Over Target Heart Rate?

SmexAppeal

So my FT4P Heart Rate Monitor has set a target heart rate for me based on weight, height and whatever else. It's 125-163. I do get into my target heart rate when I do cardio or go walking, but rarely make it to it when I lift. Which is fine. My real question is what does it mean when you are above your target? Is this good or bad? When I do my Zumba or Hip Hop Abs, I usually get to 170, so that's over my target. From what I hear though, the higher the heart rate the more calories you burn. Is that statement true? Or do you burn the most when you stay within your target?

Please help me figure this out
Thank you!

twinmomtwice4

bump (I'd like to know this too!!!)

Jamiemielke

I was thinking about this today while working out...Great question!! I hope someone knows the answer:)

sw.256
cw.196
gw.160ish:)

suzibanshee

Bump! I'd like to know, too.

Natx83

Lift heavier and make sure your form is spot on.. It will get the heart rate up

LiftBigtoGetFit

I am no expert so anyone can feel free to correct me. I believe that the target HR is where your body will burn highest calories with out over exertion. now the preset by weight size age etc... do get it close but there are other factors such as oxygen intake so if you do not feel that you are having a hard time breathing or getting dizzy when you go above your THR then you are probably good and could even bump your THR up manually. hope this helps and as I said if anyone has better info on the subject I would be interested as well.

Testosterone

if you dont have cardiovascular disease, the harder your heart is pumping, the stronger it is becoming.

atjays

There's obviously "recommendations" that you should stay within. Someone in great shape could probably go for quite some time at a heart rate of 170+ , that's what makes them healthy and fit. If you're not, you would probably feel like your chest is going to explode and you're so out of breath you stop.

Now for me, and everyone is different. My MAX heart rate is somewhere around 215ish BPM , meaning that's dangerous territory. I think the highest I've ever seen my HRM go during a workout was 205 once, and I was in much crappier shape back then. Now days on the tread mill while running I average 160+ BPM with peaks around 190 while sprinting. The "fat burning zone" is something like 140-160 , which is basically just elevated to a level where your body is actually working hard. That's where you ideally want to be, especially with cardio.

Strength training is a bit different, heart rate and calories burned are not the foremost priority. You're building muscle that will help burn calories passively in the long run. I do find that my heart rate jumps up while doing certain lifts, but generally you don't sustain those rates for any period of time.

ingies2011

Heart rate monitors only accurately reflect calories burnt if you are doing steady aerobic exercise, say if you walk or run or bike for half an hour. They will not accurately reflect calories used when you weightlift, or when you stop and start exercising constantly.

SmexAppeal

There's obviously "recommendations" that you should stay within. Someone in great shape could probably go for quite some time at a heart rate of 170+ , that's what makes them healthy and fit. If you're not, you would probably feel like your chest is going to explode and you're so out of breath you stop.

Now for me, and everyone is different. My MAX heart rate is somewhere around 215ish BPM , meaning that's dangerous territory. I think the highest I've ever seen my HRM go during a workout was 205 once, and I was in much crappier shape back then. Now days on the tread mill while running I average 160+ BPM with peaks around 190 while sprinting. The "fat burning zone" is something like 140-160 , which is basically just elevated to a level where your body is actually working hard. That's where you ideally want to be, especially with cardio.

Thanks Jay I think you gave me the best information! I am def, by no means out of breath at 170. My highest was 189, and that was out of breath because I was sprinting lol. But thank you for the information. When I do my cardio work outs I normally am above my target heart rate, but I'm feeling great and giving it my all, so I'm not going to slow down!

BrianSharpe

I'm going to go against the stream here a bit. The "fat-burning zone" is low intensity (around 60-70% of MaxHR) and is the zone where you're burning a higher percentage of fat for fuel but are deriving a limited cardio benefit. Going above 70% of MaxHR still burns fat, burns a much higher number of calories and provides more cardiovascular strengthening.

In terms of weight loss forget the fat burning zone and go higher intensity. If you're a long distance runner or triathlete the fat burning zone is of interest to you as your body can only store a limited amount of glycogen but even a skinny marathoner will pack 35,000 calories of fat in their body.

http://exercise.about.com/od/weightloss/a/The-Truth-About-The-Fat-Burning-Zone.htm

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/life/health/the-secret-to-weight-loss-workouts-you-may-not-like-the-answer/article1662687/

myfitnessnmhoy

If you decide to get your heart rate closer to max capacity ("blow out the carbon" as it were), you really want to talk to your doctor first, and depending on your state of health, age, environmental or genetic factors, your doctor may want to do some pretty simple tests (EKG to check your heart function thoroughly, maybe a stress test where your heart gets ramped up a bit and monitored for normal function, bloodwork to make sure the fast-moving blood isn't likely to knock loose a clot and give you an aneurism, etc).

Because pushing your heart to its limits is not without risk. If you have a defect, even something as simple and common as a bicuspid heart valve, pushing things could lead to all sorts of nasty life-changing (or life-ending) events.

I don't mean to scare you, because the VAST MAJORITY of people out there, even heavy people with extra body fat, are perfectly fine pushing their heartrate as high as they can make it go. The human body is a remarkable machine and the heart can take a real beating.

But I'd strongly recommend bringing it up at your next annual physical and ask your doctor if he/she thinks there is anything to suggest keeping your heart rate a little lower.

Also, if you do pursue bringing your heart rate right up to "full tilt boogie", understand that this is probably not something you want to do every day for long periods of time. Anaerobic exercise is a poor way to build muscle, and your heart is the most important bit of muscle in your body. Aerobic (cardio range) exercise is great for it. Anaerobic is actually less effective at building strong heart muscle, builds up lactic acid which is not helpful, and carries risks. It's good occasionally, but not all the time.

Mid- to high- cardio range gives you the best "calorie" bang for your effort buck. It's building heart muscle in a low-risk to risk-free way. It's burning ALMOST as many calories as going full-out. It's building endurance, albeit at a slightly slower pace. Once you build endurance, you should be able to maintain upper-mid-cardio (150 in my case, but I'm 43 and male, so your numbers will differ) for very long periods of time.

If you want to go full-out (after checking with your doctor), you're better off doing it as interval training (get your heart rate to something reasonable like 140-150, go full-out for a minute or two until you're at VO2 (gasping for breath, at maximum output, "canna give her any more, Captain!"), then slow back down until your heart recovers to 140-150 again. Repeat as many times as you like. This is a great way to build endurance, and since you aren't stressing the heart for long periods of time and giving it a chance to recover between bursts, it's relatively low-risk.

scottb81

It depends on what you are trying to accomplish. If you are mainly concerned with burning calories then go as hard as you want. If you are mainly concerned with building aerobic fitness then you need to work well below your max to target the appropriate cardiovascular adaptations.