High Pulse When Exercising

Well, can you see yourself again? I am sure, that each one of us, and I mean every endurance athlete has started from somewhere. With running. With jogging. Or with any other type of aerobic exercise.

“Wow, if I am exercising to long with a high pulse, isn’t that dangerous?” A fair question, which can not be answered easily or completely. There is no right or wrong in this sense. What exactly does actually dangerous mean at this point? I would distinguish two cases here:

“Dangerous” with the meaning of dangerous for your health or damaging to your health
“Dangerous” in the sense of not productive for your further training progress

Let’s start with the first point. A high pulse while running is dangerous to your health, if it is a warning signal of your body. If your body very clearly indicates “Attention, please think about what you’re doing.” That may be the case in the following situations.

You didn’t run for many years. The ravages of time take their toll. You gained a bit more weight. In order to get everything under control, you immediately start with a brisk run around your favorite lake. After a few meters, your pulse is so high that you can feel it in the neck . You’re top-motivated and continue anyway.

In this case, the high pulse is one of many indicators, that you want to do it the sporty way. Your body is not used to that kind of load and shouts “Stop, please quit”. If you are taking in too much to be on the top, your body might press the emergency stop button.

You are in great shape. You are well trained. You know your pulse zone. The competition date is getting closer and closer. It is hot. The sun is burning. The thermometer shows nearly 40 ° C. You start to run. Your pulse is too high. You are not able to get it down. You are getting nervous, because the pace is unknown for your circumstances. Your head wants, the body won’t. You feel a little dizzy.

This is a clear case that “something is wrong”. It is important and right, to go to the limits. Especially in endurance sports. However, a high pulse in line with other physical troubles is a clear sign of “sometimes it’s just better to recognize the signs, to protect yourself and to look after your health as a top priority.”

Let’s talk about the second point. Is a high pulse dangerous for the training progress? Meaning a too high pulse might say “Attention, today you’re not quite fit”? Yes, it can be. There is always a reason for a too high pulse during training. You should be able to recognize this and to question it.

Are you exercising according to a plan and with a heart rate monitor? Then you should know your training zones. Which pulse corresponds to a loose training for you? Which pulse is for you the pulse at a tempo run and what’s your pulse like, when you increase your speed as it would be during a competition? If you know your pulse zones, then you can recognize a high pulse immediately. It is important to deal with it in a neutral way, which means that on the one hand you should not panic, but also on the other hand side, you should’t ignore it.

Imagine the following question: Did I sleep bad last night, am I just under stress, maybe I still do have a bit of a cold or I simply have eaten too much? Perhaps you are back in training, although your last big competition was a few days ago?

It is important, that in the course of time you get a sense of when you do or do not have a high pulse. If a high pulse is caused by the fact that you had to much stress at work or the dinner in the evening was too much, you can be relaxed. The training is in this case not that easy, but you can be sure that you won’t put your health in danger.

The situation is different, if the cause for the high pulse lies in a not yet faded disease. A typical cold is one of the classics. It is also dangerous, if you get back too fast into your training routine right after a big event, like a marathon, half marathon or triathlon. Your body, your muscles are still too busy to regenerate. The individual muscle fibers are at a microscopic level damaged after an intense competition. You have to start the repair work after the race. If you give your body not enough time and space to recover, it reacts with incomprehension. It won’t give you the performance level that you’re used to. The result? You can guess it: a too high pulse.

You are happy with your results and the progress of your training.

Your goal is the next triathlon, an IRONMAN or perhaps a marathon. This morning you got up. The night was good. It’s time for the regular morning run. You directly start. No breakfast. A sip of water from the tap. And off you go.

The pulse shoots up. Not only today. Yesterday it was the same. You wonder about the high pulse. It doesn’t want to go down. What’s happening? You exercise regularly and diligently. How can that be?

Let me say one thing about it. Every person is different. Every athlete works differently. And thus also every organism. A high pulse of 160 does not mean that you’re running at the limit. I was able to observe that in my training group. There were boys and girls, who were all in a good mood. No athletes. But good in training. To train under loose conditions, meant to them, to have pulse values of ​​around 160 beats per minute during running. They felt comfortable with it and persevered. And me, I was running with 160 beats already during a higher competition speed. 130 beats per minute settled with me usually during a loose endurance run. That’s a big difference.

But also your health can be crucial. Do you still have a cold? Is your stomach still busy digesting a heavy dinner or did you have stress and hassle at work? All this may cause a high pulse. You are in training. Actually you are fit. However, your pulse still shoots up as soon as you move. This is a sign to perhaps slow down a little.

I am a beginner and have constantly a high pulse, what can I do?

You just started with the sport. With running or jogging. You constantly have a too high pulse. A typical phenomenon. Your body is yet not used to be strained that much. Especially running turns your entire body upside down. The legs anyway. The upper body has to stabilize you. The arms swing along. If you’re not used to it, then your whole body is overwhelmed.

All body parts begin frantically to call for oxygen. Oxygen is the fuel for your muscles. Oxygen is transported through the blood. The heart is responsible for the transport of the blood. You deliver the oxygen by strong inhaling and exhaling. The more your body screams for oxygen, the faster the heart has to pump to supply the muscles with oxygen. The result: a high pulse.

As a beginner, your body needs to get used to the physical stress. Over time, your body is more experienced in dealing with the burden and knows exactly when, where and in what amounts it has to transport oxygen. Things don’t usually come immediately. You also don’t have to always go to your limits. Your body can economise its resources then in a more effective way. The pulse is your indicator of the fitness level of your body.

Another phenomenon could be the cause of a too high pulse. In science, it is known as the “Cardiac Shift” caused by increased core body temperature during sports. Underlying this is the observation that your heart rate increases by 10-15 beats per minute, although you are keeping a constant physical load in your training.

What exactly is the Cardiac Drift?

Cardiac drift is an indication, that your body core temperature, the current fluid balance and electrolyte supply are off balance.

Your body tries to transport to the skin as much blood as possible, to cool down during a workout. The result: there is less blood available to carry oxygen to the muscles. The consequence is, that your heart starts beating faster to compensate for the loss of oxygen transport. Your pulse rises.

The simultaneous loss of liquid (through sweating) ensures that your blood is significantly thicker, which means it gets more difficult for the heart to effectively transport the blood through the body. The consequence: the per time unit transported volume gets smaller. To pump about the same amount of blood per time unit to the muscles, the heart has to beat faster. When the heart beats faster, your pulse increases.

What exactly can you do against the Cardiac Drift?

There is no golden rule for that. There are rather a series of tips that you could consider as an athlete. It starts with the clothing. A rule of thumb is, that you should dress in such a way, that you feel like 20 degrees warmer than the outdoor temperature. Another option would be to drink regularly and deliberately. Even if you are not necessarily thirsty, it helps your body to ensure a “liquid” blood transport.