What is your maximum heart rate?

[TinaT]

According to all the formulas and calculations, mine should be 168. So working out should only be appx 85% of that. My targeted heart rate for workouts falls between 111-144. I struggle keeping it in the zone. I'm usually about 151 when doing a workout as instructed.

Today I did FIRM Light Aerobic Mix and started to feel light headed, ... only to find my heart rate at 161!! So I dropped the weights and even lowered the step to the purple section and I barely got it under the 144.

Anyone else have this problem? My resting heart rate is high 60's/low 70's.

[OSusanna]

I struggle with this myself. I read Sally Edwards' book on heart rate zone training and have started to do hiit workouts 2-3 times a week. She has devised some tests to do at home that can help you determine your maximum heart rate. The 220 minus your age formula may not be accurate and actually frequently is not accurate. Sally says that long term exercisers frequently wouldn't drop their max heart rate as they aged and so that formula didn't necessarily apply. Maximum heart rate varies per person widely and doesn't always change with age. I'm still trying to figure out my range and working with my numbers. Overall I have found that mine runs a little higher than the calculations allowed.

Was your light headedness associated with your heart rate? Or could it have been a low blood sugar moment? The reason I ask is because even when I rev my heart up too high with a jump rope I don't get lightheaded but I definitely do if I'm doing FIRM like compound moves with weights that rev up both my heart and use up other resources (don't quote me but perhaps glycogen?). I haven't been able to mitigate this myself and I have stopped compound moves. Those type of workouts drop my blood sugar and make me very hungry over a few days so I had to stop. But overall, I have found a high heart rate for just cardio not to be a problem. I use my monitor to keep it reasonable but occasionally it sneaks up there. I get cardio high so I like it. . Once I'm high I take my activity down a notch immediately.

Do you feel better when you stay at the 151? If so then your monitor can be a very useful tool. If you need to keep your heart rate down I recommend cardio and weights done separately and for weights I like Margaret Richard because she does not use compound moves.

Does your monitor have a chest strap? Those tend to be more accurate. I encourage monitors because I have gotten a lot of value from mine, namely in keeping my cardio consistent, safe and effective.

[bzar]

I second everything Susanna said.

one thing to note is that you have a different HRZ for each "sport." I also read Sally's book and visited her website several times. her book, as susanna mentioned, has a couple of field tests to determine what your MHR is.

using a HRM, you can determine "highest rate seen" for each of your "sports" whether it be running, step aerobics, or swimming, or as you experienced, AWT.

your HR will behave differently depending on how your body manages energy in your system.

also, as your body develops endurance, you have to tweak your zones every so often, so the book by Maffetone is a good one to read to re-assess your zones.

I personally have a very low RHR. you can monitor it before you climb out of bed to determine what your RHR is. I can't use the 220-age-RHR because I've noticed it takes way too much effort to reach that benchmark due to my low RHR.

instead, I'd use "highest seen" in that sport.

Tina, you were wise to adjust your moves when you noticed yourself feeling light-headed. "perceived exertion" is useful in partnership with an HRM when assessing how you feel during a workout.

[angie_nrs]

For me, the best way to tell what my max HR is....is to do a cardio coach workout and glance at my HRM after doing a hard one minute sprint. It's actually kinda hard to check it even with the watch b/c I'm so spent that paying attention to anything other than dragging in air is difficult. It's been a very long time since I wore my HRM, so I don't know what my number is now. Several years ago I think my max number was 215 or so if I remember correctly, which is above what the calculations said it should be. I am more apt to believe the HRM than generic 'one size fits all' calculations.

I find that perceived exertion is a better gauge of how hard I am working. However, I do believe an HRM is a good tool to use and have. I really need to get my battery replaced and start wearing it again.

[Jeanne Marie]

It's so interesting to me the differences in heart rate (resting and maximum) of people depending on their age, fitness level and body size.

At our bootcamp we wear chest strap heart rate monitors that show up on TV monitors around the gym. It's so great to be able to glance up during bootcamp and know exactly what zone I'm in.

I am 60 years old and my resting heart rate is 50 and my maximum is 163. I strive to stay in the "yellow" zone, which for me is above 130 and below 146. As tough as the bootcamp is though, I do find myself frequently in the red zone which is 147 to 163.

