Hi, I am a 26 year old female with no medical issues at all. Since March 1st I have been working out 5 days a week. While I was working out I just decided to check on my heart rate to see what it was and it said it was 192! I never used to check my heart rate while I was working out and when I seen that number it freaked me out a little bit. I am just curious to know if that is dangerous for someone my age? FYI- I'm not an obese person at all I am a little over weight but not by much, for the most part I can handle running a little over a mile before stopping. So just to ease my mind I was just wondering if anyone could help me answer that question for me. Thanks for any help.
Well, max heart rate is 220 minus your age (in theory) so max heart rate for you would be 194.
However...realistically I doubt very much that your heart rate was that high. Did you check it using a machine or...? The only accurate way to truly check it is to count the beats for one minute. Some people say count for 15 seconds, multiply by 4.
When I work out hard my heart rate is usually in the 140-150 range, and I AM overweight.
I am assuming you used the built in heart rate monitor on the machine...and I'm betting it was wrong.
Last edited by EagleRiverDee; 04-16-2010 at 03:43 PM.
Remember that the 220 minus age approximation for maximum heart rate is only an approximation based on a group average. Your actual maximum heart rate may be significantly higher or lower than what that formula may suggest.
What were you checking your heart rate on? If it was a machine chances are it was off. It is hard to get an accurate reading on machines. I use one of 4 treadmills at my gym and each one has a different heart rate for me. I would not focus on heart rate so much, unless you are getting winded and light headed. If you feel your workout is challenging yet doable I would not concern yourself so much with the numbers.
while i was mowing the grass i use a push non self propelled mower its all by my own strength and i am a little guy i only weigh 112lbs im 19 and when i got done my heart rate when i tested using the blood pressure machine i have which also gives my hr it said 120 but i didnt feel it beating fast at all checked the best way with your finger and it was only 108bpm so the machines are not always accurate and as someone said as long as there wasnt discomfort in your chest and you were breathing ok like you werent doubled over if your concerned see your doctor it cant hurt
Heart rate is completely subjective and not all that useful. I knew an elite miler who's max HR was 240 and another average runner who's max HR was 190. It's the % of your own personal max HR that matters, and not much else. So 80% max HR for person A is different than that of 80% max HR for person B. Let's say that's 170 for person A and 135 for person B. Their HR's are different. But, because that's 80% of each of their max HR's, they are working at nominally the same effort.
