Thanks, guys!!

heybales wrote: »

Those machine HR monitors are using the better method actually - electrical readings. Exactly the same as the chest strap method, they may miss a few beats because of hand slippage.
But static electricity can fool both of them.
Like if you have ploy clothes, some lose and rubbing - you can spike the HR by some 10-20 bpm easily, and unless you stop the static and notice lower readings - you'd probably never notice.
And with 2 hands on the machine - may not be able to stop clothes from moving to tell.
Fan on you can make it worse too.

So those may be actually good readings. Especially if confirmed by the Fitbit. Though interestingly enough, most people fail to have the Fitbit keep accuracy as the HR goes higher, for most it loses it.

That's so interesting! I'd always heard that the built in HRMs were horrible and that I should totally get a FitBit, hah!

But, have you like, actually tried doing the old fashioned but accurate method?
Fingers to wrist or neck and count?

That obviously can be used to confirm resting, but also walking, and even the running if you stop and count for 15 sec immediately. If actually around 45 beats counted - you know it's right.

I'd confirm.

I have, but I don't trust it that much because of some reasons that probably sound a little crazy...I actually have a pretty ridiculous case of BII phobia that I'm dealing with due to some hospital trauma that I went through as a kid and has just snowballed in the past 5 years. It's completely subconscious, I don't actually fear anything medical from a conscious, rational-thought perspective, but my body (specifically my heart) just nopes right on out of anything remotely dealing with it. I can look at visual blood and gore outside the body, but seeing (depictions of), hearing/talking, even THINKING about certain medical things and I get, dizzy and sometimes even faint. Feeling my own pulse deliberately is one of the triggers. I often have to get my BP checked a few times per doctor visit to get a good reading because I have to distract myself so my BP doesn't drop into 'you need to be put on oxygen' levels. Naturally, I have no desire to faint while on a treadmill, but the other day I did try counting my neck pulse over 10 seconds (intending to multiply by 6), but came up with something like 300bpm which isn't right, and if I'd counted the double beat thatd still only give me like 150bpm which seemed a little low for what I was doing, and I didn't try again. So since my body in its obnoxious way actively fights my attempts to be health-conscious, this is another avenue for me to try and get around it!

(edited to add that the phobia interestingly isn't the cause of my increased heart rate, its the only type of phobia that actually decreases your heart rate, your blood pressure, and leads to fainting)

Are you on any meds that have side effect of increased HR? Or massive amounts of caffeine daily?
That would tend to effect the resting more than the exercise HR, but still.

nah.

If it's totally accurate readings - then you may have a combo of things.
You may have a smaller than average heart, and so it's a Honda heart, able to rev higher than the out-of-date 220-age=HRmax formula would give. So instead of around say 190, it's 200 or 205.

So your 180 is only 87% of HRmax.

That's still rather high % of HRmax though, and should have some massive breathing going on with it.

And/or you are in really great fitness shape, and able to run that high HR, not be that far out of breath. Genetics could play into that.

I do measure and time my breaths, but mostly to avoid cramping. The only other weird thing is that I sweat, a LOT. I have ALWAYS sweat massively more than any female that I've ever met. Doing light cardio I look like a slippery pink dolphin. I did martial arts for several years (this was about 10 years ago) and even at my peak fitness I always just sweat like crazy. That being said I am most certainly not in what I'd call 'great fitness shape' right now, definitely a little overweight/overfat, LOL. That being said, I also don't feel like I'm dying when I work out.

I might bring it up to my doctor, it just seems like a moot point because this has been going on for literally 5 years since I first tried measuring my heart rate on the machines. Few years ago I even did interval training with burpees and although i stopped (because at this point i am no longer insane enough to put myself through that level of discomfort), i didn't die, haha. I don't know how much it'd cost to do a full EKG analysis in the US but my gut says it's expensive for someone who's not actually suffering! I figured I'd just check here to see if someone was like 'oh man, this happened to me and it turns out i caught heartworm from my dog' or something insane.