One thing I have learned since I started wearing the heart rate monitor is that most Cathe workouts do not get me consistently in the yellow zone, and if I get there I don't stay long because there is too much rest in between moves. (My heart rate drops extremely fast. If I don't keep going constantly, even a quick pause will drop my rate.) I'm talking about workouts like Afterburn or Crossfire and other what I consider pretty intense Cathe workouts. I have become much more conditioned with the HIIT of bootcamp than I ever was when just doing Cathe DVDs. Don't get me wrong, I still love my Cathe, but my workouts with her DVDs are just not as intense. I would never have guessed that if I didn't have the proof with my monitor.

Observations that I have made from being in a class with lots of different people wearing monitors.... The more fit you are, the longer it takes to get your heart rate up there. The more fit you are, the quicker your rate drops when you pause. The less fit you are, the less effort it takes to get your heart rate up... which I guess is the opposite of the first observation. Another observation that surprised me, but I should have probably already known... the higher your body weight, the higher your calorie burn. Most days I absolutely wear myself out for 45 minutes straight, constant high energy movement and burn about 500 calories. Then right next to me, a guy who weighs probably 60 or 70 pounds more than I do and expends half the effort, will burn 1000 calories easily.

[TinaT]

I have a Polar Heart Rate Monitor with chest strap. I try to stay in my zone for maximum burn and effectiveness. I do think the glucose has something to do with today's dizziness. I didn't eat before working out, and I'm sure that didn't help.

My goal is to finish the time frame I have set for my workout,... regardless if it's the actual routine I'm doing. Today I had to walk with high knees until the HR came back to a reasonable level. My HR drops pretty quick as well Jeanne, so I don't want to drop too low.

[muggle]

Whats the "red zone"? Is that bad?

[toaster]

Interesting thread! I actually have the opposite problem, which is getting my HR into the zone! I don't recall the exact numbers, but I calculated mine according to the 2-minute step test, and my range is something like 114-142 (I'm 48, if that helps). I think mine is affected by my blood pressure, which tends to run low. Years ago, when I was taking a beta blocker for migraines and it lowered my low BP even more, I could not get my HR up AT ALL!

Jeannine, you said that the more fit you are, the more effort it takes to get your HR up--so can I believe that I'm really, really fit? It does seem like it's been harder to get my HR up over time (i.e., as I've become a more experienced exerciser).

[Jeanne Marie]

Originally Posted by muggle

Whats the "red zone"? Is that bad?

Originally Posted by toaster

Interesting thread! I actually have the opposite problem, which is getting my HR into the zone! I don't recall the exact numbers, but I calculated mine according to the 2-minute step test, and my range is something like 114-142 (I'm 48, if that helps). I think mine is affected by my blood pressure, which tends to run low. Years ago, when I was taking a beta blocker for migraines and it lowered my low BP even more, I could not get my HR up AT ALL!

Jeannine, you said that the more fit you are, the more effort it takes to get your HR up--so can I believe that I'm really, really fit? It does seem like it's been harder to get my HR up over time (i.e., as I've become a more experienced exerciser).

The red zone is our range of maximum heart rate. It's the muscle burning zone, so not necessarily where you want to stay for an en extended period. We just call it the red zone because the graph on the monitor goes red when we are at the top 10 percent of our heart rates.

And yes, beta blockers will definitely make it harder for your heart rate to get up there. Also, things like allergy meds will do the same thing. But yes, the fitter you are, the longer it takes for your heart rate to get to your high ranges because your heart becomes so much more efficient as you get in better condition!

I've seen people new to exercise reach a very high heart rate just by lifting a weight. Their heart isn't conditioned like ours are!

[toaster]

Jeannine, I don't take the beta blockers anymore (they made my HR so low that I was prone to dizziness/passing out), but interesting about allergy meds! I use a nasal allergy spray a few times a week (it used to just be more seasonal, but it seems like I have issues year-round now), and I also occasionally (like today) wake up with a pressure-type headache rather than a migraine, so I'll take an OTC allergy med for that. I never thought of that as being connected with my HR! Maybe that's why I've been feeling more tired, too.