Journal Entry Type #22: You Can’t Live Without a Heart

Posted on 10/25/2019 by Pisaries Creator

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As I was jogging the other day, I thought about how long it would take for my heart to go down to a normal resting pulse. I have yet to do this because I couldn’t remember how long you should wait before checking my recovery heart rate. I looked it up and it’s after 2 minutes so the lower your heart rate, the better. I plan on doing this tonight after I jog, but I did take my resting heart rate pulse today. It is 66 bpm and that puts me in the “good” range. My goal is to get to the “excellent” range. I also wondered what my target heart rate should be based on my age. It’s between 89 to 150 bpm when I used the formula from the American Heart Association of 220-43 (age) = 177 and then multiplied that by 50% and 85%. In other words, 177 x .50 = 89 and 177 x .85 = 150. My maximum heart rate is 177 bpm and you get that by subtracting your age from 220. I managed to get my heart rate up to 163 bpm on my last jog when I was moving at my fastest speed. It’s a little shy of the highest I’ve gotten it at 167 bpm (so far this year), which puts me 8 percentage points over my target heart rate at 93%. The AHA says well-trained athletes have a resting heart rate between 40 and 60 bpm. I know a few. Mayo Clinic says the normal range for adults is 60 to 100, but Suzanne Steinbaum, director of women’s heart health at Lenox Hill Hospital says 50 to 70 bpm is the ideal. It’s obvious the better shape a person is in, the lower the resting heart rate will be. Studies suggest that a resting heart rate higher than 76 bpm may be indicative of heart issues such as higher risk of heart attacks. It’s better to be active than sedentary, but not everyone loses weight in the same way due to genetics and diet. I need to sweat like a maniac to lose weight or maintain it. I’m still needing to lose 17 pounds, but I’ll get there (hopefully). Numbers are just numbers, but I think we can all agree a resting heart rate of 80+ isn’t good based on the charts below. I used to exercise for many hours every week, practically two to three every day, but not so much now. I’m older, in a different place, want more balance in my life, and realize my body doesn’t function like it did 20 years ago, let alone 10 years ago. At least, I’m getting out there and doing something because let me tell you, I’d much rather sit on my ass and watch TV. Good luck everyone on your health and eating goals.

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