptical) i can go to around 168bpm. when i cut back and go around 152 (high end of my maximum heart rate) it feels to easy? is it just me, or have you had experiences like this?

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  • litsy3
    litsy3 Posts: 783 Member
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    How do you know what your maximum heart rate is? Have you tested it?
  • rudy336
    rudy336 Posts: 66 Member
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    theres a test for that? i wasn't aware of that. im just going by the formula.
  • rudy336
    rudy336 Posts: 66 Member
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    formual comes out to 185
  • litsy3
    litsy3 Posts: 783 Member
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    The formula is an average. Your maximum heart rate is the fastest that YOUR heart can beat. If you're at 168bpm just walking, it's a fairly safe bet that your max is quite a lot higher than 185 (unless you are really unfit, in which case it'll still be higher, but not by as much).

    You test it (assuming you have no health problems and no underlying heart condition that would make this a bad idea) by pushing yourself to the highest heart rate you can manage. If you're not yet very fit, though, it's not a good idea to do this and you might find you're not able to exercise for long enough at the required intensity. There's some good information here: http://www.howtobefit.com/determine-maximum-heart-rate.htm

    If it was me I'd just go by perceived effort rather than heart rate until I had a more accurate idea of what my actual max was.
  • robertw486
    robertw486 Posts: 2,390 Member
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    It's normal for exercise level to feel easier when your heat rate drops. Because it is easier. Your heart rate is a gauge of sorts for how hard your are pushing yourself.

    A lot of people might think a HR of 150 is just crazy exertion levels. Until they work out at an intensity that brings their heart rate up closer to their max, then all of a sudden the 150 level doesn't seem nearly as hard.

    Good advice from the poster above. Perceived effort is a good gauge to play it safe with until you have more solid information on your particulars. Very few people will push as hard as they might think they are, so unless you are way more fit than the averages, or just don't know the signals of over exerting yourself, then you should be fine.

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