Insanely high intensity people at the gym

Captain_Tightpants
Captain_Tightpants Posts: 2,215 Member
edited November 10 in Fitness and Exercise
When I go to the gym I often see a woman doing some kind of super high intensity workout in the stretching room. It looks a bit like zumba on steroids I guess... lots of reaching and jumping.

The thing is, this woman (normal weight by the looks of it) is pushing herself to quite scary limits by the look of it. She's bright red in the face, gasping for breath, and every few minutes has to stop and put her hands on her knees and gasp for air. There's a chart on the wall right at the side of her that notifies gym members that you should be able to "talk but not sing" when in a safe HR zone. There's no way this woman could talk. She looks like she's gonna go into cardiac arrest at any second.

I'm not going to say anything, being a total gym newb and all... perhaps what she's doing is totally safe. I dunno. But is this kind of super high intensity thing a common sight in your gyms?

Replies

  • grinch031
    grinch031 Posts: 1,679
    I don't know if its anything to worry about. I've done some intense workouts before, and I'm not sure its even possible for my HR to get too high before I become exhausted and have to take a break. Maybe if you are in excessively hot weather or dehydrated it could be an issue, but probably not just because its very high intensity.
  • TriciaMaina
    TriciaMaina Posts: 24
    It might just be a matter of asking her what she's doing and doing it with her...and then starting that conversation about pushing yourself safely. I think some people respond to workout differently, my heart rate can get to 190 without my face getting red, whereas a runner friend of mine gets red in the face after a block or two of jogging (and she's used to it). You never know!

    Also, I need to say how much I love that Firefly is your background on your counter :)
  • theginnyray
    theginnyray Posts: 208 Member
    The thing is, this woman (normal weight by the looks of it) is pushing herself to quite scary limits by the look of it.
    I don't understand how you know this? You aren't her. Maybe she just gets a red face while working out.
    Good for her for getting a good workout. If you are really that interested in what she's doing, ask to join her sometime.
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