High heart rate while exercising????

justdoit_steph
justdoit_steph Posts: 112
edited December 18 in Fitness and Exercise
I just got my HRM in this week. So, I have actually started watching my heart rate a little more than normal. I'm a little concerned that my hr might be a little too high according to the on line charts. I guess I'm curious if this is normal or something I might need to get checked out? I'm not new to exercising but I do prefer lifting weights more than cardio stuff. I typically do 2 - 3 days of cardio on a good week. OK some stats...
Age - 31
Time Duration - 60 min on elliptical
Average HR - 186
Maximum HR - 194

Also, the HRM said I burned 851 calories and MFP estimates were approx. 650 calories. I know this is just an estimate but I was under the impression that MFP usually showed burning more calories than a HRM?
Thanks!

Replies

  • Indolent
    Indolent Posts: 12
    I used to use a HRM a lot when running/rowing. As a piece of kit I found it really valuable in letting you know how much a session takes out of you. It can also tell you when you're coming down with a bug/virus before you actually feel it - usually through an increased resting heart-rate.

    Regarding the figures you posted -

    For your age, those figures are extremely high. Your maximum heart-rate isn't particularly unusual (though still high) but the average figure appears to be an error. It's not just the high figure, it's the fact that your average figure is very close to your highest figure.

    For information purposes, when I was running for an hour, and it was a hard session, then my AHR will have been high 150s but my maximum HR will have been about 180 or a little higher. This was done in my mid 30s. When rowing (a few years ago) my figures will have been the same for a similar session.

    Did you feel extremely tired at the end of your exercise?
    Were you gasping for breath at any stage?
    Did you feel dizzy at all?
    How did it compare to previous sessions you've completed?

    Maybe it's just in your genetic make-up that you produce these sort of figures, but I'd be very surprised if those figures were accurate.
    Good luck!
  • frosty73
    frosty73 Posts: 424 Member
    Umm, those numbers don't make a lot of sense to me. *Scratching head*
    If I were working at a HR of 184, I'd be exhausted within 5 minutes and probably couldn't function past 10 minutes. You did this for a whole hour? Are you sure you've got your HRM set correctly?

    Normally MFP estimates are higher than those on a machine, but the best bet is to go with your HRM. And yes, if you were at 184 for an hour I'd guess you burned a huge amount of calories.
  • Cold_Steel
    Cold_Steel Posts: 897 Member
    Best thing you can do is to see your doctor. They can do a proper heart rate monitoring during rest, moderate and excessive work. Well a cardiologist can
  • secretgirl4611
    secretgirl4611 Posts: 474 Member
    No its possible and dont be worried. I had the SAME issue when I first started working out.. I had a resting rate of 86 and when I would workout max I would get it to about 189-190 and I thought OMG im gonna over do it and pass out.. But that NEVER happend.. and NOW my resting rate is 65-76... My DR. says when u start and its so high, its cuz u prob were not so healthy and as it LOWERS it means your gettin healthier.. yeaup so I guess Im gettin healthier now.. DONT WORRY SO MUCH BOUT IT ALL.... IT WILL DEF. LOWER IN A FEW MONTHS..
  • lilpe5512
    lilpe5512 Posts: 397 Member
    I know exactly what you are talking about. When I use my HRM without the cheststrap the numbers are 50-100 more than the equipment at the gym. When I use the cheststrap my numbers are even higher. I think since the cheststrap is constantly monitoring the HRM go up and down that is why it was higher.
  • momma3sweetgirls
    momma3sweetgirls Posts: 743 Member
    I just compared your elliptcial experience with a 60 minute run of mine and this is what my HRM says:

    Avg HR 170
    Max HR 181

    I'm 37
    5'5" - 127 ish

    I have seen my resting HR drop from 75 to 60 in the last year since I started running and my avg HR during exercise has lowered from about 190 to 170.

    I don't see anything abnormal with your HR, but a doctor would be a better person to ask.
  • justdoit_steph
    justdoit_steph Posts: 112
    Thanks for all the quick replies. To answer a few of the questions...

