Heart rate while walking

[Kalei87]

I spent about 12 months last year building up fast paced walking then got the flu virus and had to take a break. Obviously I walk around normally in every day life but I was going out walking 2-5 miles a day at a fast pace and building up speed and stamina. (Bad knee can’t run).

Usually I got a heart rate of 120 ish from the walking. I would try to push myself a little to keep up cardio fitness. I am 44.

My resting heart rate is usually in the 50’s but I noticed when i had to take steroids for my illness my resting HR was super low in the 40’s. I let my GP know and they said oh we don’t know keep an eye on it and then it went back to normal when I finished them.

First day back on the fast paced walking today in about 8 weeks. I’m completely recovered from flu, no medication and the weather is milder out. It’s pretty flat with no inclines.

Started off ok good pace, HR from 110-125 but less than a mile I felt a bit sick and weird and HR went up to 147. I stopped for a few mins to let my HR recover (it did quite quickly) and felt better and restarted a bit slower. I do another slower circuit all at 122bpm and at the same exact point of the circuit it happened again!

I got home and felt really out of sorts like my HR was all over the place but my Apple Watch didn’t log or alert any irregular rhythms.

I took my blood pressure and it was 136/72 pulse 104, then I took it again when I had been sitting down for 10 mins and got normal readings of 110/65. Since I calmed down I have felt ok ever since.

I don’t know if I had a random anxiety attack as I really am unclear whether 8 weeks break would put me this far back or why I am feeling so anxious!

I think the best thing to do is keep going and try again and not over think it?

I suspect you've just lost fitness after two months of doing no exercise. I wouldn't overthink it and would try and build your fitness back up.

Would also recommend doing some more cardio exercise than just walking. If running is definitely out (and most knee trouble doesn't necessarily rule out running) then cycling/swimming/cross trainer for something low impact?

You weren't going uphill were you at the high heart rate bits, mine always goes up then if I'm on a brisk walk, even on a small incline

I have tried running I just don’t get on with it. Too many injuries then it throws me off for ages

I really don’t like the gym to be honest I feel so stressed there when I have tried it’s so busy. I do my own weights at home but I don’t have access to a cross trainer. I am not a strong swimmer I do go swimming in milder weather but I can only do the front crawl I am not sure how much exercise I get from it! Walking is free and I love being outside. I don’t own a bike but I have thought about getting one in the future.

I will keep going and not give up though

A heart rate of 147 should not have led to you feeling off at 44, your max heart rate should be much higher…it is high for walking though. Maybe mention to your GP.

Logical me agrees with FeelinTwenty. After an 8 week lay off you will have lost fitness and it makes sense that you can’t pick up where you left off after a bout of flu that required medication.

Feeling out of sorts afterwards makes me think you’ve done too much too soon and your body was saying "woah, what now, I've been busy fighting flu and now you want me to do thiiiisss?"

Fine to get out and get back on with it but at a gentler pace for a few days to a week to ease yourself back into it.

As a side note, on my walk today, my heart rate shot up into my cardio zone for 4 minutes - I was walking to the shops. I wasn’t going any faster than normal and I certainly didn’t notice anything at the time that would have made me think I was pushing it. So...

‘Woo’ me wonders if it has anything to do with it being a full moon tonight (earth’s gravitational/magnetic pull at it’s strongest during a full moon).

Be kind to yourself OP. You'll get back to where you was, just don't set yourself back by trying to do too much too soon.

For me 147bpm is what I would expect on an incline or lot of stairs not from walking a little briskly on the flat so it did freak me out. I wonder if me worrying about it made it worse. I felt sick which is what made me wonder what was going on and saw my HR going up and up

I’ve been fine all evening my blood pressure is even lower once I relaxed 105/66 so I assume all is ok and I will try again. So hard to walk slow pace intentionally to be honest!

I was expecting to lose a little fitness but I’ve lost a lot. I am way less flexible in Pilates and my squat form is awful. My hips are so stiff. Arms I can still do ok with weights but I didn’t push it in case I hurt myself

Gonna have to treat myself like a beginner again

Apple fitness says my walking average HR is 82-104 so for me 147 is not what I would expect

vo2 has gone down from 38 to 35 and checking all my other fitness indicators does show I have lost a lot in 8 weeks

It’s normal to lose a lot of fitness if inactive for 8 weeks. I was injured last year and couldn’t run for 2 months, it took me twice that long to regain lost fitness. 5k time went from 22 minutes to 28 minutes.

Had a much better experience today with no panic melt downs 😂 and regular HR. Will keep on going!

I'm in my 60's and find my fitness falls off a cliff if I miss more than a couple of days in a row! I went on holiday for a week and when I came back my running was as pathetic as though I'd never been out before. So I would say keep going but be kind to yourself, I always get cross when I can't run my usual distance and have to stop or slow down. But after a few days things tend to get back much more to normal, good luck!