What I consider a very high heart rate during exercise
This isn't related to me but to a guy who is a member of my local tri club. He's 36 years old and has been into triathlon for about one year. He was previously overweight but has gotten himself into pretty good shape. He posted some numbers recently regarding his HR during training and I thought his numbers seemed high. His resting HR is 56. 50-70 mile rides at what he considered average RPE for that distance resulted in average HR numbers around 170. His recent 10 mile run a few days ago in cool weather at a 10:30/mile pace resulted in an average HR of 175 bpm. He uses both a Garmin and a Polar watch and the numbers are similar so it doesn't appear to be a faulty device.
Those HR numbers seem really high to me. I'm thinking he has some kind of medical issue which results in his HR drifting that high or he's going way too hard in training (and not in a good way). Do those numbers seem out of the ordinary? I literally don't think I could actually finish a 10 mile run averaging 175 bpm. Those are HR #'s I see during VO2 sessions and it's only for a couple of minutes.
Comments
I'm no expert and it probably would be good to get it checked out. I did know one guy who had a super high HR max, something like 240. So if he happens to be one of those individuals a 175 may not be that high. I know for me I fit fairly well in to the 220-age (+5-7) so a 175 would be a very difficult workout for me at 40 and not an average that I would see on a 10 mile run either.
If it was me and I was new to sport I'd get it checked out. Personally I've know my max HR for a long time having done VO2 tests on a treadmill several times in my late teen's and early 20's. Basically run till you can't any more so I have a good idea of what my HR should and should not be doing.
Gordon
I think there's a considerable variety in heart rates, with recorded max HRs among highly competitive (Olympic) athletes ranging from 150 to over 250. I think what matters more is the percentage of your own max HR that you can sustain for long periods of time. If this guy naturally has a high Max HR, then he might be fine sustaining these numbers and they might not even be a very high percentage of his max. Someone with a lower Max HR would be completely tapped out trying to hold those same numbers.
+1 Robin. Heart rates are highly variable across the population and this person may have a naturally high max HR BUT like the ads say, always see your doctor before starting an exercise program. Esp if he was overweight/unhealthy prior to starting.
I've heard the saying "heart rates are like your salary and not discussed in polite conversation"! LOL
Yes I understood that the 175 was an average and it may or may not be a concern. There is a decent size of the population that meets the 220-age for max HR. While I only have ever men one guy with a very high max HR I have read other stories as well with a high max HR and higher training HR. I guess I did not explainthe latter correlation in my first post. The individual that I knew his HR would get well above mine for similar level workouts. We did not have HR monitors but when the HR was checked at certain intervals and end of workouts he was always a good 10-15 bpm above me.
Also having said that I'm not sure he was even check out but he never had any issues while I knew him. We have since lost contact so I don't have any further information that I could seek.
Gordon
Robin +2
But if he's coming off a sedendary life and has had a big weight loss he may want to get a check up with a doc, for many reasons. That said, in my experience:
Rich - you have *no idea* how glad I am to know that it is not just me. I get very much the same thing for bike/run with my lovely wife as well.
I can't get her to look at HR while on her trainer, nor run to a pace either on the TM or outdoors. But then she asks, "What should I do tomorrow?" aarrrgggghhhH!
When she was training for the St George Marathon she wouldn't listen to anything I said. Or would question EVERY item of advice I gave her. But she would listen to our friend Marvin who I coached for a couple years and was an EN member, plan athlete for a bit. So I would tell Marvin what to tell her because if it came from me...she would question it and wouldn't listen to the answer anyway. But if it came from Marvin...grrrrr.......