Hi there, I have a question about heart rates, if anyone can help. I do aerobics twice a week and feel I am quite fit, although not at my best. However, I attended an induction for a gym on Thursday, to up my exercise during the week. While he was showing us how to use the machines he got us to check our pulses. On the very first machine, a stepper, after 2 and a half minutes my pulse rate was 185!! I am only 31 and not overweight at all, but was infromed that my heart rate was way too high! Is this correct and if so what could be causing it in such a short period??
It was normal on the cross trainer and bike, so we tried the stepper again, but had the same high reading??
Confused............................. :confused:

sounds like a faulty stepper reading to me. check it by hand if you're really concerned.

I suggest the same thing...The heart rate monitors on those machines can be whacky...But, I have the same results with a stepper. I usually use a stair climber, which is one of the hardest workouts ever (atleast for me). It all depends on the program you are running on the machine. If you do a fat burning program you're heart rate wont be as high as if you were doing a cardio program. And Im betting if you did a manual program your heart rate would be lower. Now, in case you didnt know, you have total control over your heart rate. In order to get the best possible workout, you should keep your heart rate at its "max aerobic heart rate". This will give you the best results. And if you find yourself shooting up to 185, just slow down a little bit.