Why is my heart rate so high when I work out?

Question

I never really used to pay attention to my heart rate when I worked out, but after talking to my mom she told me that its really important to keep your heart rate between 60 and 80 percent of your max heart rate while working out, because if you go higher you're burning muscle instead of fat. I'm 19 so my heart rate range is 120-160 bpm. Today when I worked out, I did so much less than I normally do and barely even broke a sweat while doing cardio, yet my rate was an average of about 160. Afterwards, I'm not even that tired. Normally when I worked out my heart rate would easily get to 180 bpm. I'm just looking for an explanation or any suggestions on why this is happening and how I can go about burning fat better?

Anonymous · Accepted Answer

I'm no expert on the subject, but I do believe your mom may be wrong, if you're heart rate is above 160BPm then your will create lactic acid, this is the result of  harnessing the energy from carbs with a severe lack of oxygen present.

Your heart rate may be high because you are either stressed, drink coffee, tea or anything with caffeine in it, also fizzy drinks can increase your heart rate. If you are overweight then  this can also contribute towards heart rate. What type of exercise do you do? If its sprinting or anything where a lot of effort is put in for a short amount of time then it is normal to have a high heart rate as your heart tries to deliver more oxygen to the muscles - also if you exercise regularly, or only for short periods of time then you should not be very tired after exercise unless the workout is intense.  

You can burn fat by doing cardiovascular exercises where your heart rate is over 60% of your max heart rate for at least 30 minutes continuously. Eat less fatty foods and fizzy drinks, basically all of the common sense things that make sense

Anonymous · Answer

You should see a doctor about your heart rate.  For me I believe the best way to lose weight is through a combination of strength training and "diet".  

As far as cardio is concerned, I believe your typical cardio routines burn more muscle than fat.

I advocate High Intensity Interval Training.  More info here: http://www.exercisesforflatstomachnow.com

Anonymous · Answer

i think it's a good thing. Just don't go too high


http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20120305093043AAdD7Oz

SOrry posted in the wrong section.

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Why is my heart rate so high when I work out?

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