High heart rate whilst training
Discussion
I've been fairly active up till now (I'm 38) and usually go to the gym 3-4 times a week.
My gym program is about an hour of cardio (mix of high gradient fast walking, bike and cross trainer), 20mins of stretching and core work and occasionally some weights.
I'm gutted though that no matter how many times I go to the gym, (this is my 3rd year on this particular program) i just don't seem to get any fitter. Whats more worrying to me is that my heart rate is very high when training - often up in the 170bpm's which doesn't seem good for someone my age.
Am i doing myself any damage training at this intensity?... and shouldn't my heart rate be coming down after all this time!?
My gym program is about an hour of cardio (mix of high gradient fast walking, bike and cross trainer), 20mins of stretching and core work and occasionally some weights.
I'm gutted though that no matter how many times I go to the gym, (this is my 3rd year on this particular program) i just don't seem to get any fitter. Whats more worrying to me is that my heart rate is very high when training - often up in the 170bpm's which doesn't seem good for someone my age.
Am i doing myself any damage training at this intensity?... and shouldn't my heart rate be coming down after all this time!?
Don't worry mate. Your heart rate is just an indicator of how hard your working - if you're looking to improve fitness, I'd be more worried about not going above 170!
What you'll find is that the fitter you are, the more efficient your body becomes and it will take higher levels of physical output to raise your HR to that level. You're not damaging yourself, far from it.
And if it makes you feel better, mine's over 190 on a very regular basis!!
What you'll find is that the fitter you are, the more efficient your body becomes and it will take higher levels of physical output to raise your HR to that level. You're not damaging yourself, far from it.
And if it makes you feel better, mine's over 190 on a very regular basis!!
mcelliott said:
What would you feel is an acceptable heart rate for someone your age??
Well you get told that max heart rate for someone my age would be around 180 - 185.If that were true I'm exercising at near max heart rate.
The machines at the gym are quite annoying too - they keep flashing up "CAUTION - HIGH HEART RATE" every 10 seconds when my heart rate reaches 164 and other gym users look at me like I'm going to keel over or something !
goldblum said:
Your program is alright for weightloss (sort of) but not for fitness.
How fit do you want to be?
I'm not trying to be super fit or anything, just trying to be healthy.How fit do you want to be?
I could do with losing a stone of weight so I guess I'm secretly hoping that my efforts in the gym will lead to this happening (although it hasn't to date!)
dangerousB said:
What you'll find is that the fitter you are, the more efficient your body becomes and it will take higher levels of physical output to raise your HR to that level.
I think this is my issue, I've been doing these exercises for over 2 years and I'm no better off now than when I started (i.e. my heart rate still is high for the same level of exertion I've been doing for 2+ years).Bandit said:
goldblum said:
Your program is alright for weightloss (sort of) but not for fitness.
How fit do you want to be?
I'm not trying to be super fit or anything, just trying to be healthy.How fit do you want to be?
I could do with losing a stone of weight so I guess I'm secretly hoping that my efforts in the gym will lead to this happening (although it hasn't to date!)
3/5 days per week.
Bandit said:
I think this is my issue, I've been doing these exercises for over 2 years and I'm no better off now than when I started (i.e. my heart rate still is high for the same level of exertion I've been doing for 2+ years).
Well if you've been doing it long enough, your RPE is probably reasonably accurate - it would just indicate to me that your exercise intensity is nowhere near high enough, often enough. Probably symptomatic of your worries that a HR of 170 is high!Don't listen to other people in the gym or machines - listen to your body. It's far better at telling you what's enough (and what isn't!).
Oh, by the way, any reason you "high gradient fast walk" and not run? I just skimmed your OP first time round and just read it properly!!!
Also, how many times when you finish a session in the gym do you feel like crawling back to the changing room?
Bandit said:
Well you get told that max heart rate for someone my age would be around 180 - 185.
If that were true I'm exercising at near max heart rate.
The machines at the gym are quite annoying too - they keep flashing up "CAUTION - HIGH HEART RATE" every 10 seconds when my heart rate reaches 164 and other gym users look at me like I'm going to keel over or something !
Just a couple of things, the figure that you've been given for your max heart rate/age has been plucked out of thin air. Max heart rates vary massively in people that are the same age, let alone at different ages. For example I'm only a bit older than you but my max HR is about 200, whereas I know someone who used to cycle for GB and his is only roughly 180. So the maximum heart rate figure has no bearing on someone's fitness. Also if you're going to base your fitness programme on your heart rate you need to find out what your max heart rate is. This can be undertaken in a number of ways, mostly through running or cycling. Once you find this out then you can structure a programme so that you know what zone you are training in (if you wish). One more thing, don't rely on gym equipment machines to give an accurate reading on your heart rate - you'd be better off buying a cheap heart rate monitor - something like a polar or suunto. If that were true I'm exercising at near max heart rate.
The machines at the gym are quite annoying too - they keep flashing up "CAUTION - HIGH HEART RATE" every 10 seconds when my heart rate reaches 164 and other gym users look at me like I'm going to keel over or something !
Edited by mcelliott on Wednesday 11th January 20:51
dangerousB said:
Oh, by the way, any reason you do a "high gradient fast walk" as opposed to run?
Bad back, I have compressed disks and one that's slipped so doctors advise no running. I normally walk at 6kph at a 15% gradient instead, seems to be about the same level of effort as a reasonable jog on the flat.Bandit said:
dangerousB said:
Oh, by the way, any reason you do a "high gradient fast walk" as opposed to run?
Bad back, I have compressed disks and one that's slipped so doctors advise no running. I normally walk at 6kph at a 15% gradient instead, seems to be about the same level of effort as a reasonable jog on the flat.absorb several times your bodyweight each time.Shame about your back.
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