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Question:
I'm a healthy 50-year-old woman. My resting pulse is about 50-60 beats per minute. When I run on the treadmill at a six mph pace for two miles, my pulse will get to 172. I get 35-40 minutes of cardio five times a week. Is 172 too high?
Answer:
The simple answer to your question is no, it is not too high. You sound like a very fit woman. A six mph (or a 10-minute) mile is a nice pace. I assume you are comfortable at this pace since you can keep it up for 20 minutes.
Most "normals" in medicine are defined by averages of healthy people. There is usually a bell-shaped curve where most are in the middle, but higher or lower can be normal, as well. For resting heart rate, normal is defined as 60 to 100 beats per minute, but trained athletes can have resting heart rates as low as 35 to 40, which is normal for them.
The simple calculation for maximal peak heart rate is 220 - age for men, and 226 - age for women. That would put your peak heart rate at 176. For most people your age, your exercise heart rate would put them in an anaerobic zone (90-100% of maximum), which cannot be maintained for long periods due to the build-up of lactic acid in the muscles. However, this is clearly not an anaerobic rate for you. Based on the typical heart rate formula, your heart is acting younger than your 50 years.
Training more vigorously, pushing your pace into the anaerobic zone, will result in improved oxygen utilization, improved cardio-respiratory system, greater ability to tolerate lactic acid build-up, and improved endurance. Competitive athletes must do this to improve. There is also some evidence that interval training - fast for a few minutes, then slower for a few minute - burns calories more effectively than a steady, moderate pace. Only those people with coronary disease or structural heart disease need to be concerned about keeping their heart rate below a certain level.
Keep it up!
Related Questions
A normal resting heart rate for adults ranges from 60 to 100 beats per minute.
Generally, a lower heart rate at rest implies more efficient heart function and better cardiovascular fitness. For example, a well-trained athlete might have a normal resting heart rate closer to 40 beats per minute.
To measure your heart rate, simply check your pulse. Place your index and third fingers on your neck to the side of your windpipe. To check your pulse at your wrist, place two fingers between the bone and the tendon over your radial artery — which is located on the thumb side of your wrist.
When you feel your pulse, count the number of beats in 15 seconds. Multiply this number by four to calculate your beats per minute.
Keep in mind that many factors can influence heart rate, including:
- Age
- Fitness and activity levels
- Being a smoker
- Having cardiovascular disease, high cholesterol or diabetes
- Air temperature
- Body position (standing up or lying down, for example)
- Emotions
- Body size
- Medications
Although there's a wide range of normal, an unusually high or low heart rate may indicate an underlying problem. Consult your doctor if your resting heart rate is consistently above 100 beats a minute (tachycardia) or if you're not a trained athlete and your resting heart rate is below 60 beats a minute (bradycardia) — especially if you have other signs or symptoms, such as fainting, dizziness or shortness of breath.
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Oct. 08, 2022
- Kenney WL, et al. Cardiorespiratory responses to acute exercise. In: Physiology of Sport and Exercise. 6th ed. Champaign, Ill.: Human Kinetics; 2015.
- Know your target heart rates for exercise, losing weight and health. American Heart Association. //www.heart.org/en/healthy-living/fitness/fitness-basics/target-heart-rates. Accessed July 31, 2018.
- Sauer WH. Normal sinus rhythm and sinus arrhythmia. //www.uptodate.com/content/search. Accessed July 31, 2018.
- Fatisson J, et al. Influence diagram of physiological and environmental factors affecting heart rate variability: An extended literature overview. Heart International. 2016;11:e32. //www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5056628. Accessed July 31, 2018.
- Laskowski ER (expert opinion). Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minn. Aug. 1, 2018.
- Riebe D, et al., eds. Client fitness assessments. In: ACSM's Guidelines for Exercise Testing and Prescription. 10th ed. Philadelphia, Pa.: Wolters Kluwer Health Lippincott Williams & Wilkins; 2018.
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