Anyone else get a super high heart rate when they exercise?

Eh, when I started paying attention to heart rate (also on the elliptical), I'd usually average in the 180s. The highest I ever saw it go was 205 (not average). Over time (a year or so), my average went down into the 170s. Then I started running and went back into the 180s.

My resting hr is 61 and when I do Insanity it's usually around 170-180.

Heart rate is a very individual thing and varies widely from person to person regardless of their level of fitness. You and I could be doing the same exercise at the same intensity side by side and your heart rate may be higher than mine or mine may be higher than yours and that still doesn't tell the whole story of which of us has a higher level of fitness. All that you should be concerned with is how your own numbers move over time. There are essentially three indicators that you are gaining cardiovascular fitness:

1. Your resting heart rate will get lower over time (on average, not necessarily from day to day).

2. You heart rate will get lower, on average, doing the same activity at the same intensity. You will notice that you can go faster or longer as you become conditioned (pretty obvious).

3. The amount of time that it takes for your heart rate to come back down to a normal level after you stop your activity will decrease (also known as recovery time). A good way to measure this is to do intervals. Go at an easy effort and get a baseline heart rate. Increase your level to drive your heart rate up for 1 minute, then return to your easy level. Monitor the time it takes for your heart rate to return to that baseline level. This amount of time will decrease as you gain fitness.

As @BrianSharpe said, stick with it and you will be amazed at the progress you will make!

You're not alone. I feel like I'm the most out of shape guy at the gym. But at least I'm not the most out of shape guy on the couch! My heart rate gets high (for me 155-160) I can only maintain that for short bursts. I do interval training on the machines and 2 days a week with trainer. I don't want it to get easier , I just want to become more capable....

When I train with my trainer I get up to 180bpm, can't talk, double over getting my breath back between rounds. After 4 weeks I'm still like that but I can fit in an extra round. So I don't feel fitter and it still kills me but I can achieve more in the same time.

A high heart rate depends on age (younger = higher). For me, if I'm doing something like cardio and I'm pushed to the higher end of my heart rate range (160-185), I know that it's an intense workout and I'm going to feel the burn. If I continue to do the activity and it decreases to a more manageable level at the high points (140-155), it tells me it's time for me to amp it up again. The ranger depend on the person and the activity (e.g. weight lifting will have a lower heart rate range than cardio usually)

Resting bpm decreases over time with increased activity.

NorthCascades wrote: »

One of my bike routes around town is a loop of about 35 miles. I stop after about 15 of them and get a coffee sometimes, then drink it on a bench with a fantastic view of Mount Rainier coming up from behind Lake Washington. You can always tell from the HR chart whether I stopped for coffee or not.

Moved away from there about 6.5 years ago. That's one view we cannot mimic down here in Georgia. I don't miss the weather up there, but I do miss the view (and my sports teams of course).

is that from a chest strap or from the hand electrodes... and are you always on the same machine(home/favorite) or is this across several machines(gym) ... some gym equipment has been abused and doesn't even remotely reflect actual HR.