Intervals

W

Weight_09

New member
I need some advice on something. Well I have been reading on line and have seen that running intervals ie fast slow fast slow ect. Will help you burn more calories and also increase your metabolism. I also found out that my max hart rate should be 170 but when I am doing the intervals my heart rate is 200-210 and during my slow portion it only drops to 160. So i guess what I am asking is am I going to kill myself? Thank you for your time and energy.
Rob
 
Hi Rob,

A heart rate of 200-210 does seem a bit high but everybody is different and has a different maximum. As a general rule your maximum heart rate would be around 220 minus your age. You could always have a general check up with your doctor and see what they say?

Really tough interval training should be pushing you towards your maximum heart rate so there’s no need to try and keep it around 170.

I also wouldn’t worry about your heart rate dropping only to 160. This sounds quite normal to me.
 
the 220-age HR thing is terribly outdated and completely inaccurate. so if you're going outside that, i doubt it's anything to worry about.. during hiit, your HR should be shooting through the roof, this is normal.
 
Yeah, the 220-your age thing is really a rough (very very rough) guideline. It's not accurate for most people I'd say. Perceived exertion is a much more useful scale to follow.

Based on the 220 calculation, my max heart rate should be 179, but when doing intervals, I usually hit around 182 at the high end and then drop it down to mid 150s at the low end. Of course the longer I go for, the harder it is to drop to 150 in a reasonable length of time. :)

As long as you're not making yourself sick or feeling like you're going to pass out, you're fine. (Obviously this is based on the assumption that you're in otherwise good health. Usual disclaimers apply.)
 
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