Advise needed re: heart rate monitor/zones

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pommychic
pommychic Posts: 25 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
Well I am the proud new owner of a new Polar Ft4 HRM. I have I inputted my details and it has calculated my ideal zone. I wore it whilst doing my step dvd this morning and during the intense part of the workout, my heart rate exceeded the upper limit and kept beeping saying I am "NOT in zone"

So I slowed down my heart rate so I could get back into the zone, and once I had done that, I followed the routine again. However, every time I carried on, my heart rate increased, and I exceeded the zone again.

What are the implications of exceeding the limit of your ideal heart rate zone? I like to get a sweat on during a workout and get a bit out of breath but it's strange having to slow down the pace of the DVD to burn fat! will I get a better calorie burn by slowing down my heart to stay in the zone?

Thanks

Replies

  • brianpperkins
    brianpperkins Posts: 6,124 Member
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    Don't worry about slowing down to stay in some arbitrary zone. You'll burn more total calories and more fat with more exertion.

    What the zones are built upon is the body's choice of fuels at different exertion levels. In the so-called "fat burning" zone, the body burns a higher ratio of fat compared to carbs but fewer total calories per unit of time.
  • PayneAS
    PayneAS Posts: 669 Member
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    It is the supposed "fat burning zone". I ignore it. If your heart is beating, you are burning calories.
  • RBXChas
    RBXChas Posts: 2,708 Member
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    Your zones are based on your age, weight, and sex, not how fit you are. You'll find that as you build your cardio base, your heart rate will not get up into those higher numbers. Your "max heart rate" will be lower.

    There's nothing wrong with going above the recommended zone. If you are unable to catch your breath or in pain in any way, then you need to slow down or stop :) If you want to get really technical with finding out where your heart rate should be, you can get a VO2 max test done. However, as your cardio fitness improves, you'd need to re-do it periodically, and they aren't cheap (about $150 in my area).

    Also, go to settings on your FT4 if you want to turn off the beeping. In my first Spin class with my FT4, it got really annoying/distracting, so for my own sanity and out of consideration for my fellow riders, I turned the beeping off.

    ETA info on VO2 max testing, in case anyone is interested (it's interesting stuff): http://adventure.howstuffworks.com/outdoor-activities/triathlons/training/vo2-max.htm
  • Azdak
    Azdak Posts: 8,281 Member
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    HRMs are not smart devices and should not be relied upon as an authority for your workouts. HRMs are programmed with "one size fits all" equations. However prob 30% of population has an actual max HR 20-30 beats higher than the Polar assumes (since it uses 1 max HR equation for all).

    You are one of those people, which means your "zone" calculations do not fit. Turn off the alarms--all they are doing is screwing up your workout.

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