Is my heart rate too high?

[Cheekychimp]

Started C25K today after a very sedentary lifestyle. During the run my heart rate peaked at 196bpm. Just wondering how high is too high? My recovery rate is pretty damn slow too but I guess that’s to be expected. Any advice/reassurance is appreciated. Thanks.

[John_W Graduate Ambassador]

How do you know your HR was 196bpm? What device are you using? What age are you?

[John_W Graduate Ambassador]

Would be helpful if you could post a screenshot of the heart rate graph - the whole thing.

Thanks.

[chunkypie Graduate]

As a rough guide it should be 220 minus your age 🙂 when I used to use a treadmill it always used to slow down due to my heart rate but always felt to slow to run on the treadmill so I ignored it. But I'm not an expert.

[Tasha99 Graduate in reply to chunkypie]

That’s really inaccurate. Ignore that measure.

[John_W Graduate Ambassador in reply to Tasha99]

he did

[chunkypie Graduate in reply to Tasha99]

Like I said Im not an expert just one of the many things I have rattling around in my brain like the "who would win in a swimming race, a mermaid or dolphin??" 😆😆

[Tasha99 Graduate in reply to chunkypie]

🤣

[ForestGrump63 Graduate]

220minus my age is 164 yet my heart rate went up to 174 on a recent run, according to Garmin 🤔

[chunkypie Graduate in reply to ForestGrump63]

Tbh Ive never measure mine since starting the c25k. I know mine would prob be to high so I never look 😄

[ForestGrump63 Graduate in reply to chunkypie]

Either the calculation is wrong, the garmin is wrong 🤷‍♀️

[John_W Graduate Ambassador in reply to ForestGrump63]

Very possible that your device is measuring your cadence instead... very common issue with wrist-based devices.

[ForestGrump63 Graduate in reply to John_W]

It does measure cadence that was separate

[John_W Graduate Ambassador in reply to ForestGrump63]

so at 174 bpm, how hard were you running? What was your breathing rate like?

[ForestGrump63 Graduate in reply to John_W]

It was a slog, not running fast, but ran for over an hour. My point is there are errors in both the calculation formula and the heart rate monitor. Garmin is correct on my resting heart rate as I can take my pulse when I’m resting and compare. My resting is 58 bpm

[John_W Graduate Ambassador in reply to ForestGrump63]

Agree totally re 220 formula and re: HRM. I assume yours is optical, wrist-based? I use a Forerunner 235 , with a chest strap. When they;re working well, wrist-based HRMs are reasonably accurate. And your resting HR will be reliable and accurate cos you're not moving, which is when the Garmin can be dodgy.

As for your 174.... was that a spike and your average was generally lower?

[ForestGrump63 Graduate in reply to John_W]

Yeah when I look at the data it was a spike at round 5k and thinking back I was on a 60 road with no pavement and cars coming towards me 😂

[John_W Graduate Ambassador in reply to ForestGrump63]

were you born in 1963?

[ForestGrump63 Graduate in reply to John_W]

Yes

[John_W Graduate Ambassador in reply to ForestGrump63]

So your theoretical max is 163 but let's say your true max is probably a bit higher).

If you're going out for an hour long run, then unless it deliberately a tempo pace, then you should be targeting a heart rate in the region of 125 bpm - regardless of pace.

[John_W Graduate Ambassador]

Finally, did it feel like it was beating at 196 bpm?

[Cheekychimp in reply to John_W]

Well my heart rate felt fast but then it did for most of the time. The measurement was from Apple Watch so don’t know how accurate. It was a hard slog as it’s the first ‘proper’ exercise i have done for quite some time. My age is 41 so using the formula suggested my maximum heart rate should be 179bpm or thereabouts.

[John_W Graduate Ambassador in reply to Cheekychimp]

So the 196 reading was probably false. You really can't trust these devices to give you accurate data...

In which case, ignore it the reading of 196 , carry on with C25K and make sure to keep your effort nice and easy and relaxed. Your breathing is your best indicator of how hard you're working - stick to a pace that is very slow and feels like almost no effort at all. Jogging - not running!

[Cheekychimp in reply to John_W]

Yeah breathing was definitely indicating that I was working hard! 😂 The 196 was a spike. The average overall was 155bpm apparently.

[John_W Graduate Ambassador in reply to Cheekychimp]

Ignore spikes - our heart rate monitors are very glitchy. Spikes happen all the time. For a 41 year old, doing c25K for the 1st time, an average of 155bpm is fine.

Crack on.

[IannodaTruffe Mentor]

Welcome to the forum and well done

on getting started.

This guide to the plan is essential reading healthunlocked.com/couchto5...

and includes advice on minimising impact, stretching after every run, hydration and strengthening exercises, all of which will help.

Forget the dodgy tech and run at a pace at which you can speak aloud, clear ungasping sentences as you run. This should equate to approximately 75% of your maximum heart rate and is the recommended pace for C25k.

Enjoy your journey.