Heart Rate whilst jogging

[DHM]

I had an AVR in Nov 06 and all went well, and have been back jogging cautiously for over a year now. Something nobody here has been able to answer me is what is the upper range of beats per minute should I be respecting whilst jogging? I'm 48yo and fairly fit; resting heart rate is about 50 and I weigh 82kg or so. My doctor (who admits not being an expert at fitness pointers) suggested holding back once my rate reaches 130bpm. I have a St Jude mechanical valve btw.

Any advice on how hard to exercise my heart is appreciated.

 

[mntbiker]

Welcome to the site. I hope you get the answers you are looking for.

Disclaimer first? We are not members of the medical community nor do we know your medical history... blah, blah, blah.

I would ask the doctor why he wants you to keep your heart rate that low while running. I am 41 (yikes) with a resting HR in the lower 40's. I will typically keep my HR in the low to mid 140's for my run. I am not particularly fast running at about a 10 minute per mile pace but I run very hilly trails. I base my running HR off my new post surgery max HR and what I am able to sustain for long periods. Plus my cardio knows what I do and has not placed any restrictions.

My surgeon told me when I met him at the three week post surgery check up to push as hard as I wanted I wouldn't break anything and if I pushed too hard I would know it. So far he has been correct. Of course refer to the statement above - we are not ... blah....

 

[tprice54]

Joining MNT in the medical disclaimer...I know nothing about you! However, I am 16 months post op and regularly get my HR in the 150's running. It is a good question ask to WHY there is a limit. Some meds will limit your HR, that is what they are made to do, so you will physically be unable to get it higher.

 

[SumoRunner]

I'm 60 yo and 17 yrs out from AVR. Resting HR is 55 and I regularly push mine up to 160 which is pretty much max for my age.

 

[tommy]

As others have said, check with your cardio about why he suggests limits. It could be that he promotes fitness and the aerobic range. If you want to perform (and your doc okays it), you'll want to spend time in upper ranges.

There are several calculations for max heart rate and the different rate zones. The standard method is to subtract your age from 220 to get your max. Then take percentages from there. There are other more scientific ways of determining your max. My method was actual experience. I reached 174 in a 10k race. I use that as my max.

I subscribe to the Karvonen method. I start with the same maximum, but use percentages between my resting rate and my max. For athletes, this make more sense to me. Using the standard method, my 60% rate would be 100. For me, that's not aerobic, it's not exercise at all. With Karvonen, my 60% rate is 60% of the difference between 50 (rest) and 174 (max) = 124. At 124, I can go all day and have a conversation (aerobic rate).

Again, your cardio may have a medical reason for holding you down. Check it out.

PS............ I'm 53 with a mechanical St Jude's. Started running 2 1/2 years after AVR.

 

[Philip B]

Max Heart Rate

Max Heart Rate

As someone already mentioned, it would be interestin to know why your doctor is recommending what sounds like a low max heart rate cap. The comments about us not being medical professionals is also appreciated.

I'm fifty-two and my present max heart rate is 177. My average heart rate runs in the mid-140's range when I'm engaged in exercise. It's not uncommon for me to get into the mid-160's for short periods of time if I'm really pushing it.

My recommended maximum heart rate was capped at a much lower rate after surgery when I was doing a cardiac rehab program. Obviously, my surgeon and cardiologist wanted me to heal up before I really started pushing things.

-Philip

 

[MarkU]

When I started training for triathlons I worked with a coach who had me lab-tested to determine my lactic threshhold (LT) heart rate. LT is basically the point where your body switches over from aerobic to anaerobic function.
LT heart rate varies from person-to-person based on heredity and fitness level. In my particular case my LT was measured at 159 bpm.

Obviously, if you're training for endurance events, you want to stay somewhere below your LT. I wear a HR monitor when I bike and run and do most of my base training at 75% to 80% of my LT.

I'm a big disciple of Joe Friel and his periodization training methods which rely heavily on HR training. Friel has authored several books, most notably The Triathlete's Training Bible.

My cardiologist is supportive of my training, but routinely cautions me about spiking my HR. He likes the fact that I always wear my HR monitor and tells me to slow down if my HR gets too high during a workout.

Mark

 

[Philip B]

Zone Training

Zone Training

Heart zone training methods have become quite popular and there are a bunch of folks out there promoting these methods. I've used material from Dr. Arnie Baker as well as Sally Edwards & Sally Reed. Zone training methods seem to work pretty well.

-Philip

 

[67walkon]

This has been bugging me, too. My surgery was almost a year ago. My recovery has been great after a little bump in the road a week or so after surgery.

I rode my road bike in a supported tour across the state of Geogia a couple of weeks ago. 442 miles in 7 days. The hills were tough on me, but the highest HR my computerized monitor showed was around 150. Most of the time, my averages were around 120.

No one seems to have any good information on HR issues for us. I understand why they don't want us to lift heavy weights and spike our BP. But when you riding a bike or running, and your HR reaches the upper limits, I don't know that it affects your BP. It seems to me that if working out near your lactic threshhold is what you need to do to improve heart health, we ought to do it.

I hope to get an answer in my 1 year followup with the surgeon, but I don't expect an answer. They have to be conservative. Right now, I back off when I get into the 140's, but I'm not sure I need to do so.

 

[ar bee]

I'm 3y post AVR, based on my cardio's reccomendation I do as follows:

(1) always with Polar HR monitor
(2) excercise in a range of 115-145 (I'm 43y plus change)
(3) average arnd 130
(4) 2-3 times a week

this allowes me to hike up a mountain (app 1450 meters altitude difference) without any problems at all and this is all I need at this moment in time.

We did a treadmill ecg the week before the last hike, HR went up to 150, no issues at all

best regards
ar bee