Heart rate doesn't go up much anymore with cardio

pearceflint92

Hi. I'm 24 years old 350 pounds 6 foot 5. I do a 3km circuit twice a day walking at about a kilometre every ten minutes. My heart rate used to average 130 on the entire walk. Now it barley goes above 100. Does that mean I've become fitter? I have no
Other walking tracks and can't increase speed unless I jog
And I'm to overweight to jog. I have a treadmill should I start using that and using it on incline. Or should I keep walking the way I am. Thankyou all.

yirara

Yep, most likely. People have a maximum heartrate that is determined by genetics and which doesn't substantially change. But as you get fitter it becomes easier to train at the same heart rate, or you need to work harder to reach the same heart rate again.

I'm currently experiencing the same. Comparing runs and heart rates during those I notice that I can run faster at the same heart rate compared to two months ago.

KDar1988

I have to keep my cardio more intense now because it takes longer to raise my HR and when I slow down it drops quickly. My resting is between 40 and 45 now. It used to be higher before I did so much cardio.

svornov

More intense cardio is indicated. I would certainly do the treadmill with a steeper incline. Speaking of jogging, when you're on the track throw in brief periods of jogging and running. You are correct about weight being an impediment, but as you lose your speed and duration will increase.

For example, since arthritis has cramped my running to get up to my aerobic pulse rate of 128 bpm (62 year old male) only the rowing machine or the elliptical produces the desired results. Fast walking won't do.

Congratulations on your progress!

Ws2016

Yes! Nice work! Like the others said, up your intensity.

amusedmonkey

Yes, you are getting fitter! Congratulations! If you don't feel like using a treadmill all the time you may be able to raise your heart rate walking outside if you carry a relatively heavy backpack (preferably with a waist strap).

Docbanana2002

Sounds like your body has adapted to what you are doing and you need to increase the demand you are placing on yourself. Instead of jogging (which would add a lot of impact), why not do some incline/hill training, shoot for longer distances per session (maybe do all 6 km at one time?), and/or pick up your walking pace a bit. For someone of your height, you aren't walking all that fast and there is a lot more room to grow than you may realize. I'm a 5'5" 43 year old woman and when I am walking for fitness I go around 7 to 9kph range. The way you increase speed is by increasing the rate at which you step (i.e. Doing more steps per minute). As you get faster you will need to change your posture too (arms bent, racewalker form). I trained myself to do this by walking to the beat of songs that were a little faster than my normal pace and just slowly worked my way up. Go to https://walk.jog.fm/workout-songs to get ideas for music to use, it is a useful website!

deluxmary2000

I would either walk faster or walk farther. Your pace is about 3.7mph (sorry - metric doesn't work for me. Lol), which you should still be able to increase a bit without running.