Forums >Running 101>Heart Rate
HiI've been running 5k twice a week for 2 months and have recently bought a heart rate monitor to see what's going on in there.Turns out I'm running at around 180bpmThat sounds very high to me and according to the max heart rate formulas that's supposed to be my 100% however when I run don't feel like I'm going to die...My pace is about 5:15 minutes per kmSo what's going on ? should I slow down ? is this ok ? how does that site with the zones (i.e. cardio zone 140-160)Thanks !
The formulas are usually not even close to accurate. I think it is important to find your true max (or close to it) and then figure out your appropriate training zones. If you google heart rate training there are ways to figure out your max which involve running some 800s and getting close to peak exhaustion. You can also do a max stress test performed by an exercise physiologist. It is important to know your max and your resting HR, then you can do some meaningful HR work.
Out there running since dinosaurs roamed the earth
max which involve running some 800s and getting close to peak exhaustion.
This is the only way to find your maximum heart rate. You run some intervals, each one harder, with the last one flat out. I'm not sure, but I think 400's might be better than 800's. If you are still standing at the end, you were not running flat out. Do it on an empty stomach, that way you will only dry heave.
It's a brutal workout. I did it once, and that was enough.
The charts are an average, they don't necessarily apply to individuals who may vary considerably from that average. i.e. at 60, my max is somewhere around 185-190, I think. I haven't tested it, but I've been at 182 on a tempo run, so I know I'm above that, at the least. Using a HR monitor is mostly of value only if you know your actual not theoretical maximum.
You can either test out your maximum as suggested above or run by perceived exertion. Does the pace you are going feel easy? Can you carry on a conversation with whole sentences? Do you feel like you are pushing to maintain that pace or does it come naturally?
This article explains it all, the formula wasn't even designed to be a standard formula; although, the fitness industry basically made it "the formula".
There are supposedly new formulas out there, but I've never found any to be representative of me. Recommend just find your own max hr and go from there.
http://www.nytimes.com/2001/04/24/health/maximum-heart-rate-theory-is-challenged.html
Excerpt:
In preparation for a medical meeting , Dr. Haskell culled data from about 10 published studies in which people of different ages had been tested to find their maximum heart rates.
The subjects were never meant to be a representative sample of the population, said Dr. Haskell, who is now a professor of medicine at Stanford. Most were under 55 and some were smokers or had heart disease.
On an airplane traveling to the meeting, Dr. Haskell pulled out his data and showed them to Dr. Fox. ''We drew a line through the points and I said, 'Gee, if you extrapolate that out it looks like at age 20, the heart rate maximum is 200 and at age 40 it's 180 and at age 60 it's 160,'' Dr. Haskell said.
run, rest & read
Im not sure of your age and background, but 5:15 is fast, especially if you're only running twice a week. It's not surprising your heart rate is so high at that pace. I don't know what youre training for, but if it's just general heal H, slow way down. It'll be easier on your body and help it adjust to the rigors of running.
I could be wrong, haroldjiii, but I wonder if you're mixing up kilometers and miles here. 5:15 per k is about an 8:27 per mile pace give or take. Not strolling, but not lightning fast, either. I agree we'd need more info to know whether that's too fast or not.
As for heart rate stuff, I have nothing to add there.
A list of my PRs in a misguided attempt to impress people that do not care.
For those of us who believe in gadgets and numbers, check out how HR reading can vary widely by devices, contrast my run last monday and a run this morning on the same course with a different sensor. Both are Garmin with the same watch, just a different HR Sensor/strap
Caffeine-fueled Runner
It appears that the second strap is not making good contact. When mine strap system used to soar like that, it was likely that the pads were not making adequate skin contact. I have switched to a wrist based sensor and periodically check it against against a strapped based system (that has proven reliable) to make sure that the two sensors have corresponding readings. The wrist-based has a tendency to "overshoot" when I start racing (compared to the chest strap), even though I am warmed up. However, it also quickly drops back and tracks the chest strap based system within an average of 2 bpm higher than the strap-based system.
PR's--- 5K 24:11, 10K 49:40, 10-Mile 1:26:02, HM 1:56:03, Marathon 4:16:17
Maniac #11112, Fanatic #14276, Double Agent #2335
As noted in several posts, the 220-age is not a very good way to establish maximum heart rate. There are other tests that are far more accurate. The one most cited is the treadmill test to "exhaustion" while attached to a HR monitor, though there are other protocols associated with the treadmill.
Another one alluded to is a series of 800 meter repeats with short recovery times to set both the maximum and the apparent lactate threshold heart rate. I've never done that one, but I've seen it referenced in several books.
Finally, there is the one I've done: a 30-minute sustained maximum pace run. I actually use an app to track that test. In general, the maximum test HR occurs just before you end the test (usually in the last minute) when you are well into your anaerobic zone (if you do the test correctly). The program assumes that under the test conditions your "true" max is 5 bpm higher than that measured maximum value (because technically you haven't run to exhaustion). I get slightly different results from this test in winter versus summer with a higher maximum in winter. My summertime max HR is "set" at 186 bpm. In winter, the same test suggests 189-190 bpm. It does not change the HR zones by much (about 1 bpm) between summer and winter. Moreover, the zones don't change very much either once you've become reasonably well-trained. What does seem to change is the speed in each zone.
Just to give you context, I am 64 years old, have been running marathons since 2013 (and actually resumed running in 2013 after two decades of not running). So, my max HR for training purposes is 186. The highest I've ever measured is 199 bpm at the end of a marathon where I was in a sprint to catch and pass five different people in the last 200 yards.
I've got a fever...
http://www.nytimes.com/2001/04/24/health/maximum-heart-rate-theory-is-challenged.html Excerpt: The subjects were never meant to be a representative sample of the population, said Dr. Haskell, who is now a professor of medicine at Stanford. Most were under 55 and some were smokers or had heart disease. On an airplane traveling to the meeting, Dr. Haskell pulled out his data and showed them to Dr. Fox. ''We drew a line through the points and I said, 'Gee, if you extrapolate that out it looks like at age 20, the heart rate maximum is 200 and at age 40 it's 180 and at age 60 it's 160,'' Dr. Haskell said.
Thank you for citing this article. I've posted this information here many times before. It's funny how the 220-Age took hold, probably only because of its simplicity. I also maintain that stress testing with non-athletes will produce scenarios where their legs and lungs run out of steam before they can max their heart rates out, thus further biasing that the max heart rate downward.
On your deathbed, you won't wish that you'd spent more time at the office. But you will wish that you'd spent more time running. Because if you had, you wouldn't be on your deathbed.