Heart Rate?

[89911]

Along with the topic of heart rates, do any of you that run consistently agree with the maximum heart rate charts? I'm 46 and just got done running 4 miles on my treadmill. My heart rate barely reached 170bpm until the end. I averaged 10:00min miles. I felt fine the whole time and could or run at least another mile or so. I think my maximum rate according to the charts is something like 145bpms. At that pace I feel like I am getting absolutely nothing out of the workout and could do that for at least an hour or two. Are these guideline drawn out for the entire population including those that have very little exercise? My resting heart rate is about 55bpm. One sympton I had with a low resting hearbeat is that I occasionally would get an ectopic heart beat.

[Jandrews]

Interesting. You always hear about the generic "max" heart rate formula of 220-[your age], and then anaerobic and aerobic thresholds set as a percentage of "max". My wife is 34 and very fit. She regularly exercises at a heart rate of 185-190 for extended periods. This worries me, but she seems to be able to sustain it. She sweats a ton, but otherwise doesn't appear to have any ill effects. Her resting heart rate (or "idle") seems to run a bit high, like around 70-80. Given her fitness level, it would seem it would be lower. She does have Thallysemia (sp?), which is a blood disorder where, I believe, her red blood cells are "small".

This is an interesting thread.


JA

[Porsche-O-Phile]

185-190 is very, very high for a 34-year-old. Good on her if she can do it, but that's a very high rate.

Some people can just do it. In practice I've been maxing out about 190 (but I can't hold it for long), my "theoretical" max is 183, so it's not an exact science. A friend of mine (who's 35) can do intervals up over 205, but it's pushing the aerobic threshold. That's extremely high.

[sjf911]

Abnormal bradycardia is usually related to medication (beta-blockers or Ca++ channel blockers), a condition called sinus node dysfunction (Sick Sinus Syndrome), or "heart block" of some form. Pseudo-bradycardia can occur if you are having non-perfused premature heart beats (PVC's).
It sounds like you have a normal activity associated heart rate range and no symptoms that I would identify with a pathological condition. Low resting heart rates like that are normal for fit individuals with a genetic predisposition. It appears unlikely that you have anything to worry about.
By the way, the algorithm for max HR calculation is for sedentary, unconditioned individuals. Fit individuals can usually attain higher max rates.