Is my heart rate too high?

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SarahMorganP
SarahMorganP Posts: 921 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
I just started running on the treadmill a few weeks ago. I run Mon, Wed, and Fri. I do a 5K each time but only run 1.5-2 miles of it and the rest is brisk walking. After the first 10min of running my hr goes up to 180-185 and stays there until I walk again. Is this a problem at all? When I do the 226-my age I get 194 for a max hr, so I know I am under the max it should be, but is the mid 180's too high to be in? My resting hr is around 60-65bpm. I am almost 32 (in 9 days) a female, 5'3" and 169lbs.

I just don't want to be putting too much stress on my heart if it isn't a good thing. Thanks!

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  • SarahMorganP
    SarahMorganP Posts: 921 Member
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    Anyone know anything about heart rates? :flowerforyou:
  • Dare2Believe
    Dare2Believe Posts: 140 Member
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    I learned in nursing school that a normal resting heart rate is between 60-100 beats per minute. As long as you stay under the recommended maximum heart rate you should be fine. However, if you are experiencing chest pains, dizziness, etc. then you should not go as high as that. As you work out each day your heart will become stronger & more conditioned and you will notice this in how fast you are able to go, etc.
  • scottb81
    scottb81 Posts: 2,538 Member
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    That's pretty high but as long as you don't have a heart condition it's not dangerous.

    The reason it is high is because your cardiovascular fitness is still low. As you become more fit the heartrate will drop.

    I would recommend that on at least two of your weekly runs you slow down enough that you can run the whole way. That will build your aerobic fitness more effectively than what you are doing right now. After you do that for a few weeks your HR will begin dropping and you will soon find yourself running faster than you are now, for a longer distance, at a lower heartrate.
  • reddi2roll
    reddi2roll Posts: 356 Member
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    I learned in nursing school that a normal resting heart rate is between 60-100 beats per minute. As long as you stay under the recommended maximum heart rate you should be fine. However, if you are experiencing chest pains, dizziness, etc. then you should not go as high as that. As you work out each day your heart will become stronger & more conditioned and you will notice this in how fast you are able to go, etc.

    Agree. If you are not symptomatic plod on. As you become more conditioned your rate will slow down. Just watch for any of the symptoms described and stop if they occur and make sure you stay hydrated.
  • christina_theresa
    christina_theresa Posts: 290 Member
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    Have you talked to your DR about this?
  • shannonnolte
    shannonnolte Posts: 5 Member
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    My heart rate goes that high, too, and I've been working out for a long time. If I'm sprinting, my heart rate spikes up into the 190's. I like to think I'm in pretty good shape, and my heart rate has never changed since I very first started at the gym. I'm 34 and weigh 150 lbs. I'm not worried about it.
  • grannygethealthy1111
    grannygethealthy1111 Posts: 422
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    Here is a link that will explain it to you:

    http://www.heart.com/heart-rate-chart.html
  • mmapags
    mmapags Posts: 8,934 Member
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    That's pretty high but as long as you don't have a heart condition it's not dangerous.

    The reason it is high is because your cardiovascular fitness is still low. As you become more fit the heartrate will drop.

    I would recommend that on at least two of your weekly runs you slow down enough that you can run the whole way. That will build your aerobic fitness more effectively than what you are doing right now. After you do that for a few weeks your HR will begin dropping and you will soon find yourself running faster than you are now, for a longer distance, at a lower heartrate.

    This!
  • AllanMisner
    AllanMisner Posts: 4,140 Member
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    I tend to get my intense sessions at or around that 90% range. I figure as I get fitter, it will start coming down. If you haven't already, I'd consider getting a general check up and talking to your doctor about it.
  • SPNLuver83
    SPNLuver83 Posts: 2,050 Member
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    Anyone know anything about heart rates? :flowerforyou:

    To figure out my max heart rate I do 202 - (.88 x age)

    I read on a fitness website that is the most accurate way to date for females.

    My workouts average in the 82%-90% range, with the intense parts getting up to 104%, if that helps for comparison.
  • akjmart2002
    akjmart2002 Posts: 263 Member
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    Also, as your fitness improves you may actually notice your HR going just as high or higher, but you'll feel better. My understanding is that this is due to your body's aerobic/lactate thresholds adjusting upwards, giving you more endurance.

