Humans need limitations to ensure we don’t overstrain our bodies. The heart’s maximum BPM helps us understand the limitations of staying active, and as we age, the value will decrease for various reasons. Here are a few reasons why your max BPM will decrease as you age and what you should be conscious of as it goes down.

Influences of Your Max BPM

Your BPM has a direct correlation with your heart and its state. The stimuli that affect the heart cause your heart rate to increase or decrease. If you spend most days lifting heavy boxes and carrying them up and down the stairs, your BPM will increase as you stay physically active.

Running on a treadmill will help you increase the limits of your heart as your blood pumps harder to keep up with the activity. Remember, the heart is a muscle; like any muscle, it adapts to the activity you constantly put it through. The rate at which your heart beats results from the body’s physicality and how much you exercise, and if you aren’t as active, you’ll have a lower BPM.

The Effects of Aging on Your Max Heart Rate

As we age, the limits of our bodies become more relevant. We’re unable to run as fast, our limbs and joints aren’t as flexible, and we lose stamina faster. This decrease in physical capability affects the heart’s strength and creates a restrictive limit on how much stress it handles during physical activity.

Your max heart rate goes down with age because you aren’t doing as much as you need to increase it because you cannot. As stated before, the heart adapts to the effects of its environments, including stressors and blood flow. The muscle will adapt to the lack of action and decrease its BPM to match the activity or lack thereof.

How To Mitigate the Reduction of Max BPM

Although it’s not as easy to exercise and increase your heart rate, there are ways to maintain a higher BPM than expected as you age. Perform low-intensity exercises to help your heart maintain a certain rate. This type of physical activity won’t cause your body significant stress and will help you strengthen muscles, both of which are essential for an aging person.

Stretching and warm-up exercises before any physical activity will help blood flow and assist the heart in pumping faster. Use exercise machines in your home for a convenient workout. Walk on the treadmill or slowly pedal on your stationary bike to cause the heart to beat faster and help it adapt to its active environment.

Your heart rate will decrease with age for various reasons, but it shouldn’t stop you from achieving an active lifestyle. It’s possible to lessen the reduction in your heart’s limitations, and with the right equipment and a passion for exercise, you’ll grow healthily into your age.