What to do when heart rate improves?

hemlock2010

Sorry if I'm being dumb here. When I first started on the elliptical trainer, my heart rate went up into what I think of as my weight loss zone (over 140 bpm) pretty quickly and stayed between 140 and 160 with really no special effort on my part. This past week, I'm finding that I have to jog pretty hard to get up to 140, and when I stop jogging, it goes back down right away.

I get that this is a good thing in terms of heart health, but what I'm wondering is, does this mean that I have to exercise harder to burn the same number of calories? Today, I had to jog practically the entire time--for the same apparent calorie burn as when I was walking along at a pretty leisurely pace a month ago. I'm thrilled that I could actually do it, but is there something obvious I'm missing here?

I've lost 12 pounds, if that makes any difference.

Aitenev

This a total NSV (non-scale victory)! Congratulations! It means your heart is getting stronger and yes, the answer is to push harder. It does mean more effort but I always look at it as a victory. I know the feeling. I used to have to keep slowing down to keep my heart rate from getting too high. Now I have to work to get it into the target zone. Keep up the good work.

jrt9999

Yes that is true. Working out via cardio does help the whole system function better.

I track calories with my HR monitor during exercise only so I know how much to eat back. I don't count on those calories to lose weight so I don't necessarily try for lots of burned calories. I am more interested in the heart doing exactly what yours is doing, dropping to a slower pace faster after exercise. Now if i do need to burn extra calories due to one of my pig-out moments then I have to work that much harder on the treadmill because of being in better shape.

Thinking this way has helped me tremendously with eating right and regular exercise.

rudyalvarez

Well, Congrats to you! You are seeing the Benefits of becoming Heathy/Fit! Your Heart Rate recovers more quickly already, and yes, as you become more and more Fit, you will have to elevate your routine to get the same burn for your body. As you become more fit and Healthy, you will need to Challange your body so you don't get used to the same exercise routine as your Body will not see any benefit from the same routine. Maybe change up your routine to say 15-20 sec. sprints then rest for 30 secs. then sprint again. Elevate your speed, just change it up to keep it interesting as well, your body will change to the challange.

Great Job, keep up the Good health!

hemlock2010

Thanks for the insight, everybody. :flowerforyou: