HR really high for my age when using treadmill

[cb92201]

Hello, I'm a 67 year old obese male. I have moderately exercised regularly for more than a decade, but likely eat too much causing the weight issue. My resting HR is in the mid 60's and if I don't use the treadmill on a normal 70 minute workout where my perceived   exertion ranges from a 5-6, my average HR is around 90-100. On the treadmill however, my HR spikes to close to 170 yet my perceived exertion is still 5-6. My question is am I at risk using the treadmill (my favorite form of aerobics), or should I eliminate it from my workouts. Slowing down is not an option, as if I went any slower I would be going backwards (I walk at 2.0-2.5 miles per hour). Other aerobic machines with similar perceived exertion barely get me in the aerobic zone.  

[BruceBu]

Obvious question is how are you measuring heart rate? If it is an optical based system, you should check it with an electrical (chest-strap ekg-like) system, or even a finger pulse oximeter ($20). I certainly wouldn't give up my favorite exercise because FItbit says my HR is spiking 10% above max for my age, particularly if you don't feel like you are exerting particularly hard. Optical systems (Fitbit or anybody else's) are prone to picking up false signals, and the harder you exercise they more they are prone to misbehaving - works fine for some (most), not at all for others (probably depends on the details of individual surface capillary blood flow), but most exasperating is when they work only some of the time and you don't know whether to trust or not.

[GershonSurge]

@cb92201,

First, I'd take my pulse manually when your device says your pulse is too high.

I once read a study that shows the most efficient speed for a wide range of heights and weights for both men and women is 3.5 mph. It didn't say what the variance was. The point is, you may be able to lower your heart rate by speeding up a bit. I've experimented with this, and I've found I can keep my heart rate in the low 90's by walking slowly for 10 minutes and then jogging slowly. (I mean real slowly.) 

I have both the Surge and Charge 2. Sometimes, the heart rate jumps to 170 for no apparent reason for a few minutes while my manual pulse rate stays slow.

Personally, I abhor doctors, so I seldom recommend seeing one. However, given your age and weight, I'd at least check your blood pressure and total cholesterol. The bottom number on your blood pressure should be below 100. The total cholesterol should be below 150. You can get a blood test at your local blood lab without a prescription. If either one of these is out of range, it might be a good idea to get a physical.

[shipo]

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@cb92201 wrote:

Hello, I'm a 67 year old obese male. I have moderately exercised regularly for more than a decade, but likely eat too much causing the weight issue. My resting HR is in the mid 60's and if I don't use the treadmill on a normal 70 minute workout where my perceived   exertion ranges from a 5-6, my average HR is around 90-100. On the treadmill however, my HR spikes to close to 170 yet my perceived exertion is still 5-6. My question is am I at risk using the treadmill (my favorite form of aerobics), or should I eliminate it from my workouts. Slowing down is not an option, as if I went any slower I would be going backwards (I walk at 2.0-2.5 miles per hour). Other aerobic machines with similar perceived exertion barely get me in the aerobic zone.  

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How tight do you wear your Fitbit?  I ask because I have found if the tracker is at all loose, some activities, especially as I get further along and get sweatier, cause my heart rate to register significantly higher than reality.  The following is a heart rate plot from a run I took last week, here are the salient points:

• I forgot to tighten the band of my Fitbit my customary one notch before I went out on the run.
• The run was done on a moderately cool day so it took me a while before I got sweaty.
• The first two miles was almost all up hill.
• The third mile was a nice easy coast down hill.
• The fourth mile had a fairly significant hill both in terms of steepness and length; as you can see my heart rate started spiking.
• The first half of the fifth mile was down hill and I cooled a bit, however, between 4.5 and 5.0 miles was another long climb which put me over the sweaty threshold for good.
• Miles six through nine were almost all down hill, but by then I was already sweaty.

