Warning: heart rate too high!

AmandaPandah
AmandaPandah Posts: 222 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
I always get this warning when I'm on the elliptical or when I'm running, and I just can't seem to get away from it. If I go slower I don't feel like I have to fight very hard, which I want to!

I'm 18, so technically my maximum heart rate should be 202, so should I worry when I'm on 180 and the machines warn me?

Replies

  • gseburn
    gseburn Posts: 456 Member
    I do my best to ignore those warnings, unless I'm feeling like dying. After I sprint at 14 mph and then check it, I get a warning... no kidding its high! :-)
  • AlsDonkBoxSquat
    AlsDonkBoxSquat Posts: 6,128 Member
    If I stopped everytime my hrm warned me that my hr was too high I'd never get anything done.
  • clariangel
    clariangel Posts: 156 Member
    I'm curious about this as well because my heart rate consisently gets really high. If I'm just walking, I can get it up to 170 or so. If I'm jogging, then I can go as high as 205. Even in yoga, my heart rate gets up to 170 sometimes depending on what we're doing in that particular class. I don't feel bad when my HR is that high, but I do worry about it slightly. I'm taking medication for high blood pressure, so I don't want to harm my heart.
  • MrsUnderwood
    MrsUnderwood Posts: 114
    No! I learned this the hard way. You should never workout more than 85% of your maximum heart rate or you could end up giving yourself a heart attack. It increases risk and does not provide any benefit to you if you work out higher than that 85%. If your heart rate maxes out at 192, then the safest true max you should not go past is 163.2 bpm. Do some research on it. I found myself doing an hour workout at 180 the whole time and the next day I almost passed out at work, my lungs and heart were not getting enough oxygen so I saw a doctor and they warned me about how dangerous that was. My heart could have gave out.
  • fatboypup
    fatboypup Posts: 1,873 Member
    i can do 180+ for a long time according to my polars reading ......... and im almost 34 youll be fine


    ive ridden for several hours on my bicycle with an average hr of 185 and have never died
  • muppetsbear
    muppetsbear Posts: 80 Member
    I get it quite often due to the intensity of my workouts. I ignore them BUT if you have any medical issues get them checked out first . If you have any pain or discomfort or breathing issues cut it back.
  • MrsUnderwood
    MrsUnderwood Posts: 114
    If your heart rate max is 202 then the max you should work out at is 171.7 bpm.
  • AmandaPandah
    AmandaPandah Posts: 222 Member
    I feel FINE after every workout. We have killed gym classes at school in which we strive to be on our maximum HR for a while, before cooling down again, so I guess I'm used to it?
  • firesoforion
    firesoforion Posts: 1,017 Member
    I have similar feelings, but one thing I've found is various types of cardio have different effects on my HR. There's another thread on here saying ellipticals aren't actually that great, and I can go really high HR wise and not be working very hard on the elliptical. This rings true for me because I never feel like I'm working hard on the elliptical. Running, however? Different story (I saw you say you run, and this could be different for everyone else, just personal experience here). I can only jog slowly without sending my HR skyrocketing, because even a slow jog is work for me (I have no idea why it is disproportionately difficult for me, but it always has been), and even though I'd prefer to jog faster. Get on a bike? I can go really, really hard and stay within my absolute ideal heart rate. Walking intensely/uphill/hiking? Same thing.
  • janeinspain
    janeinspain Posts: 173 Member
    I wouldn't go higher than 185-190 tops. I was doing a circuit at the gym once and I noticed afterwards that I had a max rate of 204. I remember some heart burns that evening and the next day, like my heart was really tired. From then on, I have been careful not to go over 185-ish.
  • BrianSharpe
    BrianSharpe Posts: 9,248 Member
    Are you entering your age & weight into the machines before working out?

    A lot of machines erroneously promote keeping your heart rate on the so-called fat burning zone and the error is compounded by using the 220-your age as maxHR.

    Ignore the warnings and run on perceived exertion, if you can carry on a conversation you're in an easy zone. The only truly accurate way to determine your maxHR is with a stress test but the Karvonen formula seems to hit my training zone pretty accurately (151-157 bpm, on my longer runs I'll average 150 to 155 bpm) http://www.runnersweb.com/running/hr_calculator_new.html
  • scottb81
    scottb81 Posts: 2,538 Member
    You're working at 90% max heartrate. As long as you don't have any heart problems then that is a good workout 2 or 3 times a week. If you are working out more than that then the other workouts should be at a lower intensity. Your heart won't be overstressed but your body will be.
  • AmandaPandah
    AmandaPandah Posts: 222 Member
    Yeah, I do up to 5 workouts a week, so I'll start slowing down when I get the warnings. Might not be good for my body.

    Thanks for the tips guys!

    Edit: Yes, I do enter my weight and age into the machines :)
  • Strobins05
    Strobins05 Posts: 716
    No! I learned this the hard way. You should never workout more than 85% of your maximum heart rate or you could end up giving yourself a heart attack. It increases risk and does not provide any benefit to you if you work out higher than that 85%. If your heart rate maxes out at 192, then the safest true max you should not go past is 163.2 bpm. Do some research on it. I found myself doing an hour workout at 180 the whole time and the next day I almost passed out at work, my lungs and heart were not getting enough oxygen so I saw a doctor and they warned me about how dangerous that was. My heart could have gave out.
    ^^^ When i'm in Zumba and my HR get over 200plus, I sit down and let my HR get to normal before I go out on the floor again. This happens during at least five songs out of the 16 to 18 we perform our routines to during the 75 minutes. SCARY
  • fatboypup
    fatboypup Posts: 1,873 Member
    id rather die from a blown out heart exercising than on the couch choking to death on pizza
  • michellekicks
    michellekicks Posts: 3,624 Member
    This whole thread is weird.

    As a runner, I work out to HR every time. Much of my long/endurance workouts are done at up to 75% of Max HR, but racing I do at 92% for a 10km race or even 95% for a 5km race pace, which is sustained for nearly half an hour.

    Your max hr is the fastest your heart will beat to transport blood, oxygen and other nutrients to the cells of the body. If you put higher demands on your heart than it can handle, you'll likely just pass out until it returns to a functioning level.

    Besides, Max HR is mostly hereditary. According to most calculations, mine is supposed to be about 184 (I'm 36). But I hit 193 in my last 10km race at the end.

    HR is a metric to see how your body is doing. You're way better off using how you feel to determine how hard you should work out. The machines at the gym are probably set for someone doing an aerobic workout. But what if you want to train your aerobic threshold or work anaerobically... the machine has no idea.
  • michellekicks
    michellekicks Posts: 3,624 Member
    You're working at 90% max heartrate. As long as you don't have any heart problems then that is a good workout 2 or 3 times a week. If you are working out more than that then the other workouts should be at a lower intensity. Your heart won't be overstressed but your body will be.

    This.

    Okay yeah, don't do it every workout.

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