Okay....who knows about heart rates?

irisheyez718
irisheyez718 Posts: 677 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
To start off, I have not really exercised much in years. I work a very sedentary job, sitting on my butt all day. I joined the YMCA last week, and have been going every day that its opened since.

I was watching the news last night, and they said that to figure out what your HR should be, take your age away from 220, and then multiply that by 85% for your high and 65% for your low. That would put my high at about 151.

I don't have a heart rate monitor (yet), but today, when I finished a beginners step class (which I had to quit 15 minutes before it ended), I got on the recumbant bike and the heart rate monitor on it, said immediately that my heart rate was 171. Does this mean its dangerous? Am I going to have a heart attack or something while exercising? Any thoughts or recommendations?

Thanks!

Replies

  • fionat29
    fionat29 Posts: 717 Member
    Bump!
    I'd love to know the answer to this because since having an HRM I've noticed that I quite often go over what should be my highest heat rate, so should I be dead? LOL!! Obviously I'm not, but I'd like to know why not! :bigsmile: :bigsmile:
  • mosprott
    mosprott Posts: 6 Member
    bump!

    Me, too!
  • aim2lose
    aim2lose Posts: 101 Member
    I don't know the answer to this either and would be very interested to know what is correct.
    That formula does not sound right as my figures would be 142 for the high and 109 for the low. Just doesn't sound correct.
    Someone please give us the right answers!
  • SunSwingsLow
    SunSwingsLow Posts: 4
    No you arent going to die. LOL

    Its a matter of where you are pushing your body and where it is going to tap energy from. A more moderate HR is going attack fat more and a higher heart rate is going to burn more muscle and sugar. You are probably pushing your HR to high if you are looking to drop weight through fat loss.

    Slow down a little for a more moderate heart rate and burn fat. Push higher for a better cardio workout but you will burn more stored energy from other sources than fat.

    A good gauge is really how hard you are breathing. You shouldnt be able to have a conversation for to long if you are in the proper burning zone, you will know you are to high when you can barely talk or not at all.

    Good luck!!
  • PetraCore
    PetraCore Posts: 11 Member
    Your heart rate is actually much more dependent upon genetics than age. You are probably OK, believe me, you KNOW when you are pushing yourself and when you are just working out at a moderate pace. If you want to be sure, you will need to have your Maximum Heart Rate tested by a professional (usually a medical professional but some trainers/gyms are setup to do it too). Good luck, and just listen to your body... it knows what it's doing when it comes to effort. And don't be afraid to go your own pace when taking classes if you get too up there.
  • irisheyez718
    irisheyez718 Posts: 677 Member
    Thanks for the responses! I did feel kind of bad when I had to stop before the rest of the class, but I just knew I couldn't go anymore. I want to do this the right way though! Thanks again!
  • jimmy_jenkins
    jimmy_jenkins Posts: 65
    The 220-Age is your Max HR, which is an estimate but roughly correct i believe. The 85% of your max is the highest effective percentage for burning fat/muscle. So if you were constantly over 178 that might be a problem.

    I was over my 85% constantly for the first month or so, now i'm a bit fitter i can usually push myself quite hard and stay in range.

    So basically keep going and things will calm down a abit.
  • irongirl73
    irongirl73 Posts: 98 Member
    I'm with SunSwingsLow. If you can't carry on a conversation while exercising (just a sentence at a time) then the intensity at which you are working at is too hard. That said, I have worked out for many many years so I know my body well and I can judge my workout by my perceived exertion. I stopped wearing a heartrate monitor years ago because it would say my heartrate was 160s- 170s and my perceived exertion wasn't close to that IMO. But, this comes with lots and lots of experience. If you are just getting back to working out, it's a good idea to do it under a doctors supervision because maybe 170 for you is more dangerous than 170 for me. But, a good guideline is the conversation thing. I've heard that a lot!
  • cPT_Helice
    cPT_Helice Posts: 403
    First off, if you are new to exercise and have been pretty much sedentary, you want to stay in the lower hear rate range initially, closer to the 55% of target heart rate. After a few weeks, you can bump it up. Second, don't feel bad about having to stop a Step class early. It's awesome that you could make it almost all the way through so early on. Another option with Step or any high impact aerobic exercise class is to initially modify some. First off, if your arms are kept lower than your chest, it will help in keeping your heart rate lower. If you are using the risers, you might want to start out without them or even without the step for some of the class.
    As other people have written, always make sure you can carry on a conversation. Make sure to breath and drink plenty of water.
    An additional guide to how hard you are working out is your RPE, Rate of Perceived Exertion. The scale goes from 6-20 and you don't ever want to be at 20, but eventually a good workout is in the 12-14 range. I will give you a link for this, as the CDC will explain it better than I can (and quicker): http://www.cdc.gov/physicalactivity/everyone/measuring/exertion.html
    Best of luck to you and keep doing what you're doing and you will see amazing results!! :)
  • ninerbuff
    ninerbuff Posts: 48,876 Member
    I wouldn't recommend going into your 85% heart range if you're starting off. If you couldn't finish 15 minutes of step, then you obviously need to ease your way into exercise. Since HR differ based on genetics, do a routine where you breath is up a little but you can still converse fine. If you feel dizzy, light headed etc. , reduce the intensity.

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