Heart Rate Question - JP Fitness Forums

afterburn · 03-07-2008, 12:02 PM

I am a 32 yr old "fit" woman! Or at least I think... As long as I can remember when I do any cardio my HR stays about 180. There was a man at the gym beside me the other day & he said that I might have a heart condition. Sometimes when I do my HIIT my HR will jump to the 190's. I know It does sound scary... I am fit. I am 5'7" & weigh 150. I just ran a 5k last october (no problem) I am doing nrol4w right now. I am on stage one week 6 & get HIIT in anytime I can. What's up w/ the HR?? I do not take any meds... Just whole food vitamins! I do not drink caffeine either. I do give 110% at the gym....... If I would exercise at 150 HR I would be walking like a snail! I feel great while doing cardio also?????????? Just a high HR? Any thoughts would be appreciated! AfterBurn

EricLikesLifting · 03-07-2008, 12:09 PM

If I remember correctly your estimated max heart rate is 220-age, or in your case, 188. In an all out effort you might reach about 90-95% of that number which would probably be in the high 170s (about what you said). So 190 does seem a little high, but because you are so active I'm not sure it is something to fret about.

Do you know your resting heart rate? Is it fairly low?

RobLL · 03-07-2008, 12:17 PM

I definitely think this is something which ought to be checked out with your physician. The consequences of it being serious are obvious. Other than that I have no expertese, and even your primary care physician may send you on to a cardiologist.

Lisa~ · 03-07-2008, 12:25 PM

It's not about how high it goes during the intense interval bout. Heart health is determined by how fast it returns to a lower rate during the recovery interval. You want your heart rate to recover quickly.

220-age is a starting guideline, but it is not accurate for everybody. The fact that her heart rate is higher than that guideline does not, in and of itself, indicate a problem.

And a lower resting heart rate taken upon waking in the morning would also indicate good heart health.

StuWard · 03-08-2008, 05:55 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lisa~

...220-age is a starting guideline, but it is not accurate for everybody...

In fact it can be wildly off. I routinely hit 20 beats higher than my predicted max. It's just a guideline. If you do an all out sprint and then check your heart beat, use that as your max. It's more accurate than the calculated max.

afterburn · 03-10-2008, 05:57 AM

My resting HR is 76 & on an all out 1 min sprint my hr went to 192, but within 2 min cooldown it was 177. I guess I just have a faster "pumper"

Thanks Guys! I will watch it now though.. AfterBurn

pjb923 · 03-10-2008, 12:32 PM

I'm 29 and react in almost the exact same way to doing cardio. I can get my heart rate up to 180 quite easily and maintain that rate for 20 minutes straight without any trouble. When I really push myself I can reach 190, but cannot maintain that for very long. I will try to take note of how quickly it recovers next time I'm in the gym.

My resting heart rate is around 60 bpm.