AboutTodd Bublitz, RCEP Expertise I can answer questions on Cholesterol & Lipids, Cardiac Rehabilitation, and preventive cardiology. I can also explain the risk factors for cardiovascular disease and most cardiac diagnostic tests and procedures.
Experience I have 17 years experience in cardiovascular disease prevention, rehabilitation and education. Researcher in cardiovascular exercise, cardiac function and cardiac testing. I developed and maintain Lipid-Clinic.com
Also run Nuclear Cardiology Research Organizations National Lipid Association
American Association of Cardiovascular and Pulmonary Rehabilitation
Preventive Cardiovascular Nurses Association
American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM)
Question My 21-year-old daughter uses an elliptical trainer at the gym and her heart rate goes up to 185 even when using a relatively normal resistance. She's 5'2", 120# and seems to be in good health. Using the 220-age X 85% formula which some of the other posts indicate is rather crude, this seems pretty high. Is this a cause for concern as to any possible cardio/pulmonary "efficiency" issues or is it quite possibly "normal"?
Answer John,
Your daughter's heart rate goes up to about 93% of her age predicted maximum heart rate. This is probably fine and no cause for concern, however there are a couple of pieces of information that would be helpful to determine if this heart rate really is "fine".
First; does her heart rate go up to 185 for a short period of time or does she keep it there for most of her exercise session?
Second, and probably most importantly; how does she feel when her heart rate is at 185? Almost without exception, your body will tell you when you are working too hard. If you are working too hard you will almost certainly not feel too comfortable. This is the sign to slow down a little.
Below is a Perceived Exertion Scale. We use this to help us determine how hard a person feels like they are working during exercise. We suggest that people exercise at a level of 3-4 for most of their workout. Many people will feel like they reach a level of 5-6 when they are ending their workout session. It is common for more fit people to exercise at a level of 4-5 for a good part of their workout. It seems that the more fit a person becomes, the more they can comfortably tolerate being less comfortable. I routinely exercise at about 92% of my age predicted maximum heart rate (I'm 40 years old) and my perceived exertion is 4-5 for the 30-35 minutes of my jog.
0 - Nothing at all
1 - Very easy
2 - Easy
3 - Moderate ("This is a little challenging and I can do it for my full workout time comfortably")
4 - Somewhat hard ("This is somewhat challenging, but I can go on for a while comfortably")
5 - Hard ("This is pretty challenging, but I can go on for a little longer")
6
7 - Very hard ("I'm getting pretty fatigued")
8 - ("I can't do this much longer")
9 - ("I'm VERY fatigued!")
10 - Very, Very hard (Maximum possible effort - "I'm going to collapse NOW!")
You may with to show this to your daughter and see if she feels like she is fitting in.
It is correct to say that the "220 - your age x 85%" is rather crude. This would be a guideline for a person who is beginning an exercise routine to guess what their higher level heart rate should be. Once people have been working out for a while, they can get their heart rates to higher levels and still feel very comfortable. This is the beauty of the Perceived Exertion Scale. As you become more fit, your perceived exertion level goes down (and so does your heart rate) with the same amount of exercise. A person who begins an exercise routine may get to a heart rate of 180 and feel like they are exercising "Very hard" ("I'm getting pretty fatigued"). Six months later, they could be doing the exact same exercise (speed, resistance, etc.) and feel lie they are exercising "Somewhat hard" ("This is somewhat challenging, but I can go on for a while comfortably").
I always tell people to "listen to your body".
I hope this helps and let me know if you have any other questions. I've spent a good deal of my career dealing with this subject and it can be difficult to fully explain in just a few paragraphs - there are always questions.
