Max heart rate- can this be right?

[ugeauxgirl]

18 months ago I made a new years resolution to get myself in shape. I sort of threw my self at it- I joined a gym hired a trainer and got myself in much better shape. I'm trying to fine-tune it a bit and I'm re-reading "Younger Next Year".

I hadn't paid much attention to what my heart rate ought to be, I just worked out hard and got hot and sweaty. My brother told me not to worry about working out too hard, I'd throw up before I died of exertion. [emoji23]

I'm re-reading the book and if my max heart-rate is 172 as the formula claims, I've been working out at 85-95% of my maximum most days. Is this likely or is my max heart-rate higher than the formula indicates? Do I really need to know what my max heart rate is, and if so, how do I find out?

Am I worrying about this too much? Also the book recommends working out low and slow. How important is that, because it's boring?!

 

[COcheesehead]

Mine is supposed to be 163, but I have had my Apple Watch regularly capture heart rates into the 170’s and I wasn’t throwing up at the time. Do you have a way to capture your VO2 max? I think that is a better indicator of fitness level. Apple estimates mine and I use that as my fitness guidepost.

 

[audreyh1]

I’ve found I can go much higher than my supposed max heart rate, and I may be breathing pretty hard, but don’t feel out of breath.

I’m occasionally rowing in the 170s. If I feel good I don’t worry about it. I once let it cross 180. Still felt OK. I was probably 58 at the time, female.

Hmmm - I’ll have to check out Apple Watch estimating my VO2 max.

 

[MRG]

It's only a number, if you make it go too high you'll be dead.

JK - a cardiologist told me not to worry about it. I was doing daily treadmill 5ks and my heartrate was 180++ while I was wearing a holter monitor at 61yo..His advice was something like don't worry about the rate just get out and move.

 

[kimcdougc]

I have a mechanical aortic heart valve and my surgeon said after my surgery 7 years ago that 160 should be the most I get my heart elevated to. I walk 10,000 steps a day and sometimes get my heart rate up to 156 going up hills. No problem. You'll know when you have done too much. You can check your heart rate by checking your pulse for 15 seconds and then multiplying that by 4 to get your heart rate for a minute.

 

[Aerides]

The guidelines are somewhat arbitrary "220 minus your age = max" I mean that doesn't take into account...anything? (and like most simple health guidelines, probably established from a limited sample of men...)

So, nah, you won't croak if you hit 173, but it's probably better for you to stay somewhat in the ranges for cardio fitness. Kinda like with weightlifting, I don't want to lift as much as I possibly could because I'd probably tear something or know I've overdone it. But lifting a decent amount with a series of reps to tire the muscle means you're breaking it down just enough to strengthen.

I'm about your age I think, and if I run past about 20 mins I'm firmly in the 150's. Past about 40 mins I'm in the 160s and tiring.

 

[razztazz]

The 172 isn't your true "max" heart rate. Like the others say. You can go past that. The 172 is something like your max workout rate.

You can overdo it though. Working out for extended period of high-steady-state heart rates can cause complications. There was a video posted on this subject some yrs ago. I forget the speaker's name. It's on youtube. That kind of exercise can cause an inflammatory response which is counterproductive in the long run. The conclusion of the speaker was that humans aren't really geared for more than about 45 mins of real exercise at a time and not at extreme rates.

I did this for several years and thought, Hey, I'm 47 and my HR is 200 bpm for an hour or 2 a day. I'm Hercules! Then developed rhythm problems that took years to rectify. And I am 99% convinced it had at least some involvement with the heart attack I had last month.

 

[RunningBum]

The "formula" is 220-age. But it varies so much from person to person. Last year, at age 57, I hit 191 near the end of a 5K. I was working very hard but didn't feel like I was about to pass out or anything, even though I was 28 beats over my supposed max. Granted, my running watch may not be the most accurate HR measure, but it seems consistent with effort. I believe it is pretty accurate.

If you're still working for your trainer they should really know. I hesitate to recommend a way to find it because it could be dangerous. I'm especially gun shy right now because I watched CPR being done on a runner this weekend, 2 miles into a 5 mile race. He did not make it. Cause unknown.

 

[Born2Fish]

18 months ago I made a new years resolution to get myself in shape. I sort of threw my self at it- I joined a gym hired a trainer and got myself in much better shape. I'm trying to fine-tune it a bit and I'm re-reading "Younger Next Year".

I hadn't paid much attention to what my heart rate ought to be, I just worked out hard and got hot and sweaty. My brother told me not to worry about working out too hard, I'd throw up before I died of exertion. [emoji23]

I'm re-reading the book and if my max heart-rate is 172 as the formula claims, I've been working out at 85-95% of my maximum most days. Is this likely or is my max heart-rate higher than the formula indicates? Do I really need to know what my max heart rate is, and if so, how do I find out?

Am I worrying about this too much? Also the book recommends working out low and slow. How important is that, because it's boring?!

I worried about this max HR when I got back into running 7 years ago. I wear a Garmin watch that tracks hr, pace, speed, etc..

