Quick Max HR question.

iceage

Not looking for medical advice. I'm back jogging/running for a couple of years now, lost a nice bit of weight I had to lose and I'm generally out 2-3 times a week with handy distances ranging from roughly 3-8 miles. When in the mood I'm happily knocking out 10k a couple of times a week.

I'm 42 and male and according to the HR meters out there my max is supposed to be 178ish but I find I do most of my decent running when in the low 170's which I reach in about the first mile or two and can hold it there for quite some time in fact most of my run on the level. I am not by any stretch a fast runner though.

My suggested happy place is in the 157's which I was able to do when I started back running, now I can do that but I find I have to crawl along to keep it down in that range! Is this unusual? Is there any of you in a similar position? Have to say I'm feeling fine with my routine and not under any undue pressure and having a ball now the weather is on the turn

menoscemo

If you are running comfortably in the low 170's then your max Hr is most certainly not 178.
The only way to accurately measure your max Hr is by running flat out for a sustained period, to the point of exhaustion (and even then you will probably not actually reach your true max).

If I were you I would base my zones off a much higher max until you get a more accurate picture of what your actual Max HR is (maybe try a 5-10k race and push yourself to your limit.)

Schildkroetla

Heart rate is an awfully individual thing. The heart rate zones you will usually find in literature are "general suggestions", but each person's heart rate is quite individual. If I stuck to my suggested work-out heart rate, I would get as far as brushing my teeth.

You could have your max. heart rate determined by a doctor during a stress test, you could run a specific intervall sequence (which I am not going to post here as I don't want this to be seen as medical advice) and monitor your heart rate during that which will tell you roughly what your maximum heart rate is and you then calculate what 60%, 70%, 80%, etc. of that is, or you can just run by the seat of your pants and decide that as long as it doesn't feel too strenuous and you don't feel in any way weak or light headed, you are running at your correct heart rate.

I personally do monitor my heart rate while running, swimming and cycling, but I'm not too worried if I don't run within the general heart rate zone. I just check it to see that it's not going to extremes.

Sport101

Get out onto the track, run a few (3 or 4) 800s as hard as you can, with 2 mins recovery, check your heart rate after each one, and the average should give your max or thereabouts.

TFBubendorfer

Sport101 wrote: »

Get out onto the track, run a few (3 or 4) 800s as hard as you can, with 2 mins recovery, check your heart rate after each one, and the average should give your max or thereabouts.

How can the average be the max?
The max would be closer to the true max!

Sport101

HRMs are not always bang on the money.

nosnagaoithe

iceage : to give you an idea - I ran a few hard 400M reps and got a max HR of 203. I am 34 and reasonably fit, with resting heart rate of about 44. As a previous poster said, it's a very individual thing.

iceage

Cheers guys, As I thought its not unique, and by the sounds of it nothing to be concerned about. Might take some of your advice and try the 400 dashes, and take an average for a max, then figure back my happy spot.

menoscemo

iceage wrote: »

Cheers guys, As I thought its not unique, and by the sounds of it nothing to be concerned about. Might take some of your advice and try the 400 dashes, and take an average for a max, then figure back my happy spot.

to find a max, you should definately take a max, not an average

iceage

sorry about the last post..was in a rush.