How fast is too fast for a 48 yr old womans heart beat when exercising?

[daisydigger]

I am 48 yrs old  and have just joined a gym, whilst exercising quite hard on a running machine, my heart rate said 189,  i did not feel like it was going to quick, or any other symptoms.    I have never smoked, i am not over weight, is this dangerous?   I am a woman by the way.
thanks.

[greendave]

Hi there
on the execise trail is good but starting off you need to take it steady.
the normal calculation for heart rate when exercising is 220-age (48) = 172
172 is the MAXIMUM safe heart rate but you should be aiming for 60% of this initially moving up to 70% as you get fitter.
So 60% gives you 103
70% gives you 120
MMMMMM you are forcing far too hard so slow down.
Also aim for 2 to 3 sessions a week of at leat 20 minutes for best effect.
Remember you are aiming to get fit not stress your body and another simple rule that I use a lot up the mountains is the TALK TEST - you can be breathing hard but should still be able to talk  - although if I'm on my own I tend to skip this as I don't want to be locked away!!
dave

[MAB22]

I agree.  The measure of your cardiovascular fitness will be your resting heart rate.  They say first thing in the morning, before get out of bed (maybe a few minutes of lying there), measure heart rate.  A good resting heart rate would be between 60-85 (however, optimal would be 60-75).  Up to 100 is acceptable, but indicates low cardiovascular fitness.  Check out Sally Edward's book on Heart Zone Training.  She says fitness improves from 70-80% of target heart rate (calculated by greendave).  However, should slowly improve to this.  Working out too hard can cause increase in resting heart rate.  I am on 25 mg Atenolol because resting heart rate was too high.  I wish I had known about this stuff two years ago, as I would have taken training more seriously.  I am able to get my heartrate into proper zone during exercise and this has improved my blood pressure.  May try Polar Heart rate monitor for training.  Hope this helps.    

[daisydigger]

Thanks for your comments, my resting heartbeat is 68.  I will checkout the book you recommended.
many thanks,
daisydigger.

[daisydigger]

Thankyou,
will slow down a little, just tend to throw myself into things.
daisydigger.