My heart only has two speeds!

[tsombrero]

I picked up a HRM and am giving zone training a try. My 80% mark is 144bpm, supposedly a good target. But my hr settles at 160-165 on my slowest jog. My fastest walk puts it at 128-133 and that won't get me close to a sweat. Both are well outsize the HRM's set "zone" and the durn thing beeps at me constantly. Resting hr is 65.

I'm 41, not particularly athletic but run 3 miles a couple times a week without much trouble. Goal is mainly to prevent weight gain as I love to cook and that inevitably leads to eating.

Is there something I can do to get my jogging heart rate down to the high 140's? Am I a genetic freak? Is the 165 level dangerous?

With cycling I am able to maintain a 150 rate. Will that lower my running hr over time or are they completely different?

I've perused lots of threads here but haven't quite found my situation. I've always just used my gut size as a guide to how much I should be running (with mixed results).

Cheers--ts

 

[Jrahien]

You shouldn't worry. Predicted heart rates are very inaccurate and variability is very high in the population, so there hasn't been one universally accepted heart rate range. (At 19 years old, my max heart rate is 211 bpm, which is at least 10 beats higher than almost any predictor equation for my age.)

Usually, target heart rates are just used as intensity indicators. If you feel that you're going at 80% of your maximum intensity, than you can just ignore the fact that you're heart rate is higher than whatever chart or equation you're using says it should be. If anything, the high heart rate could mean that you're in above-average cardiovascular health for your age.