Max Heart Rate now that I'm 'fit'?

slieber

Question for those in the know:

My resting HR is now around 55. I'm a 46 year old female. How do I figure out if my upper heart rate has changed?

My exercise level is such that I get about 40-50 exercise points a week. I can comfortably do 150 beats a minute for 6 minutes on the elliptical, at level 18. I do puff a bit but if asked to chat, I can talk fairly well.

A person at the gym said that to get the same effect aerobically, I need to work harder. I figured that, but not sure what to aim for in the heart rate. The gym charts say that 80% for my age is about 140 per minute.

Is there any other formula I can use to see if my upper range has actually changed or should I stick to the HR listed on the charts (plus that bit to work stamina), anyway?

Thanks in advance!

FrenchMob

In regards to your Max HR, that's more genetic & does change with fitness. What you're looking for is your lactate threshold (LT), which can change with increased fitness. There are physical tests to determine this LT, but they are very demanding. You can also do it via an LT test which basically tests your blood (same method as checking blood sugars in diabetics) at different intervals, and it'll give you a chart to see where it's at. Then you base your training on that number.

Here's more info on that: http://www.sport-fitness-advisor.com/anaerobicthreshold.html

You can get LT tested in most major cities in NA. If that's a little too hard core for you, then what the machine tells you is close enough.

knowkeys

Your maximum heart rate is about 220 minus your age.
Workout range - 55-70% approx is weight loss range
70-85% approx is cardiovascular range

Start at up to 50% and build up, aim for 75% and towards 85% as get fitter.
Above 85% does help increase fitness much.

Stamina just involves working at a comfortable rate and increasing the amount of time.
Eventually, you will be able to excercise at higher rate for longer.

Hope this helps!

Azdak

Since maximal exercise testing is uncomfortable and carries some degree of risk, most people use a prediction formula to estimate HR max. The most common is 220-age, but there are others, all claiming some degree of accuracy. You can do a google search and pick one you like, Most will end up not that far off the original one. The problem with all age-prediction formulas is that there is still a pretty significant standard estimate of error. So you can't look at these estimated target HRs as "precise" numbers. You always need to compare your calculated "target HR" with your feelings of perceived exertion. It sounds as though you are doing that.

Maximum heart rate does not change that much with fitness training. Resting heart can change substantially, but not maximum heart rate. Once resting HR has lowered with exercise training, it probably is not going to radically change either. So, your 'target HR" numbers will not change all that much as your fitness level improves--what will change is the workload that it takes to achieve that number.

Example: Let's say your 70% effort target heart rate range is 145-150 (Just making up a number), and you can achieve that by doing a resistance level 18 on the elliptical. As your fitness level improves, the 70% effort target HR doesn't change--it still is 145-150--and the perceived exertion at that HR level shouldn't change. What will change is that it now make take a resistance level of 19 or 20 to reach that same HR level and level of perceived exertion.

So, you need to determine what heart rate corresponds to a training effort that will improve fitness and that you can sustain for 30-45 min. You can start by using some calculated numbers and see how it feels--then adjust from there.

slieber

Thanks Azdak. That's just what I needed to know. In other words, I really just need to use the perceived exertion rather than looking solely at numbers. Yes, I have noticed that I need to do more to achieve the same level of exertion as before. Previously, for example, I couldn't get through a barre in one of my classes due to the stamina required. Now I can.

So if I aim for, say, 150 beats a minute, then I might have to up the level of resistance to get it, if I'm reading this correctly.

I do interval training now, to try to keep the metabolism guessing. I do it on the elliptical, looking at heart rate as the guide. If I do the same style of routine every time I go (which is about 4 consecutive days of the week - sometimes five), will I have to also adjust this each time in order to keep the metabolism guessing?

Right now, I do a four minute warm up on the elliptical, getting the HR to about 120/min. Then I do 1 minute high resistance trying to get the HR past 140, then 1 minute lower to around 125, then 2 up, 2 down, 4 up, 4 down, 6 up, 6 down. Each time, I increase by five resistance levels, but when I go down, I decrease by only 4, working up to the level 18 I mentioned in the previous post. HR target for me was above 140 (my alleged target HR for my age is 140 for 80%). I usually do about 150 on the higher resistance.

Does the body get used to these intervals? Will I have to either change the timing or change the levels if it does get used to this?

FYI, additionally, I usually do between 1.5 and 2 hours of ballet classes afterwards. Often my HR goes past 200 for a few seconds in some exercises. I joke with my teachers that I probably should have died of a heart attack in their classes!