    Did you feel extremely tired at the end of your exercise? Yes, but I always feel tired after I exercise especially after cardio???
    Were you gasping for breath at any stage? no, I think my breathing was ok? I mean you could tell it was difficult but isn't cardio suppose to make you breath heavier? (please don't take that I'm being snarky - I just mean that is how it has always made me feel so making sure this is normal :)
    Did you feel dizzy at all? No
    How did it compare to previous sessions you've completed? the exact same

    I have been exercising for a little over a year. In the last couple of months I have been mainly focusing on lifting weights but I do throw some cardio in during the week. Before I had my HRM the machine would register in the 190's but I didn't have my hands on the sensors the whole time so didn't think a lot about it. For my cool down period (last 5 min. - moving at a snails pace) I did get my HR down to 160 but this number was factored into the average hr. I guess it kind of bothers me because I would think this should be getting easier. I mean the cardio is doable but my HR is not dropping.

    ETA: I will be seeing my doctor in a month and will ask her about my HR.
  • kindel2
    kindel2 Posts: 67 Member
    I did a fit test on the elliptical and it said my heart rate was to high. This is after entered my weight and age. I do know some would say they arn't always accurate but I would think it's pretty close. Anyways I realized that my heart rate was hitting the high part of the bar and then it went to peak which is as high as it can go. I felt my heart thump so hard and start to pound- I decided to slow down. I had the machine set to an incline 19 and the resistance to 4. I did it like this for 20 mins before but this day I had to slow my steady up beat pase down around 10 mins.

    The odd thing is it took me 7-9 strides to burn one calorie. Yet during the fit test which had me stay at a low incline and little to no resistance wanted me to stay between 90-100 speed. This was super SLOW. I didn't realize how fast I actually tended to go. Anyways, at the lower speed I was burning one calorie per stride. Is this normal? Am I suppose to go slow? I see people going really fast sometimes. The results of the fit test was that my heart was too high and that my target heart rate was 140. My average heart rate was 180+. I am 214lbs, 5'6, and female.
  • QuietBloom
    QuietBloom Posts: 5,413 Member
    Lots of times people push themselves beyond a healthy heart rate range. The best thing you can do for yourself is determine YOUR maximum heart rate, and then stay in the advised zones depending on what you are doing. For cardio, you should stay aerobic for most of the time to avoid over training. When I run, I only run fast once a week, and then for a fairly short distance. The rest of the week I am barely breathing hard.
  • QuietBloom
    QuietBloom Posts: 5,413 Member
    No its possible and dont be worried. I had the SAME issue when I first started working out.. I had a resting rate of 86 and when I would workout max I would get it to about 189-190 and I thought OMG im gonna over do it and pass out.. But that NEVER happend.. and NOW my resting rate is 65-76... My DR. says when u start and its so high, its cuz u prob were not so healthy and as it LOWERS it means your gettin healthier.. yeaup so I guess Im gettin healthier now.. DONT WORRY SO MUCH BOUT IT ALL.... IT WILL DEF. LOWER IN A FEW MONTHS..

    Or you can keep it in the range it should be in, and your speed and distance will increase at the same heart rate. It's called 'training smart, not hard'. :flowerforyou:
  • yirara
    yirara Posts: 9,979 Member
    It's a slightly older thread, but it doesn't sound too worrying. My max is at around 205 (measured with breast belt on spinning bike), and if I was doing spinning classes I would usually climb to about 180 very quickly. There was no way I could stay at a much lower heart rate. I'd only get out of breath when I went to about 190. When I finished the workout, my heart rate would quickly drop down again to my normal 60-70bpm. I can also easily manipulate my heart rate: If I think about slowing it down, then it does in fact go down by about 10/m. If I do that during a workout then I get out of breath immediately and have to stop. Had my heart checked quite a few years ago and I'm healthy. Doc said it's nothing to worry about. Many women have high heart rates when working out.
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