lets talk about heart rates during exercise

strength

my MHR is about 184.

i started exercising about 18 months ago, 3-4 days a week, 45-60 minutes at a time. (for the record, i'm 36, 5ft tall, 127 lbs)

currently, when i do cardio (run or step aerobics), my HR is consistently in the 180s. this IS an improvement from 6 months ago when it was higher (190s!), but i think it's still much to high for a sustained amount of time and many friends who work out agree. one person has said it's normal but i think it's high. and most of the info i've found googling says i should be in the 140-160 range when exercising.

your collective knowledge is good. guide me!

Sadlebred

Unless you have a health problem, you are fine. My max HR isn't yours. What is right for one person isn't right for another. Our bodies are all different.

LilyB2521

This isn't really answering your question...but I have a related question.  How does one find out where their HR should be during exercise?

pennypie07

LilyB2521:

This isn't really answering your question...but I have a related question.  How does one find out where their HR should be during exercise?

Mayo Clinic has a calculator based on CDC recs: http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/target-heart-rate/SM00083.

I will fully admit to not knowing how or if to use HR as a tool during workouts. I have a HRM to calculate calories burned. The chirps at me when I go outsite of my 'zone', which the high end of is 164...so when I jog I'm almost exclusively outside of that zone (~180s). I have noticed that my heart rate drops quicker than it did before. So during C25K walking intervals, it used to stay up in the 140s or 150s, and now it drops to the low 130s.

historychick79

This really doesn't answer the 'ideal' heart rate question, but in terms of safety I try to go more by how comfortably I can speak. If I am gasping for air and cannot say a sentence or two then I need to tone it down a bit. My heart rate has always been on the higher side and my face always turns beet red during an intense work out, but I can hold a decent conversation/answer questions while at the peak of my run or aerobic workout.

strength

pennypie07:

.so when I jog I'm almost exclusively outside of that zone (~180s). I have noticed that my heart rate drops quicker than it did before. So during C25K walking intervals, it used to stay up in the 140s or 150s, and now it drops to the low 130s.

so, that is part of what brought this up for me. i'm on week 3, day 3 of c25k. my HR is always in the 180s during the jogs and i'm only running at 4.5mph (inside on our treadmill). i do my walks at 3.2mph and my HR only drops to the 140s-150s. at 4.5mph, i can't take a full, deep breath by about 2 minutes into that 3 minute jog interval. i don't feel sick or anything but it just doesn't seem right that my HR stays so high for the entire run portion. i'm assuming it will just get better and better?

i'm starting to think that even though i've been exercising for more than 18 months, i'm still woefully out of shape and that makes me really sad. 

Sadlebred

strength:

so, that is part of what brought this up for me. i'm on week 3, day 3 of c25k. my HR is always in the 180s during the jogs and i'm only running at 4.5mph (inside on our treadmill). i do my walks at 3.2mph and my HR only drops to the 140s-150s. at 4.5mph, i can't take a full, deep breath by about 2 minutes into that 3 minute jog interval. i don't feel sick or anything but it just doesn't seem right that my HR stays so high for the entire run portion. i'm assuming it will just get better and better?

i'm starting to think that even though i've been exercising for more than 18 months, i'm still woefully out of shape and that makes me really sad. 

Your HR isn't just determined by how in shape you are. I'm a bicycle racer and have been for 15 years. I have been riding 5 days/week for 15 years except for the 2 weeks I take off every year and the occasional surgery or illness. I consider myself to be "in shape." My Max HR is over 200. My sustained/time trial effort HR is in the upper 170s and even into the lower 180s. That doesn't make me out of shape because my max HR isn't 132.

Your Max HR is also determined by genetics and other factors beyond your control. 

strength

Sadlebred:

Your HR isn't just determined by how in shape you are. I'm a bicycle racer and have been for 15 years. I have been riding 5 days/week for 15 years except for the 2 weeks I take off every year and the occasional surgery or illness. I consider myself to be "in shape." My Max HR is over 200. My sustained/time trial effort HR is in the upper 170s and even into the lower 180s. That doesn't make me out of shape because my max HR isn't 132.

Your Max HR is also determined by genetics and other factors beyond your control. 

good to know. i'm going for a physical in a few weeks and will talk with my doctor but i wanted to see what others experience. i know every body and person are different but it's hard to know what is to be considered normal or acceptable.

thanks to all that shared! 

kat.in.the.hat

have you done a max heartrate test to figure what is actually your MHR or are you just going by a calculator?

trigal

If your maximum HR is 184 then you wouldn't be consistently in the 180s without passing out (or worse).  It is not possible to maintain your max HR for very long (think seconds, not minutes).  If you really want to know your HR zones, you should get a test done.  The calculators are, at best, based on averages.

Like a pp said, go by your RPE (rate of perceived exertion).  It's a better indicator for a beginner.

Julia-Henry

Max HR is exactly that - the maximum your heart can do. THe number is genetically determined and has almost nothing to do with your fitness level.

The number 184 is calculated using an age-based formula (220-your age = very rough estimate). If you've been getting into the 190s, then 184 is not your max HR. You may wish to try an actual test to figure out what it is.

for good info and ways to test, read this article:

http://www.howtobefit.com/determine-maximum-heart-rate.htm

jacksmom

Max HR is 220-age - this is your maximum heart rate. That being said, it varies from person to person. I've conducted close to 500 VO2max tests on different populations of people over the past 10 years and it certainly is possible to exercise at or near your max for long(ish) periods of time.

For me personally, my Max HR is 188 (as I'm 32) but I consistently work out in the high 170s and 180s regardless of how fit I am. Genetics play a big part of it but the variability is huge from person to person. The last max test I performed my heart rate was above 175 for the last 4 minutes of the test. Feel free to let me know if you have any questions (my Ph.D. is in Bioenergetics and Kinesiology and I'm a Clinical Exercise Specialist from the ACSM - happy to help if I can!).

Julia-Henry

jacksmom:

Max HR is 220-age - this is your maximum heart rate.

I thought that had been debunked a while ago.

Or maybe I'm dead. Since I regularly exercise at a level well in excess of the number that comes from the 220-minus age formula.

Jaime819

I've been wondering what others tend to average during runs. I'm glad you asked. More out of curiosity. I average in the 170's when I run. High 160's when it's a slow casual run below my normal pace. I feel like I will throw up when i get in the mid 180's and by 190 I dry heave. So, from my body I can tell now where I'm at just judging by how I feel. I wear a HR monitor regularly though. I've been running consistantly since January, trained through a half and now just maintain.