I overtrained when I first got the watch. I was trying to get a record time every run. I found that my best times did not normally happen when I had the highest heart rate.

I found out that the best approach was to vary pace and distance and workout types to prevent overtraining.

I am 62 and occasionally get a max HR around 170 but it is normally around 150. For me, the max HR always occurs over the final 1/4 mile when I am pushing hard. My avg HR during the full run is around 130.

My resting HR is usually 38-44 bpm.

 

[ugeauxgirl]

Ok, thanks for the input. I probably do need to vary my workouts a little. I'd been doing stairmaster or elliptical at 150-160 for 30 to 45 min. I'll try breaking that up with lower intensity stuff a few days a week.

I know that 172 isn't my true max as I've hit 185 occasionally stepping on the box, etc. But the goal is to be healthier and stronger, not cause permanent damage.

 

[Montecfo]

I try to stay in the 60-85 pct range. Train, don't strain.

It is just an arbitrary number but you don't really want to learn your actual max.

 

[Ronstar]

OP - I wouldn't worry about exceeding heart rates that books say unless you start feeling ill at your peak exercise level.

My max is supposed to be 155. I get that running at a 9:00 pace. I can get low 170's if I sprint little. But I never feel ill at my upper levels, so I don't worry about it.

On the other hand, I have a friend who was hitting 170 while hiking, and he started to feel a bit woozy. So we started to go slower and take more breaks and he was fine after that.

So don't overdo it too much and listen to your body. You'll know when it's time to slow down.

 

[braumeister]

Most max HR formulas are wrong -- they will give you a number that is too low, often much too low. And since all the "workout ranges" are based on percentages of your max HR, you can be seriously misled.

Dr. Fritz Hagerman, an exercise physiologist at Ohio University, said he had learned from more than three decades of studying world class rowers that the whole idea of a formula to predict an individual’s maximum heart rate was ludicrous. Even sillier, he said, is the common notion that the heart rate is an indication of fitness.

Some people get blood to their muscles by pushing out large amounts every time their hearts contract, he said. Others accomplish the same thing by contracting their hearts at fast rates. As a result, Dr. Hagerman said, he has seen Olympic rowers in their 20’s with maximum heart rates of 220. And he has seen others on the same team and with the same ability, but who get blood to their tissues by pumping hard, with maximum rates of just 160.

Better to calculate your own max HR:

You’ll need a heart rate monitor for this method. I would recommend either choosing a stationary bike or treadmill for this test. Bike is the safest modality.

1. Warm up thoroughly. I suggest spending about 5 minutes until you break a light sweat.
2. Run or Bike for 4 minutes. You should be too out of breath to talk.
3. Active rest - walking or easy cycling for 3 minutes.
4. Run or Bike for 4 minutes. You should be too out of breath to talk.
5. Active rest - walking or easy cycling for 3 minutes.
6. Run or Bike for 2 minutes at which point run or bike as fast as you can until you reach exhaustion and can’t continue.
7. Immediately take your heart rate. This is your MAX HR

https://www.maxworkouts.com/articles/entry/is-the-maximum-heart-rate-formula-sabotaging-your-workout-and-your-results


I use this actual method on myself every ten years and find it useful.

 

[UtahSkier]

The 220-age formula is just a suggestion. It works pretty well for me when I was 50, but was way off for my wife.

I am going to go against the "don't over do it" advice here. Definitely over do it!

There is a fitness philosophy that one's max heart rate should be experienced fairly frequently as part of fitness and conditioning. Avoiding your max heart rate may cause issues when you do some activity that causes a max heart rate condition.

I ski and the hard intervals cause me to hit max heart rate. Same with mountain biking and sprint swimming.

I say go find your max heart rate with an HIIT exercise program. My preferred method is a 24 minute program on a stationary bike. Warm up for 4 minutes. Then do 5 sprint/rest intervals for 2 minutes each. So, on minute 4, go all out. After 2 minutes, back off for 2 minutes. Do that 5 times. I will hit my max heart rate on sprints 4 and 5.

Also, I am generally fit (just climbed a 14Ker!). It often takes me 3-4 weeks until I am strong enough to hit my real max heart rate on sprint 4.

Full disclosure. I have had the stress test/echo cardio gram. While I passed with flying colors, my cardiologist was very unhappy with me. As we know, muscles get bigger as we use them. He was unhappy that my left ventricle heart wall was extra thick. I think the echo-cardiogram shows a strong heart and he just doesn't see fit people in his office very often.

Lastly, monitoring your target heart range is a good fitness tool. Understand your heart range during exercise and what you want to accomplish. HR above 75% of max is anaerobic and will cause muscles to be consumed as fuel. HR below 75% is cardio and will favor fat burning. Now, I will exercise for 1-2 hours with HR near 90% (hiking Snowbird in 1hr, 40 minutes), but I understand the consequences relative to activity I enjoy.

 

[ugeauxgirl]

Thanks for the max heart rate test. Ugh it was brutal. By the book my max heart rate is 172. I got it up to 190 during the test. That means my workouts so far have been about right. Good to know. Thx all for the tips.