Athlete struggling to increase heart rate

[jd2002]

Hi.  I've now owned my fitbit charge for about a week and really like it.  I'm a female, in good shape and exercise avidly.  My body fat is in the "athletic" range (14%)  and my resting heart rate sits around 43bpm.  I'm noticing that when I'm exercising, even with very high intensity, my heart rate registers around 120bpm.  I am going all out.  Exercises include crossfit (metcon workouts) and HIIT workouts on the elliptical (60 seconds all out 4 minutes slowing down but still exerting effort).  Does anyone else experience this or have suggestions for getting my heart rate up?  Would this be considered elevated since my heart rate is so low?

[Jessclutterbuck]

Hi! 

I have the same problem, bidyfat sitting fairly low at 13%, i train twice a day heavy weights & low intensity cardio with some HIIT thrown in. I used to have a chest strap which tracked my heart rate up to 204 whilst sprinting and this wont pick up nearly that. The highest I've seen it go is 160 and that's not for long. I had my fit but replaced but its still very unreliable, today i was using the stair master, counted my own heart rate at 154, it had me on 113. Absolute joke! Unfortunately i don't think these things were made for high intensity trainung. Just a general activity tracker! Im going to go back to my chest strap i think... I think you should get one too! Much more annoying but much more accurate x

[Dominique]

@Jessclutterbuck: that’s the difference between activity trackers (Fitbit) aimed at the general population and recreational fitness enthusiasts, that focus on 24/7 monitoring, and sport watches (Polar, Garmin, Suunto etc.) with chest strap aimed at competitive athletes like yourself, that focus on monitoring shorter, but more intense bouts of activity.

They do not need to be mutually exclusive: if you have both (as appears to be the case for you), use the chest strap for your HIIT sessions and similar, and your Fitbit for the rest of the time. You’re probably not going to wear your chest strap 24/7 anyway.

[Shalisse-M]

I am very fit as well, my resting heart rate is 40 and I will do HITT workouts and it’s not to often I can get my Fitbit to say peak.  I will go all out to the point it hurts and I can not speak and it’s hard to catch my breath.  It’s frustrating.  I have no idea .  I even keep my Fitbit above my wrist so it sits a little higher.

[jd2002]

The fitbit data can be super frustrating for really fit people. My heart rate comes down very quickly, like yours, and I never get a great read on any HIIT exercises. Numbers are off even when using a chest monitor. I have just accepted that it's better for me to judge intensity by perceived effort and am glad to be in such great shape 😊


Jamie Dana, MC, LPC

602-695-8398

http://danatherapeuticservices.com





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[Jessclutterbuck]

I got an iwatch in the end and when sprinting it gets to 208bpm... I don’t think it’s accurate all the time as it reads lower when I’m doing things like outdoor walking (I can feel my HR is not 113!!) but it is much more reliable I think ☺️

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[znakomi]

Commonly, folks who work out more than 5 hours a week have AHS, a benign condition (see the web), of lower heart rate. I personally think we have normal heart rate as this is what we humans seem so well adapted to do.

Resting heart rates for AHS people are 40 - 60 bpm, and for people who don't work out, 60 - 80. Please see the web for more info, but mostly because our hearts pump more blood with each beat, actually, it can be quite a lot more(:

Fitbit is not working out for me as they have no fix the the common AHS lower heart rates. I wanted to get rewards for Active Minutes through a work program for what I was already doing...but Sunday I biked 36 miles and got 0 Active Minutes.

This is specific to aerobic exercise, not static exercise like weightlifting.

Some say your heart has so many beats, if so being normal is a good problem to have(:

[jd2002]

Thanks for the response. I appreciate the information.

[Colinm39]

This is an interesting topic and now just over 3 years from my first post.... So my recipe, is keep active, eat healthy home cooked meals and get your sleep. Also have "time for me", very important.

My situation hasn't changed... I'm 80 next year and my RHR has averaged 54 for the year and my sleeping HR averaged 55..   I use the Ionic in concurrently with the Fitbit One and that is perfect, I never lose a step..  Had my first flu, shingles and pneumonia shots this year and a bone scan which was normal..  Steps are down this year because of elderly family support.. Yes, my in-laws are in their 80's and we are the youngest and keep an eye on them...

When exerted, I battle to get my HR up to 150, and maxHR for my age is 147..normally around 130 I get my Active Minutes because my Cardio level starts at 72 bpm.. and I get my 3 METs

I still have the missing heart beat, and the cardiologists have cleared me again..This time they checked me thoroughly because my doctor thought he heard something.. Result, my heart is normal size, all the valves are OK and my bloods are perfect.. All genetic with me..

Because Fitbit haven't released their other features, I purchased a Pulse Oximeter, Afib tester and waiting for my Finger HRV..Due next month. I have the HRV through Polar

My SPo2 is 98, Afib is normal

So I'm genetically made this way.. and as my doctor tells me.... "Go out and enjoy the day, breathe the air, look around and make the most of your situation."..

Thanks for the interesting posts..

[AnasAdel]

I think there is a problem with the Fitbit . I had exactly the same issue . The cross machine was giving me a message that I have reached the max power while my heart rate was 120 . So I removed my Fitbit and used the sensor on the cross machine and it was 160 . 

I don’t know how to solve it , but I really feel that it is underestimating my effort 🙂

[jasondean]

I've never been much of an athlete, but I did walk 10 to 20 miles a day as a server for many years. Resting heart rate has always been in the mid to high 40s. I run into problems trying to do things like play basketball, once my heart rate tops out around 120 I just overheat and have to stop. Can't dump the BTUs fast enough at the heart rate and my heart won't go any faster. 

I have always had low blood pressure as well, 90/60 range is not unusual for me and occasionally high 80s over high 50s. 

Not sure if this is a sign of poor health, or if it's actually a good sign. I don't get winded doing aggressive hikes. I can keep 3mph on flat or inclined trails for hours without really breathing hard, so from my end it feels like I'm super efficient at moderate levels but am not built to do higher levels of exertion without overheating. 

Don't know if this helps, just sharing that there's someone else with similar situation. 🙂

[Colinm39]

@jasondean  It's difficult for anyone of us to comment on your situation. It's the first time I have seen this on the Fitbit site about the body temperature and, what I call low HR.. for your type of activity..

We can only presume you have spoken to your doctor  and please keep us posted because this will help others in the forums.