# Maximum heart rate???



## raven (May 7, 2002)

I am 32 and usually when I run my maximum heart rate doesn't go above 175. However, I've just been out running with a couple of very fit work colleagues and in my efforts to keep up my heart rate went as high as 189! Is this healthy? Should I aim to keep it at a certain level??

Thanks for any advice!

Ed


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## vlastan (May 6, 2002)

You maximum heart rate is 220 minus your age figure. So it is 188.

Normally if you push yourself too much you will feel sick as well...didn' t you?

Working so hard can be fine if you are very fit. If not I suggest you aim for about 80% of your maximum figure.

A good way to see how fit you are is when you rest. What is your heart's resting rate? If it below 60 it is great. And if it is below 50...you are a sportsman. :wink:


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## jonno (May 7, 2002)

Continuing Nick's theme

....If its below 20 you're probably cold blooded. :wink:

I think 200 bpm is pretty fast for a fit 20-30 y.o. tho.


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## Dotti (Mar 9, 2003)

vlastan said:


> You maximum heart rate is 220 minus your age figure. So it is 188.
> 
> Normally if you push yourself too much you will feel sick as well...didn' t you?
> 
> ...


Is that how blood pressure is measured aswell?


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## raven (May 7, 2002)

My resting rate is just below 70, but surely a better indication of how fit I am is how quickly my rate of 180 drops back down to 70? I have friends with very low heart rates, but when they cannot exercise to save their lives... :?


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## vlastan (May 6, 2002)

raven said:


> My resting rate is just below 70, but surely a better indication of how fit I am is how quickly my rate of 180 drops back down to 70? I have friends with very low heart rates, but when they cannot exercise to save their lives... :?


This as well is a good indication. How quickly your heart takes to recover from 180 to 70.

Recently I found that my heart rate was down to 52!!

Blood pressure is not read the same way. A healthy person at around 30 years old must have between 80-90 for diastolic and 120-130 for systolic. Despite my fitness levels my blood pressure remains too high above these levels.  :x


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## Dotti (Mar 9, 2003)

My BP is usually 110/80 is that good or bad? What would that make my normal heart rate without running and just sitting?


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## Dont I Recognise You (Oct 10, 2003)

Abi

may be wrong here, but as I understand it, blood presure and heart rate are not directly connected?

Think that 110/80 is pretty good tho 

Again, as I understand it, if your resting heart rate is less than about 70-80 you are looking ok there too 
but as mentioned above, (one of) the key things is your 'recovery rate' - ie how quickly after excersize the bpm drops back to your norm.


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## vlastan (May 6, 2002)

Your blood pressure is great Abi.

How much is your heart rate at rest?


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## raven (May 7, 2002)

Hang on, how come we're talking about blood pressure all of a sudden?! Let's stick to the heart beat - can anyone confirm how long it should take your heart to get back to normal resting rate from its maximum?


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## Dont I Recognise You (Oct 10, 2003)

best I could come up with was this:

http://www.saga.co.uk/health_news/artic ... asp?bhcp=1

but then found this:
http://www.feelingfat.net/articles/exerciseart02.asp

which, I think, answers your question?

HTH


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## raven (May 7, 2002)

Don't I Recognise You? said:


> best I could come up with was this:
> 
> http://www.saga.co.uk/health_news/artic ... asp?bhcp=1
> 
> ...


Nice one - cheers!


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## vlastan (May 6, 2002)

The second link is great, especially the recovery rates.

The heart rate at rest is also very interesting...according to this...I am within the "athletic" range.


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## Antwerpman (Nov 4, 2002)

Like most things 220 - your age is a guideline and some people can fall outside of this. You should also measure your 'true' resting heart rate first thing in the morning while you are still lying in bed, and before you even sit up.

My good friend for example is 45, a triathlete (often beats 20 year olds) and fit as a fiddle, and he can easily see heart rates greater than 175. I know that I also have always been able to train with heart rates which in theory are above my anebolic threshold but I can hold them for periods of an hour or more.

