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Max heart rate over 200 while exercising
Hi,
I am a 28 year old male and I smoke. Last I checked my blood pressure and everything was fine.
I have been weight training with a heart rate monitor (made by polar).
I train for an hour, with 90 seconds rest in between sets (8-12 slow reps).
During my last work-out my avg heart rate was 127 and my max was 208.
I did not feel dizzy, light headed or very exhausted, in fact I felt great.
My face became flushed, but this went away after less than ten seconds rest.
I just felt like I was exerting a lot of effort.
It also didn't feel to me like my heart was beating too hard. I honestly did not notice anything until
I checked the heart rate monitor's summary at the end of the work-out.
Should I be concerned by this?
I have decided that I will not smoke tomorrow and will try to quit as this really alarmed me.
Is there anything I should do?
I am a 28 year old male and I smoke. Last I checked my blood pressure and everything was fine.
I have been weight training with a heart rate monitor (made by polar).
I train for an hour, with 90 seconds rest in between sets (8-12 slow reps).
During my last work-out my avg heart rate was 127 and my max was 208.
I did not feel dizzy, light headed or very exhausted, in fact I felt great.
My face became flushed, but this went away after less than ten seconds rest.
I just felt like I was exerting a lot of effort.
It also didn't feel to me like my heart was beating too hard. I honestly did not notice anything until
I checked the heart rate monitor's summary at the end of the work-out.
Should I be concerned by this?
I have decided that I will not smoke tomorrow and will try to quit as this really alarmed me.
Is there anything I should do?
Thanks for all the great responses, you've been very helpful and informative ;D
Marius
Marius
Actually it feels really good to have a smoke after working out, elevates the high from the endorphins to another level. I'm not condoning smoking, I just quit 62 days ago, but I do know why someone would smoke and work out.
I wouldn't worry about 208, as long as its linear.
ie - you push to the max - you go to 208. You stop - the HR recovers immediately.
The PROBLEM heart rate is NOT linear to exertion. It's when you're going at a normal run and your heart goes from 150 to 208 instantly and it requires you to intervene to slow it. (valvasa, etc...) Then the HR drops just as fast as it went up... and actually lands at a recovery rate.
If it feels good - keep on going. Listen to your body first. It's smarter than an MD/PhD.
ie - you push to the max - you go to 208. You stop - the HR recovers immediately.
The PROBLEM heart rate is NOT linear to exertion. It's when you're going at a normal run and your heart goes from 150 to 208 instantly and it requires you to intervene to slow it. (valvasa, etc...) Then the HR drops just as fast as it went up... and actually lands at a recovery rate.
If it feels good - keep on going. Listen to your body first. It's smarter than an MD/PhD.
Hello.
I can only speak for myself, but here are the reasons why I don't use monitors:
1. If I get aware of my heart rate, it tends to speed up anyway. I've experienced slow jogging with heart rate in the 180s because I continuously think about my heart rate and get afraid that it's going too high/being irregular/PACs, etc.
2. My heart rate during exercise is variable from day to day. On a "good" stress-free day (say, exercise saturday morning, relaxed, before eating breakfast) I can run long distances with heart rate 150. After a stressful day at work, after eating dinner, etc, my heart rate doing the same can be 180.
3. I really don't get any valuable information from the monitor. I can't say that "a good workout" is staying X minutes at heart rate 180 or 190. For me, a good workout is a good 5 km run which produces sweat to get rid of salt and other waste products, a relaxed non-stressed feeling afterwards and a good basis for a good nights sleep and a productive day at work the next day. I already know that my max heart rate is 208 and if the heart rate would go that high I would notice it. As long as the legs feel good, my breath is OK and I don't feel dizzy, I assume I'm ok.
Just my two cents here.. But I respect other opinions :)
I can only speak for myself, but here are the reasons why I don't use monitors:
1. If I get aware of my heart rate, it tends to speed up anyway. I've experienced slow jogging with heart rate in the 180s because I continuously think about my heart rate and get afraid that it's going too high/being irregular/PACs, etc.
