Heart rate during cardio

When I have been working out on the eliptical trainer at my local gym... my HR has been averaging about 170-180bpm.  It seems really really high to me.  I feel fine... I also have age going for me (27yo)... my resting HR is about 80bpm.  Can anyone else chime in on this and tell me if its normal or not... should I take it slower?

Your theoretical maximum heartrate is 220 minus your age so in your case, 193. For a good aerobic workout, a person's target heart rate should be 70% to 85% of his or her maximum heart rate. In your case, this would be 135 to 164. At 170-180, you're averaging 88% to 93% which is what is called an anarobic workout (ie. you're gasping for air and it's hard to talk). Most people can stay anaerobic for only a few minutes at a time so my guess is that your HR monitor isn't accurate which is probably the case if you're using the one on the machine. I use a polar monitor which was inexpensive and accurate.  

Hrrm that's interesting info... Yes, I can't talk but I'm not exactly gasping for air, but I do slow myself every 5-10 minutes for about 2 minutes to catch up.  And yes I am using the hr monitor off the machine.  I'll look into a personal hr monitor... thanks

Oh' by the way, the theoretical max HR and average HR varies based upon your fitness level (i.e. weight, conditioning, etc.) Are you only a month out from WLS? If so, I hope you've let your doc know about how hard you're pushing it. You'd hate to spring a leak or have a blood clot or ??????.......Boner

I agree with boner, get a heart monitor, you can get one on line or at almost any sporting goods store.   The more weight you lose and the fitter you get the harder it is to raise your heart rate.  It takes a lot for me to bring my heart rate up to an aerobic level.  My resting heart rate is about 50.....i guess all the fitness eforts i've put in for the last few years have paid off. Scott