Is it ok to train at 95% of your maximum heart rate?

Donna, if you don't have any cardiac abnormalities, or any other clinical conditions, you will be fine training at 95% of maximal heart rate. Just know that you won't be able to sustain that level of intensity for too long. Never forget intensity will have an affect on duration.

Here's an example, Usain Bolt likely is sprinting at 95% or more of his maximum heart rate, yet he can only sustain that intensity for the duration of the sprint. What happens after that? He slows down because he has exhausted his energy.

If you are going to train at the higher ends of your MHR you might consider doing interval training.

Hope this is of help to you.

Best.

Hi Donna,

I am sure you have calculated your maximum heart rate by the well-known formula of 220 - age. There is also another one called Karvonnen formula which throws in your resting heart rate and may give you slightly different number.

All those ways of calculating maximum heart rate are approximations; your actual maximum heart rate may be higher from that.

Training in intervals by intermittently pushing your heart rate towards the maximum rate is a well-used way to improve performance, and as long as there are no problems, is it a perfectly valid way to train.

Just make sure that you are not ending up over-training yourself.

Wish you health and fitness.
Karin Singleton
www.meltnc.com

Hi Donna,

I like to use the Karvonnen method as mentioned above along with interval training. I have three clients that are in good health that have experienced great results in there endurance and stamina. They all wear a heart rate monitor at every training session so that we can be very precise. I have built a spread sheet for the Karvonnen method that can be used on any smartphone or PC. If you would like it, shoot me an email. Have a healthy day!

Hello Donna,

Yes, it is fine; but, take the advice you already received here.

I like to do intervals to prevent injury and improve cardiovascular endurance. You do not want to sustain 95% nor would you be able to. Ask your doctor if you are clear for this type of training, to be safe. 95% training once a week in intervals is enough for now. Your age is also a factor, with so many other personal statistics your doctor should have on file.

Try interval training with very strenuous effort once the first session for 10 seconds. The second session try two 10 second very strenuous bursts. When you work up to it, don't do more than four minutes worth of intervals with the very strenuous efforts in there; four very strenuous 10 second bursts is enough.

Mixing up your cardio workouts is a good idea; so, do sustained work in between the interval session workouts. Interval training will last 20 minutes with the sustained cardio being 30 minutes long.

Take care and be careful.

I agree with Karin and others that the Karvonnen method of calculating "maximum heart rate" will yield a more conservative number. However I also have known of so many cases where an apparently healthy person with no 'obvious" heart issues have had exercise-related 'issues.' I ALWAYS err on the side of safety - particularly when no doing so could be very costly. Since you are seeing your physician fairly regularly, and he/she is doing basic blood pressure and resting heart rate testing, I would ask him/her this question. Your regular physician will have much more information about your current physical condition and any latent issues, if any, that you may have, so is in a much better position to answer this question for you.

See your doc!!!

LaRue, CSCS
www.lecffitness.com
larue.cook@lecfitness.com

Some recent trials have demonstrated the deficiencies in the various methods of calculating "maximum heart rate".

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11153730

http://www.nytimes.com/2001/04/24/health/maximum-heart-rate-theory-is-ch...

Using the Karvonen and 220-age formulas, you could underestimate your heart rate by 20bpm or more.

The best predictor is the talk test. If you feel that you're working too hard, you probably are. If you can still talk and can carry on a conversation, then you're probably not working hard enough.

As always check with your physician. Some people who have various heart, bp or other conditions (pregnancy, diabetes, etc) may need to work within a predetermined heart rate range set by a physician.

The answers given are all excellent. With regard to your question, the answer is what is your goal. Working at 95% of max HR is a high intensity effort. Is it competitive? It won't hurt your heart, unless there is an underlying cardiovascular condition.

Athletes work at 100% max when they are training and competing, but, as you suggest, that pace cannot be sustained for very long. When you are running the last 100 meters, 100% max is expected. i recommend that you do intervals up to your suspected 95%, then back off and come back to your suspected 95%. It's a great way to train.

Take care.