Heart rate question

capriqueen

I went on the stationary bike for an hour today at an average heart rate of 164-165. My question is, is this too low? My target heart rate is 168 bpm, so I was wondering if was going too slow.

rbiss

I went on the stationary bike for an hour today at an average heart rate of 164-165. My question is, is this too low? My target heart rate is 168 bpm, so I was wondering if was going too slow.

It all depends on your age. There are heart rate zones based on your age. Depending on the type of workout you were doing and the zone you were in, it could be fine.

I am 32, and 165bmp is a very good heart rate for sustained aerobic activity for me.

capriqueen

Ohh.. I'm 23. In that case I guess I will have to up the ante!

karmac0matic

Well, depends what percentage you want to be. If you want to be working out at 50-85% difficulty, your rate should remain between 100-170 bpm, so you're doing juuuust fine!

capriqueen

Im at 83% going by this heart rate. Is 85-90 a bad idea for an hour?

kaliedoskope

I am almost 38 and when I do the elliptical I try to shoot for the low 180s and occasionally get to 190+ but only for a few seconds. I don't follow what stuff tells me I should be at... I base it on how I feel. If I don't make it to at least 170 I don't feel I am working hard enough. But I am just doing 10-20 minutes of cardio sets not 30+ minute cardio sets.

Cherimoose

I base it on how I feel.

^^ This. Also known as Rate of Perceived Exertion (google it). Heart rate recommendations don't apply to a lot of people, due to individual differences.

ATT949

I went on the stationary bike for an hour today at an average heart rate of 164-165. My question is, is this too low? My target heart rate is 168 bpm, so I was wondering if was going too slow.

"too low" - for what?

if you're interesting in cardiovascular fitness, Google "hear rate based training" and you'll get some good info.

Insofar as basing your "target heart rate" on a formula, I would advise against using them because there's simply no way to know if they are correct. According to 220-agar, my max HR should be 163 BPM whereas I use 191 for my training calculations and have run 182 in training a few months ago.

scorpio516

I went on the stationary bike for an hour today at an average heart rate of 164-165. My question is, is this too low? My target heart rate is 168 bpm, so I was wondering if was going too slow.

Depends on your heart. And your goals.