Why Does The Difference Matter
Knowing that some children have lower maximum heart rates than others could change how schools conduct certain fitness tests, Dr. Zahka says.
Currently, for example, some fitness tests require students to reach 70% of their maximum heart rate.
For a 10-year-old, under the common formula, that means a target heart rate zone of 170 for exercise. But, if a child is genetically predisposed for a maximum heart rate of 180, he should aim for 70% of that, which is only slightly more than 140.
Gender also is a factor for exercise at certain ages, Dr. Zahka says.
Data shows that, at a young age, theres very little difference in maximum heart rates between boys and girls. That doesnt change much in adolescence, but it does impact exercise capacity. Between ages 10 and 18, a boys ability to exercise harder can increase up to 20%.
When To See A Healthcare Provider
If you suspect that you or your child has a heart rate that is too high or too low, see your healthcare provider. You’ll likely have testing done to determine the cause of your symptoms.
An electrocardiogram is commonly the first test performed to determine the cause of an abnormal heart rate. During this test, electrodes are attached to your chest to detect the electrical impulses as they pass through your heart.
Your doctor might also have you wear a portable heart monitor for a day to record your heartbeat for longer periods of time.
Be sure to tell them about any medications you are taking, as certain drugs impact heart rate. For example, beta-blockers slow a person’s heart down, while can increase heart rate.
Exercise Intensity: What Happens When We Go All Out
Muscle cells require two key ingredients to function: fuel and oxygen.
Muscles rely heavily on blood vessels to deliver the necessary nutrients and oxygen around the body, and also to remove by-products such as carbon dioxide.
The more muscles used in exercise, the more blood is distributed towards the active tissues.
When the intensity of the exercise is particularly high, the muscles start to produce another by-product called lactate.
Cells can also use lactate as a fuel although if production rate exceeds metabolism, lactate starts to accumulate and can interfere with cellular function.
The point at which this by-product starts to accumulate is termed the lactate threshold.
Any exercise intensity that can be comfortably sustained is usually below this threshold, and will have an accompanying heart rate. As it is much easier to measure heart rate than lactate production, heart rate can be used as a surrogate measure of exercise intensity.
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Quick Answer: Why Is My Heart Rate So High When I Exercise
When you exercise, your heart and breathing rates increase, delivering greater quantities of oxygen from the lungs to the blood, then to exercising muscles. Determining an optimal heart rate for exercise depends on your exercise goal, age, and current fitness level.
Cadence Monitor Instead Of Heart Rate Monitor
What happens to your wrist when you run? Your arm is counter-balancing the movement of your legs and thus your wrists are moving forwards and backwards at the same rate as your feet are taking steps. The number of steps you take each minute is called Cadence. This normally doesnt change much throughout your run.
When you are using a wrist based heart rate monitor instead of a chest strap sensor, the watch needs to be snug against your wrist, otherwise slight movements in the watch position caused by the arm movements are determined to be changes in light levels. Since thats exactly what the sensor in the watch is looking for, it can easily lock on to these instead. In this case, the graph will look just like Exhibit A above. Or if perhaps it will get confused and jump between the two, like in Exhibit C, with a few minutes showing real heart rate and few minutes showing cadence instead. Note that Ive included the cadence readout in Exhibit C and you can see it exactly matches the false heart rate value.
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My Heart Rate Climbs Very High On Runs Should I Be Concerned
How to monitor your heart rate, and when to worry.
Im a 53 year old woman, 57 and 160lbs. I began a walk/run routine two years ago and recently progressed to all running, completing my first 5K this month.
While using a heart rate monitor while running, Ive found my heart rate averages 140-150bpm, and climbs to 168-178pm when racing. I felt slightly tired while racing hills, but that was to be expected since I rarely run hills. Is my heart rate too high, even though I feel fine?
Vanessa
Vanessa-
As you have already discovered, heart rate monitors provide useful data about our heart rate response to exercise and training however, there are some discrepancies, especially when using the general heart rate formulas. The problem is that general formula begins with the number of 220 and then you subtract your agebecause in general, the average heart slows about one beat per yearfor your maximum heart rate result. These general assumptions give us a ball park figure, but are hardly accurate enough to base your training on.
One of the most important gifts running gives us is learning about our bodies. Enjoy that gift and use it wisely by listening to the signals and obeying them. Always listen to your body for the best training results.
All the best,
Susan Paul, MS
Susan Paul has coached more than 2,000 runners and is an exercise physiologist and program director for the Orlando Track Shack Foundation. For more information, visit www.trackshack.com.
If Youre In The Middle Of A Race
One of the keys to performing well is getting the most out of your physical ability.
