Heart rates?

tameko2
tameko2 Posts: 31,634 Member
edited October 1 in Fitness and Exercise
So I went for a running/walking...thing yesterday. With way more running than I would normally do. And I was getting tired toward the end and thought "ok just run as far as you possibly can and then we'll walk home".

I have a polar ft60 and at the end of that jag my HR was like 183 - it was outside the exercise zones that the polar was setting for me. But I felt FINE, my heart didn't feel like it was racing and I caught my breath within a totally reasonable amount of time.

Actually I felt better than fine, I felt great! But should I be worried? or was it just higher than whatever magical numbers the hrm had picked out for me.

Replies

  • richardw106
    richardw106 Posts: 11
    My HR monitor has done some goofy things... like when I am driving, if I have my hand on the wheel, it will read 199?

    183 seems awful high... especially for a jog. If you see that again, manually check your pulse using your fingers for 15 seconds, then x by 4.


    --Rich
    http://RichFitSuccess.com
  • lwoodtri
    lwoodtri Posts: 10 Member
    HRM's generally use algorithms based on age, weight etc, and can have a margin of error if you are, for example, been working out for quite some time, etc

    I have always found it better for me to establish those HRM zones from doing a HRM setting session every few months, since as fitness increases, the zones for max benefit will usually change too . .
  • fteale
    fteale Posts: 5,310 Member
    I wouldn't worry. My HR regularly goes up into the 180s when I run, and according to my age my max should be 186. I hit 189 last 10k I did, and wasn't even out of breath, and hit 201 last time I did the 30DS. Average heart rates are just that, average. They are specific to everyone.
  • Azdak
    Azdak Posts: 8,281 Member
    Heart rates do one thing and only one thing well--they measure heart rate. Some of them may actually be good stopwatches, too.

    Other than that, ANY other reading, recommendation, etc, needs to be taken with a huge grain of salt.

    Even the best-intentioned HRM manufacturer cannot account for all of the variability that occurs in the human population.

    All the training guidelines, "HR Zones" and the other blah, blah, blah info is just general stuff--think of it as the moral equivalent of the BMI.

    The zones determined for you by the HRM setup are often just a guess--an educated guess, but a guess nonetheless. At least 30% of the population will have a HR response to exercise that does not fit those calculations--mainly because their max HR is higher than the estimate used by the HRM.

    Bottom line: at your age, with the signs of perceived exertion that you reported, 183 is not too high a heart rate.
  • tameko2
    tameko2 Posts: 31,634 Member
    Good answers everyone, thanks. I figured it was fine since I felt fine, but I wanted to make sure I wasn't doing something wrong.
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