heart rate question

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dok

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Hello,

I started working out at my gym again, and was trying out one of the new elliptical machines with heart rate monitor - and got mighty curious :

at first my heart rate was going up steadily, my 'target' was 160 (not sure if thats a good or bad target, i'm pretty ignorant about these things - i'm 23 years old, btw). about 5 minutes into it (i think), with my speed staying about the same - my heart rate had reached about 148'ish when it all of a sudden dropped rather rapidly down to 136-7. it was like 1 digit every other second. this worried me - is this normal?

also not sure if it was a hallucination, but i think i also felt the lightest pain in my left chest - but like i said, if anything it was incredibly light.

just lookin for some feedback on this - any and all would be appreciated
thanks
 
well, its not uncommon for those heart rate monitors to get bad readings if your hands are very sweaty. I've been at 158bpm steady, and then suddenly after wiping the sweat off my brow, it'll state 113bpm. If I wipe off my hands on my shirt and grip the sensors a 3rd time, it'll shoot back up to the 150's.

are you extremely overweight? if not, then 158 for a max is reasonable and not dangerous, especially at your age (barring unknown heart conditions you could have).

Keep an eye on it. if it worries you, go see your doctor about a standard physical.
 
malkore - thanks for the feedback :)

oh no I'm not particularly overweight - if anything i'm rather thin
5'10 - 170 lbs

I wasnt really worried about my peak - just the drop - you're right it could have been the sensors, those things aren't the most reliable in the world, but i was just wondering if it was 'normal' for heart rates to drop during a workout - like if the body got accustomed to a certain level of intensity - but I dont think thats the case - thanks again :)
 
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