Far too often Ive had a runner tell me he or she was racing along just fine and then boom, out of nowhere they needed to slow way down, Cane says. It might have felt like it came out of nowhere, but in reality, it didnt.
More often than not, the difference between a successful race and a disappointing one comes down to having the awareness to make minor adjustments sooner rather than major adjustments later.
In some cases, an athlete can recognize that their effort is too hard and can back off accordingly.
Oftentimes, by the time your brain has caught on, your body has been writing checks it cant cash for quite a while already, Cane says.
Determining an appropriate heart rate for the event at hand is a great way to help determine the appropriate intensity. If you see your heart rate drifting past where it should be, you can and should adjust, Cane says.
Ideally, Cane adds, that adjustment is a subtle one, and the combination of tuning into the bodys cues and the data from your heart rate monitor can help you know when to back off a little. That scenario is preferable to having to slow to a walk.
Of course, in a race setting, at a certain point you should just race and react and not worry about going too fast, but in the earlier stages, its important not to let your ambition get the best of you.
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Calculating Vigorous Activity Rates
Some people enjoy the challenge of training for a marathon or other fitness goal. Part of their workouts is incredibly intense. Vigorous activity equates to a heart rate thats at about 85 percent of the max heart rate. Most people cant sustain this activity level for too long.
HIIT or high-intensity interval training programs have gained attention in the past few years. They mix vigorous activity with a high, heart rate and moderate exercises. By straining the heart and body in controlled intervals, weight loss and a healthier cardiovascular system are possible.
Anyone working out at this pace, however, should be advised by their doctors. Accelerated heart rates can be too straining for certain people.
You Have An Arrhythmia
If you think of the heart as a house, over time, you can have plumbing issues as well as electrical issues, Dr. Titano says. As an electrophysiologist, her specialty lies in diagnosing and fixing faulty wiring, which usually appears in the form of abnormal heart rhythms or arrhythmia.
Some are harmless, but others %20is%20as,also%20called%20paroxysmal%20supraventricular%20tachycardia.” rel=”nofollow”> supraventricular tachycardia) are dangerous, Dr. Corbisiero says. Your risk increases with age, or if you have other conditions like high blood pressure, diabetes, vascular diseases, or sleep apnea. But, they can occur in younger people without other illnesses, too. Thats why its a good idea to watch for other heart-related symptoms and talk to your doctor if you have concerns.
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Athlete Resting Heart Rate
An athletes resting heart rate may be considered low when compared to the general population. A young, healthy athlete may have a heart rate of 30 to 40 bpm.
Thats likely because exercise strengthens the heart muscle. It allows it to pump a greater amount of blood with each heartbeat. More oxygen is also going to the muscles.
This means the heart beats fewer times per minute than it would in a nonathlete. However, an athletes heart rate may go up to 180 bpm to 200 bpm during exercise.
Resting heart rates vary for everyone, including athletes. Some factors that could influence it include:
What If Your Heart Rate Rises Above Your Target Zone
You might wonder if its dangerous for your heart rate to exceed your target heart rate. For example, what if your heart rate goes above 90% of your maximum heart rate, your designated upper limit, during a high-intensity training session? If you have a healthy heart, going above the upper range of your target heart rate shouldnt cause problems. However, exercising above your target heart rate zone consistently can be a sign that youre pushing harder than you need to and is an indicator you can slow down a bit. Doing this often also increases the risk of overreaching and overtraining by pushing yourself hard without allowing enough time to recover.
Also, if you have uncontrolled hypertension or underlying cardiovascular disease, you may put yourself at risk when you exceed your target heart rate zone. Plus, your target zones may be different if you have health problems or take certain medications. So, check with your health care provider about how vigorously you should exercise and what your target heart rates should be.
Keep this in mind too. The formulas available to calculate maximum heart rate are only estimates. Your maximum heart rate could be higher or lower than what the 220 minus age formula tells you that it is. Target heart rate zones are only guides. They arent written in stone. There will always be some variability based on the individual.
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Measuring Heart Rate On The Fly
You may be sold on the importance of measuring your heart rate, but gaining that knowledge is a bit difficult. Taking your pulse by hand is possible, although its not as precise as other methods.
Try a cardiovascular machine at the gym. Most of these machines have sensors where you grab on and see the current, heart rate. Use these sensors as a way to guide your workout. You may be surprised at the level of effort necessary to achieve your heart-rate goals. These machines are usually accurate because of their calibration required by the manufacturer.