I'm just hoping the body doesn't get used to interval levels, like the ones I use. Does it?

Azdak

Thanks Azdak. That's just what I needed to know. In other words, I really just need to use the perceived exertion rather than looking solely at numbers. Yes, I have noticed that I need to do more to achieve the same level of exertion as before. Previously, for example, I couldn't get through a barre in one of my classes due to the stamina required. Now I can.

So if I aim for, say, 150 beats a minute, then I might have to up the level of resistance to get it, if I'm reading this correctly.

I do interval training now, to try to keep the metabolism guessing. I do it on the elliptical, looking at heart rate as the guide. If I do the same style of routine every time I go (which is about 4 consecutive days of the week - sometimes five), will I have to also adjust this each time in order to keep the metabolism guessing?

Right now, I do a four minute warm up on the elliptical, getting the HR to about 120/min. Then I do 1 minute high resistance trying to get the HR past 140, then 1 minute lower to around 125, then 2 up, 2 down, 4 up, 4 down, 6 up, 6 down. Each time, I increase by five resistance levels, but when I go down, I decrease by only 4, working up to the level 18 I mentioned in the previous post. HR target for me was above 140 (my alleged target HR for my age is 140 for 80%). I usually do about 150 on the higher resistance.

Does the body get used to these intervals? Will I have to either change the timing or change the levels if it does get used to this?

FYI, additionally, I usually do between 1.5 and 2 hours of ballet classes afterwards. Often my HR goes past 200 for a few seconds in some exercises. I joke with my teachers that I probably should have died of a heart attack in their classes!

I'm just hoping the body doesn't get used to interval levels, like the ones I use. Does it?

The body gets used to pretty much everything. All of exercise training is based on the idea that the body reflexively attempts to maintain "homeostasis" or an "internal balance" if you will. When we impose a training load, the body responds to the increased "stressor" by trying to reestablish "balance", this time at a higher level.

So, if you do something often enough, even a "varied" routine, the body will eventually start to adapt. I have no real opinions about the effectiveness of P90X, but I reject the basic underlying theory that you have to "keep the body guessing" or "muscle confusion". That's just nonsense. In order to actually cause that much "confusion" you would have to introduce an activity so new, so different, that the body would be so uncoordinated and inefficient that the actual number of calories burned would significantly *decrease* because you would be too inefficient to exert yourself effectively.

It's important to have a varied workout routine that includes different kinds of exercise stimului. It helps you to avoid getting stale, can help avoid injury, and is essential to making continued progress. That is much more important than trying to "keep the body guessing"--which is essentially not possible.

The main caveats about interval training is that there is a higher risk of injury (not to be feared, but to be kept in mind) and a steady series of high-intensity training can lead to overtraining, or at least a plateau. Esp with your ballet training, I would be aware of this and listen to your body carefully. It would not be a bad idea to take a "vacation" and do some low-level cardio maybe one week out of 4.

In summary, yes, you need to vary your intervals, esp if you are trying to do 4 or 5 a week. You can try some longer, slightly less intense intervals, some "ladder" intervals where maybe you repeat runs of levels 13-14-15-16-17-18. There are a lot of variations you can try to keep things interesting.

I am wondering a little about your 200 bpm heart rates. It might be an artifact-maybe a position or something that causes an erratic reading. If you ever feel any symptoms--light-headedness, vertigo, "palpitations"--when this occurs, or if you ever experience this type of HR increase outside of an exercise class, it might not be a bad idea to check in with your doctor.

slieber

I am wondering a little about your 200 bpm heart rates. It might be an artifact-maybe a position or something that causes an erratic reading. If you ever feel any symptoms--light-headedness, vertigo, "palpitations"--when this occurs, or if you ever experience this type of HR increase outside of an exercise class, it might not be a bad idea to check in with your doctor.

Thanks for that information. I do try to mix in one steady, non-interval "run" a week (usually because one day a week at least I'm way too tired to be bothered, or I haven't as much time). I also weight-lift a few times a week.

I get vertigo rather regularly but my HR usually doesn't rise much outside of exercise. I've been through a load of major tests for the vertigo. Nothing's been found to be wrong, so far, but apart from the standard blood and blood pressure tests (all was well), nothing else was done that involves the heart or heart rate.

If I go again to the doctor, what do you think I should ask about? He did say to come back if I get more attacks but I haven't returned after getting the big ear-nose-throat ones because I figured there wasn't anything else that could be done.

slieber

Bump!