Dangerous Heart Rate

[LMJamie]

Hey everyone,

I've been putting in the hours in the gym recently to improve my fitness and generally help me to feel better. I always go full out and push myself to the limit, and am a firm believer that this will improve my fitness and health the fastest.

Recently, my gym has had cardio-monitoring equiptment installed and I have been using them to measure my heart rate when I exercise. Apart from a ten-minute warm up jog on the treadmill, I always push myself fast enough to get my heart rate up to 190 and it has even been recorded on two occasions at 209.

Is this dangerous? I occasionally feel slightly faint after an intensive workout but nothing more than to be expected after an hour of exercise. My mum is a nurse and says I should be very careful as 209 is exceptionally high. Is she right? Isn't it better to get your heart rate as high as reasonably possible?

Jamie

 

[earthshyne]

Originally posted by LMJamie Isn't it better to get your heart rate as high as reasonably possible?

Well, if "better" means angina and potential ischemia (go look it up) then I suppose so.

Let's use an analogy.

If you have a tach in your car, you'll note that at some point there's a redline. Revving the engine to such a rate is, in a word, bad. Not only do you run the risk of launching the pistons through the head and into low earth orbit, you also won't be developing any more power anyway.

Your heart is not that different. At such a high rate, it will have a hard time keeping its rhythm (hence the faint feeling) and no matter how much faster it pumps the viscosity of your blood simply won't allow the heart to push any more.

Work on the fundamentals first. Start slow, building endurance and muscle mass. You're constructing a foundation, and just like building a house, you can't safely make the upper floors without a strong foundation first.

 

[LMJamie]

Thanks for your reply earthshyne.

I play 5-a-side football (soccer) and want to be able to last for a full 60 mins while always having the energy to accelerate and burst into a sprint every few minutes to chase the ball. I've been told I should do HIIT but isn't this just the same as running at about a 180 heart rate for a 5 minute period then up to say 190 or 195 for about 30 seconds or so? I never get my heart rate over 200 for more than about 60 seconds, so won't getting it really high for only a short time improve my ability to sprint into full speed in a football match when i'm tired?

Jamie

 

[Alpine]

What is your age?

 

[Alpine]

Maybe he died.

 

[Don Chico]

When your heart is beating that fast, it does not work well. There isn't enough time for the blood to fill the heart before it gets pumped out. Hence, poor perfusion and a faint feeling. Work hard, but don't kill yourself.