Heart rate ABOVE MAX?

starship said:

OK,

My wife is 52, so her (in theory) max hr SHOULD BE 168, but she gets up to 175 and 176 and seems to feel fine.

Should I be concerned and encourage her to stay in her training zones?

Thanks

The equation: HR max = 220 - age has (iirc) a standard deviation of +-15 b/min, so you wouldn't expect it to be accurate for these purposes.

ric

ric_stern/RST said:

The equation: HR max = 220 - age has (iirc) a standard deviation of +-15 b/min, so you wouldn't expect it to be accurate for these purposes.

ric

Good Point!
I had heard that before, but had forgotten it.

starship said:

Good Point!
I had heard that before, but had forgotten it.

the equation above should never be used anytime. Please do some research or hire a coach for some testing.

Yes, don't bother with that equation. It's just a general guide so beginners can get a rough idea of what to expect.

I'm 45, so my max HR should be 220 - 45 = 175. But in reality I often see over 190, and a few months ago I saw 203.

Mind you, this doesn't mean I'm fast, just that my heart beats fast! 🙂

DennistheMennis said:

Yes, don't bother with that equation. It's just a general guide so beginners can get a rough idea of what to expect.

I'm 45, so my max HR should be 220 - 45 = 175. But in reality I often see over 190, and a few months ago I saw 203.

Mind you, this doesn't mean I'm fast, just that my heart beats fast! 🙂

Ditto, I have seen HR readings as high as 220 and I am 40. I also have a low resting. So does my Dad who is not particulalrly fit so I think there is a large genetic component. Like Dennis, I have very fast HR readings but I am in the fast recreational range as opposed to the elite athelete group.

Also, my wife sees very high readings any time she walks into a good shoe department. The mere site of Pradas sends her into the 200+ range. 🙂

220-age is a great rule of thumb, but it really doesn't account for the vagaries of human anatomy. It's like saying your shoe size should be a 9. There are lots of good books, I like "Serious Training" by Brown, et al. It offers a few different ways to calculate max and target HR. So, your wife could see high readings while she exercises which are fine as long as she recovers back to base within a normal period of time. At 52, a stress test under medical supervision never hurts.