My heart rate

The max heart rate calculation used for exercise is usually 220- your age. So 220-47=173 for max. The target zone would be between 50 to 85% of that number or 86 to 147.

http://www.heart.org/HEARTORG/HealthyLiving/PhysicalActivity/FitnessBasics/Target-Heart-Rates_UCM_434341_Article.jsp#.Vx1vOUfLosJ

My heart rate will get pretty close to max several times during a more strenuous workout. I wouldn't try to keep it there for any length of time, but for short periods, it's fine. The important factor is that it comes back down when you slow down. This is assuming you have no underlying medical conditions where pushing it up would cause problems.

The calculations are just estimate. Your max may vary +/- 20 or more beats per minute. But I'm am positive it is way more than 100.

There is no danger in pushing your heart if it is healthy. Only your doctor can tell you if that is okay. Please consult the doc first.

FWIW, when I race my heart rate goes way past 170 for 30-90 minutes at a time and I am 47. YMMV.

dewd2 wrote: »

The calculations are just estimate. Your max may vary +/- 20 or more beats per minute. But I'm am positive it is way more than 100.

There is no danger in pushing your heart if it is healthy. Only your doctor can tell you if that is okay. Please consult the doc first.

You could get a stress test done, if you push yourself and anything seems out of the ordinary stop and get a test done. Otherwise just keep calm and carry on

My max is ~187 i hit that regularly during HIIT, i can cruise along >165 for long periods, Im 56.

From what I understand-
One of the best guides to the condition of your cardio vascular system is how quickly your heart recovers.
As a guide next time your at the gym-
Exercise and note your final heart rate when you stop exercising.
One minute later take a second measurement.
Take the second measurement away from the first measurement.
If the difference is less than 10 BPM see your doctor.

http://www.cyclemoles.com/2013/05/1-minute-heart-rate-recovery/

Maximum heart is as said previously only an estimate of what you heart maximum could be. Everyone is different. The only way to find out is by actually doing a physical test and measure the maximum. Knowing this is useful for establishing target zones for exercising. If your healthy one doesn't just blowup when the maximum reached.

Prolonged elevated heart rate in endurance events is more harmful than short bursts at a high level.

Listen to your body. It will tell you how much is too much. I'm 51 and 212. I stay steady at about 125, which is my fat burning rate, but will spike it up to 150 to work towards getting fitter.

Some good info here but your doctor is the best person to ask. Mine will typically max about 150 during very hard cardio but more typically a bit lower. (I'm 45). But if you're just starting with exercise I'd ask a professional.

If you haven't exercised for awhile and have a few additional potential risk factors, it would be a good idea to see your doctor. Don't look at a chart and decide you should safely be able to hit an HR. Your doctor can do an EKG during a physical to decide how much stress your body can handle. Regardless, you should increase intensity and duration of exercise slowly. IF you're cleared for exercise and have been doing (as an example) 20 minute walks achieving 100 BPM, you should start off increasing to 25 min and try increasing intensity so that you achieve 105 or 110 BPM. Again, only examples, talk to your doctor.

As you exercise at a consistent pace for a number of days, you'll notice that your heart rate, and I assume you are using an accurate heart rate monitor, decreases slightly. This is the sign you want to see of cardiovascular improvement. It's a pleasant thing to see and you'll want more.

heybales wrote: »

You might also ask how high the HR got during the stress test - for comparison sake.

Sometimes they use 80% of estimated HRmax to take you up too - so not a true max test - but still - if you found out they saw no issues doing 150 say - then you know you have a good range to go before needing to even think about worrying.

This is good advice, since you have done a stress test. The formulas are pretty bad, even the ones that are more complicated than 220-age. They all tell me that my maximum HR three years ago should have been around 170-178, but I measured it at 192.

blues4miles wrote: »

bwogilvie wrote: »

heybales wrote: »

You might also ask how high the HR got during the stress test - for comparison sake.

Sometimes they use 80% of estimated HRmax to take you up too - so not a true max test - but still - if you found out they saw no issues doing 150 say - then you know you have a good range to go before needing to even think about worrying.

This is good advice, since you have done a stress test. The formulas are pretty bad, even the ones that are more complicated than 220-age. They all tell me that my maximum HR three years ago should have been around 170-178, but I measured it at 192.

This! My stress test max showed it perfectly to be at my age-prediction, but I wonder if that's why they stopped me. A couple years later and I still see about the same or a little higher here and there on my runs. So pretty convinced mine is a little higher than my age prediction. Some people might be lower. Also, look up the "talk test". It's meant for running, but is a good indication of not pushing yourself too far. You should be able to speak a few sentences without gasping for breath.

It's been my experience that most places will not push you anywhere close to max on a stress test. Partly it's because there is no need since most people do a nuclear test or stress echo and both of those do not require a max effort to show diagnostic changes. And since exercise physiologists have been pretty much removed from doing these tests, no one cares about looking at functional capacity--they are more interested in avoiding risk.

There is a history of heart valve failure in my family, so I go in for stress echos every couple of years. They always get nervous because I won't hold on to the handrails. The last one I was in pretty good shape and wanted to max out if I could, since I have no idea what my max HR is anymore. I asked them before the test to please let me go as long as I could and let me tell them when to stop (unless, of course, there was some serious issue on the ECG). Things were going great but as soon as I started to push, I felt the belt and incline going down. I looked at the tech and she said "well your heart rate is at 80%, so we stop at that point". I was really ticked off--it was lower than many of my workout HR levels.

So, no, I would not accept a peak stress test heart rate as a "HR Max" number.