When To Seek Medical Help For A High Heart Rate
If your heart rate rises unexpectedly on an easy run, you can start by going through this list of reasons and eliminating any obvious explanations. If youre sleeping well, hydrating, low-stress, and havent had gaps in your training, keep a close eye out for any other symptoms, including:
- Rapid heart rate at rest, or during other low-intensity motions, such as changing position from sitting to standing
- Nausea or vomiting
- Feeling like your heart skips beats or beats irregularly
- Changes in your bowel habits
- Unexplained weight loss
If you notice these or other abnormal signsor if your heart rate continues to rise, or stays at a high level over a prolonged period of timeits a good idea to check in with your doctor, Dr. Titano says.
Unfortunately, some health care providers can minimize womens symptoms, especially if youre young and seem otherwise healthy. So if you truly have the sense that somethings awry, be your own advocate in seeking answers, Dr. Friedman urges.
Far too often we find that women are told theyre depressed, theyre anxious, and all of these different things, when they actually have real heart disease. And if theyre athletes, theyre far more likely to be told theyre fine, Dr. Friedman says.
Be persistentthe same determination you would have in getting through the training for a long run for marathon prep, should be the same thing that a woman comes into the office with if theyre being given answers that dont make them happy or comfortable.
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Why Is My Heart Rate So High While Running
This question crops up all the time! You are out for an easy run, but when you get home and check the heart rate data from your sports watch, it looks very high. How can this be? Am I ill? Do I need to see a doctor? Why is my heart rate so high while running? Or more specifically, why is my heart rate high on easy runs? How is it possible for my heart rate to be that high when it seemed like I was going for a really slow run with low effort?
For example, at an easy, conversational pace, youd expect the average forty year old runners heart rate to be around 140-150bpm . At this effort level, youd be able to say a sentence of about this length without having to gasp for breath in the middle. But when you look at the data, it says 170-190 heart rate when running! Thats a high BPM when running, no matter how good you are, and would be more appropriate to a Zone 5, max effort 5K or interval session! Weird right? If you have a high heart rate when running but feel fine, this may solve it for you.
Firstly, lets state that if the data is correct, and your heart rate really is very high while running at an easy effort, you should definitely get yourself checked out out by a doctor. Perhaps your brain cant regulate your heart rate properly, leading to Tachycardia Arrhythmia. Its rare, but possible.
After youve read the solutions below, you should check out our course on improving your running form so that you can be faster and more relaxed on your runs.
Know What Different Heart Rate Zones Feel Like Stay Out Of The Danger Zone
Just because your heart is pumping and youre feeling fatigued doesnt mean youre working out in the danger zone. The key is understanding your running heart rate and those zones the aerobic system, the lactic threshold system, and the anaerobic system and what they feel like so you know when youve moved past them.
If you dont have a monitor , there are other physical markers to estimate which system youre training, such as the talking test.
Generally during a run, youre in one of those three zones. If youre working with a heart rate monitor, its easy to see what heart rate zone youre working within. But if you dont have a monitor , there are other physical markers to estimate which system youre training, such as the talking test.
If you can speak in full sentences, youre likely in the aerobic zone. If you can say a few words at a time, youre probably in the lactic threshold zone. And if you can barely get out one or two words, youve probably found yourself in the anaerobic zone.
If you start to hyperventilate or get dizzy, your heart rate is probably too high, and you should stop and rest, says Jason Lakritz, PT, DPT, physical therapist at Finish Line Physical Therapy in New York City and founder of Profunctional Running.
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What Are The Best Exercises To Do If My Heart Rate Is Continually Accelerated
Again, talking to your doctor is a good idea before you start any exercise program or workout plan, especially if you have an accelerated resting heart rate. If you are overweight and you simply have to lose weight for your health, then you may want to start with walking.
In addition, light weight lifting is an excellent way to get your muscles working again, which will aide in the fight to burn off fat faster. Dont lift weights that are too heavy, as this will cause your heart rate to spike. Start low and build up, slow and steady will win the race for you!
This process can be frustrating for many people because it is definitely not the fastest way to lose weight or get into shape. However, once your heart is healthier and your body is stronger, you can do more intense workouts that will accelerate your weight loss and healthy body program.
to use our workout plan builder and plan your workout routine from beginning to end!
How Do You Know Your Heart Rate
Your heart rate is a measure of how fast your heart beats and is also an important indicator of good health. Your doctor will always make it a point to measure your heart rate whenever you visit him for your routine health checkup or any health-related problem.
While the heart rate is routinely examined by your doctor, you can also measure your heart rate. With the help of your middle finger and index finger, you have to first try to feel and locate your pulse at any of the following places
- The inner side of your elbow
- The base of the toe
- The side of your neck
The wrist is the most commonly used and convenient place to check your heart rate. Once you locate the pulse on your wrist, you have to gently press on it for 60 seconds and count the beats. This is how you will know your heart rate, which will be in beats per minute.
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