The other thing is that you will find you can attain higher heart rates with different sports - I can easily see 185 whilst running, but to do the same on the bike is more difficult, and when swimming in even harder still (maybe that is because I am a crap swimmer)

In my heyday of training I used to have a resting heart rate of 38, but those times have sadly long past


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## jdn (Aug 26, 2002)

vlastan said:


> Blood pressure is not read the same way. A healthy person at around 30 years old must have between 80-90 for diastolic and 120-130 for systolic. Despite my fitness levels my blood pressure remains too high above these levels.  :x


Blood pressure is a thorny subject as there is no easy definition to suit all people. WHat is high for one person may be considered OK for another - it depends on the balance of other 'risk factors' such as whether you smoke, have diabetes etc.

The adaptation of the heart and cardiovascular system to exercise is suprisingly complex and an area of ongoing reasearch. Individual response to exercise in terms of heart rate is very variable and influenced by many factors. As a rough guide, getting your heart rate up to at least 80% of your maximum predicted heart rate (using the formula given) is considered 'adequate' exercise from a medical point of view. Speed to recovery of baseline heart rate is a reasonably reliable indicator of general cardiovascular fitness but again depends on many factors.

I get asked many of the above questions by patients, and usually stress that absolute figures are not important (except for bragging rights down the pub :wink: ) - the fact you are exercising regularly and suffciently is what counts.



raven said:


> I am 32 and usually when I run my maximum heart rate doesn't go above 175. However, I've just been out running with a couple of very fit work colleagues and in my efforts to keep up my heart rate went as high as 189! Is this healthy? Should I aim to keep it at a certain level??
> 
> Thanks for any advice!
> 
> Ed


Back to the original question..

If you felt OK (apart from knackered) and recovered quickly then no problem. Taking into acount the innacuracies of a rough formula, plus at least +/- 5 in accurately measuring a pulse rate above 150 then that is fine.


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## racer (Feb 3, 2003)

raven said:


> I am 32 and usually when I run my maximum heart rate doesn't go above 175. However, I've just been out running with a couple of very fit work colleagues and in my efforts to keep up my heart rate went as high as 189! Is this healthy? Should I aim to keep it at a certain level??
> Thanks for any advice!
> Ed


Good effort Raven, I won't bother with any techical BPM or BP waffle as I think it has all been covered but it seems like you have found a couple of guys that can help you get to the next level fitness wise. 

Be careful to make sure you don't do too much of your training at this level,  your body was working above the anaerobic threshold and would have been burning glucose to keep it going. About once a week should be enough to boost your lactic acid tolerance. 8)


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## vlastan (May 6, 2002)

Lactic acid?? Raven did you just give birth and you are lactating?  :lol:


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## raven (May 7, 2002)

racer said:


> raven said:
> 
> 
> > I am 32 and usually when I run my maximum heart rate doesn't go above 175. However, I've just been out running with a couple of very fit work colleagues and in my efforts to keep up my heart rate went as high as 189! Is this healthy? Should I aim to keep it at a certain level??
> ...


Thanks racer. I usually run on my own so this will be a once a week effort. I've always thought of myself as quite a runner, but bearing in mind I am probably about 3 stone heavier than these two guys, I was quite pleased with my performance.  They both did the marathon this year and are used to serious running.

I find using these heart rate monitors fascinating - must the gadget freak in me! - and noticing changes over time + the log it keeps of your fitness levels is very useful.


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## sico (Feb 6, 2003)

raven said:


> I am 32 and usually when I run my maximum heart rate doesn't go above 175. However, I've just been out running with a couple of very fit work colleagues and in my efforts to keep up my heart rate went as high as 189! Is this healthy? Should I aim to keep it at a certain level??
> 
> Thanks for any advice!
> 
> Ed


Dont worry to much about that, just dont over do it - check how long it takes to return to normal rate. This is the best measure heart of fitness.

Also check your resting and your BP another good measure.


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## Love_iTT (Aug 18, 2002)

I've just done the little test as in the link and my heart rate was 60 and 90 after doing the steps thing for 3 minutes, so not bad at all for a 55 year old who smokes and doesn't take any excercise.

All I've got to do now is stop smoking and do more excercise. I can do the excercises no problem - biking, walking etc but its that blooming smoking thing - thats going to be a problem :?

I must stop :evil:

Graham


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