Does anyone else on beta blockers find it's difficult to get your heart rate up enough while exercising for it to be considered a cardio workout?

I have IST (inappropriate sinus tachycardia) so 100mg atenolol to keep my heart rate in a reasonable range. Without it my resting heart rate can be 110+ bpm. I have a very healthy heart the problem is more located in my autonomic nervous system. I have to admit that I struggle with wanting to skip doses because then my body goes through a cardio workout on its own without me having to exercise and my metabolism really speeds up. But you're not supposed to abuse an illness for personal gain. However I've found that beta blockers aren't that great for people like me who also have naturally low blood pressure. The combo makes for a fun party trick which generally involves in me passing out.

I've been finding that beta blockers make exercising a lot more difficult. Does anyone else have this issue?

I take Beta Blockers for heart issues and there's no question about taking them. I need them, and that's it. My heart rate doesn't get anywhere near the rate recommended for cardio but I take into consideration that my resting heart rate is a lot lower because of the meds. For you, I would use other factors to judge the effectiveness of your cardio. Such as, do you work up a sweat? Can you carry on a conversation, but not sing? Your body is probably working out at a good rate, but just not showing it in your heart rate. Please don't take my comments as medical information. It's just my opinion. To be sure, discuss this with your doctor or an exercise physiologist.

I am also on Atenolol and it does make it difficult to get my heart rate up. I have a new FitBit Charge HR that I track my heart rate with and as long as I get it into fat burn mode I feel good about the level of exercise I'm doing. I know that if I got my controlled heart rate into cardio level I would be working to hard on the medication.