2. My heart rate during exercise is variable from day to day. On a "good" stress-free day (say, exercise saturday morning, relaxed, before eating breakfast) I can run long distances with heart rate 150. After a stressful day at work, after eating dinner, etc, my heart rate doing the same can be 180.
3. I really don't get any valuable information from the monitor. I can't say that "a good workout" is staying X minutes at heart rate 180 or 190. For me, a good workout is a good 5 km run which produces sweat to get rid of salt and other waste products, a relaxed non-stressed feeling afterwards and a good basis for a good nights sleep and a productive day at work the next day. I already know that my max heart rate is 208 and if the heart rate would go that high I would notice it. As long as the legs feel good, my breath is OK and I don't feel dizzy, I assume I'm ok.
Just my two cents here.. But I respect other opinions :)
So here you have two different points of vew. I believe that heart monitors are a valuable training tool. They allow you to control your workout to achieve the greatest benefit. By getting your heart into your particular zone (which is a percentage of your APPROXIMATE maximum heart rate) and keeping it there will give you the greatest aerobic benefit by extending your workout. If you go full tilt into your workout, you won't last long. For instance, there's little benefit in running a mile at your maximum output when you could dial it back a little and do five at your target rate. I believe that with the exception of elite atheletes, the average person isn't attuned to his body enough to determine if he or she is in his personal zone, and that's what the monitor is most valuable for.
The formula "220-age" is not always correct (it's just the average). Some people can have max heart rate that differs 20-30 bpm from this and can still be defined as "normal".
My father have a max heart rate of 140 (where the formula would say 155) and my mother have a max heart rate in the high 180s (where the formula would say 160). They are both stresstested and they are both in normal sinus rhythm. I'm about at your age and during a stress test I went above 208 in normal sinus rhythm.
I believe that healthy people should pay more attention to how they feel during exercise and less attention to the heart rate. My cardiologist once told me to sell my heart rate monitor, and if someone don't have chest pain, severe shortness of breath or feeling dizzy during exercise, the heart is pumping sufficiently. Of course, if you have a heart disease, things would be different.
My father have a max heart rate of 140 (where the formula would say 155) and my mother have a max heart rate in the high 180s (where the formula would say 160). They are both stresstested and they are both in normal sinus rhythm. I'm about at your age and during a stress test I went above 208 in normal sinus rhythm.
I believe that healthy people should pay more attention to how they feel during exercise and less attention to the heart rate. My cardiologist once told me to sell my heart rate monitor, and if someone don't have chest pain, severe shortness of breath or feeling dizzy during exercise, the heart is pumping sufficiently. Of course, if you have a heart disease, things would be different.
The accepted standard for determining maximum heart rate is 220 - Age. So you're not far off. However too much time spent at that output will result in a quick burnout. Hope you can shake the cancer sticks. Good luck!
I'm aware of the irony, not so certain about the hypocrisy ;D
I thought as much about the monitor, but just wanted to check to be sure.
Thanks.
I thought as much about the monitor, but just wanted to check to be sure.
Thanks.
Sorry, I obviously get tired when I sprint. I meant to say that when I jog for 20 minutes I don't get tired or exhausted. When I do the HIT training, I will sprint and rest 10 times during a period of 30 minutes.
Also, when I go on a treadmill my heart rate never goes above 150 if I am jogging, even for 30 minutes. When I do HIT training and I sprint, my heartrate goes up to 180. But it comes down quickly. I don't get tired when I jog or sprint, only my muscles do, mostly my shins. The only reason I stop jogging or running is when I feel pain in my shins, not from tiredness.
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That said, 208 isn't a big deal if it was normal sinus rhythm. The HRM can't tell you any of that info. Try not to let it bother you.
For the smoking, it could take a few months for your body to reverse the damage to a noticeable level. The damage that does to your body is astounding. It's not limited to your lungs. It damages coronary arteries and other organs that must remove poisons from your body including your colon, bladder, and liver. I've always found it odd that a smoker would work out, there's a lot of irony and hypocrisy in doing that.