Hi, everyone.
I have noticed, during workout sessions, that my heart rate gets up into the really high range. While I have been on the treadmill, for example, it has been clocked at about 170 to 175 bpm (sometimes even as high as 180!) while I'm running (and I'm not running too terribly fast). I feel perfectly fine during this time, however, as I'm not out of breath, fatigued, or anything. I'm 24 years old, female, and I'm in pretty good health. According to the treadmill, my target heart rate is around 127 bpm.

Is 170 to 180 bpm a dangerously high heart rate while working out? Shouldn't my heart have exploded at this rate :eek: ? What bpm would be considered too high for me? My feelings are that my heart rate will slowly decrease as I increase my fitness level. Is this true?


By the way, I do drink caffeinated sodas, and I do have slight anxiety/depression. Could these figure into the heart rate equation?

Thanks in Advance :D ,
Colleen

170-180 bpm is above aerobic exertion levels. But not so high that it's beyond the hearts' max zone.

The body type, fitness levels, age, sex, blood pressure, body fat levels etc, affect heart rate during exercise (incl caffeine and noticing a high heart rate :) ). The heart rate will drop as your fitness levels increase.

A target HR of 127 bpm is around 50% intensity (zones are fat-burning/energy-efficient:60-70%; aerobic:70-80%; anaerobic:80-90%; redline:90%-)

170-180 bpm is in the anaerobic zone ie 80-90% intensity (muscles are using up more oxygen than is being breathed in). It's the level short distance track runners like 100m would train and run at.

Max heart rate can very roughly be calculated by subtracting your age (24) from 220. So MHR would be about 195 bpm for you.

Painjunkie,
Thank you so much! Your post was very helpful and reassuring to me :) . I now feel much more confident about going out there to increase my level of fitness.

Actually, my bpm is decreasing, even as I increase my exertion level--woo hoo!--so I am pleased with the results. It now tops off, with my current level of activity, at about 165 to 170 bpm. Unfortunately, I had to give up my gym membership for the moment, as the three-year contract was making me really nervous, so I'm not currently exercising in a gym setting, but I am still jogging, lifting weights/objects I can find around my house *grinz*, and dancing around (my passion, actually :-)). I hope to re-enroll in another gym, which has month-to-month membership, very soon, so I will be getting back into it.

Again, thank you for your post! By the way, I have been making a conscious effort to reduce my caffeine intake, as I have known for quite a while that it isn't good for me :D . So, hopefully, that will improve my overall health, too.

Colleen