I'm using the above to illustrate a suggestion to tighten the band of your Fitbit before you get on the treadmill.  I'm only a few years younger than you and am also overweight and if I was to get on an indoor treadmill without a fan the size of a small airplane propeller I would inundate the surrounding area much the same as Harvey has done to Houston.

So, long story short, try tightening your tracker to the point where it would be uncomfortable while you aren't exercising.

Keep us posted on how you make out.

[cb92201]

Thanks for the suggestion. I will give it a try (tighten the strap). I do wear it fairly loose, but my thoughts are since I wear it loose throughout my routine (a bit more explanation here) which consists of not only the treadmill but other stuff as well. Yesterday's workout for example (I have stopped using the treadmill until I can sort this out) started with 20 minutes on the elliptical with a peak of 127 HR, then went to stretching and weight machines for 62 minutes, this portion of the workout had an 80-95 HR, and I finished with 30 minutes on the stationary bike with a HR of 80-100. Since 85% of my max heart rate is 130, the work out I did yesterday might be a little light HR wise but certainly is in a safe zone. The last time (about a week ago) I did the same workout with the 20 minute start being on the treadmill instead of the elliptical, my HR was 168 for the first 20 minutes of the workout, the rest of the workout was very similar to yesterday's in content and HR . I will try tightening the strap and try the treadmill once again and let you know what happens.

[cb92201]

Thanks for your input. Unfortunately since 85% of my max heart rate is 130, a heart rate of 171 is a bit more than 10% of what is recommended I work out at causing my concern. I do use the fitbit to measure my HR and have compared it to the measurement given on several of the machines at the gym where I workout with a +- 10 BPM. I think the best bet is, as you suggest, to use a strap on monitor to verify my findings, and make a decision. It seems so odd to me as when I use the elliptical or the stationary bike I have to really pay attention to stay at 115 or 120.  Even when walking outside my HR pretty much stays below 140. So the treadmill is just really kind of odd for me. 

[cb92201]

Thanks for your input. Unfortunately since 85% of my max heart rate is 130, a heart rate of 171 is a bit more than 10% of what is recommended I work out at causing my concern. I do use the fitbit to measure my HR and have compared it to the measurement given on several of the machines at the gym where I workout with a +- 10 BPM. I think the best bet is, as you suggest, to use a strap on monitor to verify my findings, and make a decision. It seems so odd to me as when I use the elliptical or the stationary bike I have to really pay attention to stay at 115 or 120.  Even when walking outside my HR pretty much stays below 140. So the treadmill is just really kind of odd for me. 

[cb92201]

I will try speeding up a bit. All my blood work numbers are in the normal range, my cholesterol is 140, and my BP runs 120 something/70 something most of the time. My Doctor is not real helpful with this in that he makes the assumption I'm trying really hard for this to occur..anyway thanks for your input, I will post how speeding up works.

[shipo]

Another thing to keep in mind is the heart rate zones are a very gross approximation; they are as accurate for any given individual as they are horribly wrong for the next individual.  Said another way, the 220-Age formula is extremely flawed and should probably be ignored for the vast majority of folks.

The fact is, some folks can easily exceed their calculated maximum heart rate by considerable amount and sustain it there while others would literally kill themselves if they got within 10% of their calculated max even for a few moments.  Case in point, I have a calculated maximum of 160 bpm, however, I can push my heart rate well up into the 170s during a long climb up a hill or when I'm pushing my pace during the last few miles of a run; that and I can sustain a heart rate in the low to mid 160s for an hour or more.

What to do instead of using heart rate as a metric for pushing too hard?  I coach lots of beginning runners and I give them very simple advice on this issue; breathing.

• If you're working out so hard and your breathing is so labored you feel you cannot catch your breath and are about to collapse, stop, NOW!
• If you're working out hard enough to cause your breathing get to the point where you can barely utter a word or two, slow down, you're working out too hard.
• If you're working out to the point where you can carry on a conversation in short sentences, then your pace for the workout is just about perfect.