Should my heart rate be //that// high?

So I've recently moved from working out on bikes and treadmills at my gym to using elliptical machines.

My heart rate is through the roof. I just don't understand it. I'll be going maybe 6 miles an hour on the lowest resistance, and my HR is up at like 170-175 easily. I go with my brother sometimes, and he has to go 12 or 13 mph to get his up to 150 or so.

What on earth is going on? Is it just because I'm not used to the exertion? Will this pass? And how dangerous is that? Should I be worried?

Hey there.  I am still new to exercising.  However I am in the EXACT same boat as you with the elliptical.  When I first started 2 weeks ago my heart rate would be up to 175.  After doing if for 2 weeks, about 8 days I have noticed my heart rate has dropped to 165-167 on the same resistance and effort.  I have started doing intervals of going really fast then back down to where my heart rate gets below 165 then I will pump it back up and when it reaches 170 I'll slow back down.  I don't go by the miles per hour so to say, I go by what my heart rate says. I do this for about 25mins then get on the recumbent bike b/c it keeps my HR in the 155 area.

I talked to one of the men at the gym and he said that as long as you don't feel like you are going to pass out or get a headache then it is ok to have a heart rate at 170.  He said it is just b/c you are out of shape and that the more you do it the lower your heart rate will get.  Obviously he is right.  Mine has gone down in just 2 weeks.  I have way more stamina now. 

The elliptical is AWESOME.  Good luck to you!

Your max heart rate is whatever it is.  I've technically gone over my max lots of times and I didn't die so I wouldn't worry about it- also if you are trusting the machines for the heart rate those things aren't worth the powder to blow them to heck.  Get a heart rate monitor or take your pulse. Better yet go by the perceived rate of exertion.

It's also because you're using your muscles in a way that you're not used to yet - swimming, running, biking, or the elliptical are all cardio, but place different demands on your muscles, and getting better at one doesn't translate well over to any other. There's very few world-class swimmers who are also world-class cyclists...

 Ahem. Anyway - your heart rate is that high partially because the monitor on such gym gear is worse than useless, partially because you're starting over with something new - betcha your heart rate was up high when you first took up running.

And you you can't compare your heart rate to your brother's or anyone else's.  Compare heart rates as a percent of your maximum, not as a raw number.

Thanks everyone. I thought maybe it was because my poor body wasn't used to it, but I thought I'd make sure.

Nice to know I'm not in any danger. :D

That happened to me too...now I have to work a bit harder to get my hb to 70% or more of resting rate.  For years I've had high heart beat at resting...and now I'm thrilled I've dropped this by 20 or more points.  My doc will be too.  Go health!!

Everybody has a different target heartrates. As you build endurance your heart rate should go down and you will have to up your workout. I see patients in the hospital that function well at high heart rates while others function well at low. We all have different "norms" our bodies function at. Whats important is calculating your resting heart rate and figuring out your target heart rate ( for me I do 70-80%) and trying not to go over that. You just want to make sure you don't become anaerobic and create lactic acid in your muscles.

I wouldn't worry about it.  Those zones are just for reference so they don't apply to everyone.  My max HR is 208, and I will see it go over 190 if I am doing a short distance race at a hard effort.  I'm a 29 year old female and if I paid attention to those charts, I probably wouldn't be getting a very good workout!

Personally, I don't bother with training based on max HR.  Rather, I base my  training zones based on LT tests (lactate threshold).