A high heart rate when working out generally indicates that you are imposing higher demands on your cardiovascular system. Higher than normal heart rates generally result from higher than normal amounts of stress, which may result from excessive training intensity or lack of nutrients. Talk to your doctor any time you experience a high heart rate when you do not expect it, because this may indicate underlying medical problems.
Causes
Higher than normal heart rates when working out may result from overtraining or dehydration. Overtraining occurs when your recovery in between workouts does not provide enough time or nutrients to complete reparation processes. Reparation processes may include replenishing your energy stores, repairing damaged muscle tissue and building new muscle tissue. Your heart may beat faster when you attempt working out after insufficient recovery, because your body is still trying to finish recovery processes, which imposes higher than normal demands on your heart. Dehydration may cause higher than normal heart rate during exercise, because your body needs water to maintain equilibrium. Water is also critical for transporting nutrients to working muscles during exercise. Especially strenuous workouts may cause excessive fluid and sodium loss. Your heart rate may get too high if you replace too many fluids with water that lacks sodium.
Prevention
You can prevent a high heart rate during exercise by getting enough recovery time, sufficient water intake before exercise and ingesting moderate amounts of sodium. You may safely perform continuous aerobic exercise every day for approximate 30 minutes at a time. Light weightlifting sessions with 20 to 25 repetitions may require one day for recovery. Weightlifting workouts with exercise sets of 12 to 15 repetitions may require one to two recovery days. Heavy weightlifting sessions with four to six repetitions per set may require two to three recovery days. Family Doctor recommends drinking 17 to 20 oz. of water two hours before exercise, and another 8 oz. approximately 30 minutes before your warm up. The national Federation of Personal Trainers recommends drinking liquids with approximately 100 mg sodium per 8 oz. of fluid for especially strenuous workouts.
Treatment
You may be able to address a higher than normal heart rate during your workout. Increasing your recovery time between weightlifting sets and drinking water during your workout may help reduce your heart rate. The target heart rate between weightlifting sets is generally 100 beats per minute. Letting your pulse reach this rate generally keeps your exercise heart rate under control, if your recovery between workouts is sufficient. Family Doctor recommends drinking 7 to 10 oz. of water every 10 to 20 minutes during exercise to avoid dehydration.
Complications
A higher than normal heart rate when working out may lead to more serious health conditions, and adversely affect your training. Dehydration is a precursor to more serious heat illnesses, such as heat exhaustion. Symptoms of heat exhaustion include excessive sweating, dizziness and a sensation of over-heating. Heat exhaustion can advance to life-threatening conditions, such as heat stroke and coma. High heart rate that results from insufficient recovery between workouts may indicate that your workout is actually causing muscle loss, thereby reducing your fitness.
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