    To some degree a heart rate will be genetically determined, of course. The old (220-your age) formula is just an estimate. And it's at least 10 BPM too low, for me.
  • WatchMomRun
    WatchMomRun Posts: 91
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    My 18 year old daughter's HR was hitting 200 when she ran so her MD had her go see a cardiologist and they did a stress test. The doctor, as others have stated, told us that unless you are experiencing symptoms such as dizziness, chest pain and extreme shortness of breath, it is fine.
    And it does run in our family. My HR typically climbs to 170's with even a slow jog and I have been running for years. I've run marathons and even with all of that conditioning my HR has never slowed down. So don't buy into that talk that it just means you are out of shape and after time it will get better. It might, but it might not.
  • SarahMorganP
    SarahMorganP Posts: 921 Member
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    Thanks everyone! My heart does work a little harder than others because of how severe my scoliosis is, it makes my body be all crooked and that pushes other organs around. My heart doesn't have as much room as others. At least that is what my doctor says. :noway: She told me that to explain the bad chest pains I have had my entire life. Since all the zillion tests came back normal maybe that's all she could think of? Who knows! I think I have figured out on my own that the pains are caused from too much caffeine. Because that is really the only thing I have given up for my weightloss and the chest pains have gone away. A few months ago I had a week where I started drinking it again though and the chest pains came back. So I think that is the reason. Who knows? Drs don't know everything! :happy:
  • froeschli
    froeschli Posts: 1,292 Member
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    I just started running on the treadmill a few weeks ago. I run Mon, Wed, and Fri. I do a 5K each time but only run 1.5-2 miles of it and the rest is brisk walking. After the first 10min of running my hr goes up to 180-185 and stays there until I walk again. Is this a problem at all? When I do the 226-my age I get 194 for a max hr, so I know I am under the max it should be, but is the mid 180's too high to be in? My resting hr is around 60-65bpm. I am almost 32 (in 9 days) a female, 5'3" and 169lbs.

    I just don't want to be putting too much stress on my heart if it isn't a good thing. Thanks!

    my HR goes up to 170 something at times when doing my running, 185 if i push it, i've had it up past 200 on HIIT, but question the sense of that. i've read tat some people just have higher maximum heart rates, the formulas are pretty much calculating what the average persons max heart rate would be. BUT as the other posters say, watch out for the symptoms, and possibly consult a DR.

    that being said, you state you just started a few weeks ago, maybe it would make sense if you started with a c25k like program, did intervals of running and walking, rather than run all you can, then walk the rest... overall, that would keep your heart at a slightly lower average and train your endurance. i'd say run 1/2 - 2/3 of the time you can run now, add 2-3 minutes walking, run again etc.
  • Sumo813
    Sumo813 Posts: 566 Member
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    Just my .02 worth here... I won't add to whether it's too much for you or not. But what I will say is, once you adjust and become accustomed to your cardio routine, you will notice your RHR going down and as you continue to progress, you should go from your high HR back to RHR in a relatively quick time. Prior to doing any cardio, my RHR was 98 bpm. Now, I'm generally between 57 and 63 bpm. Not bad for a guy who's still 295lbs. ;)

    Do what you can as long as you feel comfortable with it (like others have said, watch for dizziness or shortness of breat, etc etc). You can always build up to that MHR over time. The key thing is to just get moving.

    Good luck to you! :flowerforyou:
  • secretlobster
    secretlobster Posts: 3,566 Member
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    That's not a dangerous heart rate when you're doing intense cardio
  • poncho33
    poncho33 Posts: 1,511
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    Next time your HR gets that high slow down to a walk and measure your recovery HR after 60 sec. of walking.

    POOR less than 12 Beats Per Minute (BPM) recovery
    FAIR 12-20
    Good 20-30
    Excellent 30-40
    Over 40 is outstanding.

    The recovery rate is important because this is a measure of the soundness of our cardiovascular system and not just our heart health.

    If you are anything under Good, I wouldn't maintain that high of a HR for very long until your recovery rate improves.
  • dedaumier
    dedaumier Posts: 2 Member
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    There's nothing wrong with your heart rate being that high, per se, but you are working anaerobically at that level, meaning you are burning less fat (it's still good for you, though). It's recommended that you only work at that level for a small percentage of your workouts - a greater portion of your workouts should see your heart rate at about 80% of max. You should also have a long workout (75 minutes or so) where your heart rate is at about 70%-75% of its max.
  • BrianSharpe
    BrianSharpe Posts: 9,248 Member
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    That's pretty high but as long as you don't have a heart condition it's not dangerous.

    The reason it is high is because your cardiovascular fitness is still low. As you become more fit the heartrate will drop.

    I would recommend that on at least two of your weekly runs you slow down enough that you can run the whole way. That will build your aerobic fitness more effectively than what you are doing right now. After you do that for a few weeks your HR will begin dropping and you will soon find yourself running faster than you are now, for a longer distance, at a lower heartrate.

    Yup!

    The slow runs build endurance.....

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