Heart Rate When Exercising

[Tachy Matt]

What heart rate do you guys aim for when exercising? Specifically, is there a number that you don't feel comfortable exceeding like a 160 or 150? I was working on a recumbent bike today for thirty minutes and noticed I felt a little lightheaded and more winded than usual after I finished. I got my heart rate up to 145 at the end, but I'm wondering if that's too high or if I should do 2 sets of 15 minutes instead of all at once.

[corina]

Hey Matt, are you able to work with a Physical therapist or another professional? They could help you figure out what would work best for you. I tend to feel better when my hr goes up but there is a significant difference related to what I'm doing. I like a higher hr while rowing (I can do 2 x 4 minutes now and go up to 157) but biking always makes me feel worse (eventhough my hr gets up). 

[Tachy Matt]

I was feeling really good for the first 20 minutes and then, after I finished, i had to rest for an hour before I got up to do anything else around the house. Usually, I walk for thirty minutes a day outside, but it is getting extremely hot where I live, and so I look for alternative exercises to do indoors. There is a gym by my house, so I sometimes go there with my brother (who is studying to be a physical therapist) in order to try to switch up my routine. I've felt pretty good in the past when I biked but I went a little longer this time and a little faster. For me, it seems like if my hr stays at 140+ for a while, I start to feel worse and feel a bit oxygen deprived if that makes any sense. Personally, I've always felt better with a relatively lower hr. 

[katyroq]

I was wondering this same thing. What is a good target heart rate for us whose heart rates aren't normal? As in how do we know we are making progress and combating deconditioning?

I normally walk 20-30 minutes a day and my heart rate is in the 100-120s range. I don't feel like I'm getting a good workout at all, but even brisk walking won't get my HR much higher. I used to run a lot, so the other day I tried jogging for 15 minutes and my heart rate went up to 190 and stayed there the whole time. I felt fine, if a little out of shape...definitely nothing worrisome. But I don't like the idea of my heart rate being so high and i also do get very exhausted after running, so I'm probably overexerting myself.

So what is the correct zone to exercise in to condition myself but also not overdo it to the point of exhaustion? I have a feeling its in the 130 to 150 range but i haven't found an exercise that keeps me there. Maybe biking vigorously would give me a good workout, but since I'm not upright my HR won't be as high as jogging...?

[Lily]

I don't aim for target heart rates.  I exercise according to how I feel. Vigorous exercise is usually better because blood circulates well.  Slow walking and such let's blood pool enough for symptoms to occur.   Most of the time I will get my HR somewhere between 150 to 175.  I am usually tired after, but not crash-tired.

[shan1212]

I just got a heart rate monitor today and used it during a workout. During aerobic weight lifting like squats with weights or climbing a tall step with weights, it went up to 175. During the cardio only segments (which were not as quick as I would have liked), it was only in the 120s. When I walked upstairs carrying a basket of laundry, it was 135. I have one workout that really gets my HR in a good feeling zone (I am guessing 140 or so), so I am curious to do that workout and confirm what zone makes me feel good and gives me a nice exercise  high the rest of the day. Like Lily, I tend to go by how I feel. I am trying to increase V02 max capacity by running as fast as I can for 3.5 minutes (which is about a 10:15 mile), and then walking at a 14:15 minute mile to recover, times three. Some days I can do this just fine. Other days I struggle to do about 2 minutes at the 10:15 pace, give up, and walk the rest. Some days I slow down to a 16 minute mile. I am curious to see where my HR is during all of this, though I can tell you for sure it gets higher than 85% of my max. Ultimately, though, I doubt it will change how I exercise.

It's just so much trial and error. I feel like I'm more in tune with my body than a couple of years ago, so I don't get into trouble as much. Before I might have pushed through and done the workout I had planned. Now I say, uh oh, nope, this isn't going to work today.

[yogini]

One thing to consider is how you feel after exercise.  For example even if I let my HR go to 140 at the gym, my heart never calms down after exercise. I get headaches.  So even though 140 is normal for riding a bike, I know I have to keep my HR below that.  If you don't have any after effects, you might be able to push yourself harder.  There are some people on this forum who run marathons, etc whose drs have OKed very high heart rates for them while exercising.

Your ideal heart rate while exercising is based upon your age, height, weight and gender.  When you use an exercise bike or other equipment at the gym, you enter in all the info and it figures out your HR based on all these factors.  It's very different for all of us. And then when you have POTS, that also affects the target HR.  So the best thing to do is to ask your dr.  

 

[cmreber]

I asked my cardiologist about this because I was really curious too. For the most part, I've gotten my POTS under control over the past couple of years and I am finally back to exercise, but I knew my heart rate was going up pretty high sometimes, and I was worried there was a point I shouldn't go over. While doing the exercise bikes in spin class, mine will sometimes get to high 180s, and that is usually around the time I feel out of breath and sometimes lightheaded/dizzy. My cardiologist said he'd prefer I keep it in the 160s, but that it won't hurt if it gets up higher than that, so long as I listen to my body if I become symptomatic. The other factor he was most concerned with was not so much how high the heart rate gets, but how long it takes for me to recover. I got a fitbit and have been using that to try and keep myself in a comfortable range for my body. Although it can vary from week to week, it seems like I don't feel bad at all afterwards as long as I stick to the 150-160 range for the majority of the workout. But like others have said, it can be so different from one person to another, so it would probably be a good idea to ask your doctor what they think for you. 

[shan1212]

Today I got the book Primal Endurance on the advice of a fellow POTSie who claims that training in a low heart rate threshold (which appears to be about no higher than 140s) will allow you to build endurance and work up to more vigorous exercise at a lower heart rate. IDK, I'm worried about losing fitness if I start working out less hard, but I haven't read the book yet, obviously.

Today I did a workout video that was mostly cardio with some slower cardio with light weights sections. During the weighted sections, my HR was much higher, even though the moves were slower. Then we'd finish and put down the weights, and the instructor would say it was time to get our HR back up, as though it should have been lower during the weights sections. I wondered if using my arms with weights, which always seems to wind me, is why? Is it a POTS thing?

[looneymom]

My son's PT and I have read lots of information about exercise and heart rates. However, my son cannot tolerate doing exercise at a continuous heart rate for a specific amount of time. The fatigue issues are horrible the next day and it's hard to school work when you are exhausted. We both came to the conclusion that this must be an individual thing because my son is not able to tolerate a high heart rate increase for a specific amount of minutes.

I think I need to read the book on Primal Endurance. This sounds like the path my son and I are both on. We both go to the gym to swim 3 times a week and lift weights. We stay in the pool for 30 minutes and swim a certain distance. It's not a race, just to increase endurance. We swim awhile, take a rest and swim some more. Thanks for the information shan1212.