Target HR zone and working out at max

fiendiish
fiendiish Posts: 186
edited September 21 in Fitness and Exercise
Ok, so I find that on the treadmill or low incline hiking...my HR stays in the "training zone"....130ish to 150ish. When doing the elliptical (which I LOVE)...I'm maxed out...170-175 average...MAX 192..but I burn more cals. From what I've been reading...working out at that HR is either counterproductive or dangerous. I don't feel like I'm overexerting...I do feel like I'm pushing myself and it's hard and I sweat...but you're supposed to right? During the workout and when it's over, I'm not ready to die, I'm not so winded that I can't breathe and I recover fairly quickly...within a minute or two...my HR is back in a lower range. I feel great afterward...and I don't feel over trained.

I guess my question is whether workout out at that HR is hurting more than helping?

Replies

  • Azdak
    Azdak Posts: 8,281 Member
    No, you are not really "at max HR". You just have a max HR that is higher than the age-predicted number. A sizable minority of women belong to that group. You are exercising at normal exercise intensities.
  • fiendiish
    fiendiish Posts: 186
    No, you are not really "at max HR". You just have a max HR that is higher than the age-predicted number. A sizable minority of women belong to that group. You are exercising at normal exercise intensities.

    Awesome! Good to know...I was kinda worried. :)
  • MacMadame
    MacMadame Posts: 1,893 Member
    A sizable minority? Okay, what exactly is that? :laugh:

    I read somewhere that the 220-age formula only works for a tiny minority of people. That doesn't mean it's horribly off for everyone but it's pretty far off for me. Is it more off for women than me (that's kind of what I got out of your post)?
  • DizzieLittleLifter
    DizzieLittleLifter Posts: 1,020 Member
    Ok, this is what I do. I watch my numbers. When I'm pushing it hard and I know I can't push any further, ie I'm struggling to catch my breath ; this is my max HR. That for me is around 229. Currently 186 is where I stay when I am running at 6.8. I'm 29 so the 220 formula would put me at 191. HTH
  • Azdak
    Azdak Posts: 8,281 Member
    A sizable minority? Okay, what exactly is that? :laugh:

    I read somewhere that the 220-age formula only works for a tiny minority of people. That doesn't mean it's horribly off for everyone but it's pretty far off for me. Is it more off for women than me (that's kind of what I got out of your post)?

    It's less than half and more than one....so there.:tongue:

    If you look at the bell curve, it would suggest that up to 16% of the population has a true max HR more than 10 bpm above the age-predicted number, and maybe 4% have a true HRmax more than 20 beats above.

    In my experience, the numbers are higher than that, but I have no hard idea---just years of observations. And those with the higher HRmax are predominantly female.
  • fiendiish
    fiendiish Posts: 186
    Ok, this is what I do. I watch my numbers. When I'm pushing it hard and I know I can't push any further, ie I'm struggling to catch my breath ; this is my max HR. That for me is around 229. Currently 186 is where I stay when I am running at 6.8. I'm 29 so the 220 formula would put me at 191. HTH

    See, I can get on board with that. Supposedly, my HRmax is 188....I can hit that easy and still have room to push. From just watching numbers...I really start having trouble catching my breathe at about 195 or so.
  • AwMyLoLo
    AwMyLoLo Posts: 1,571 Member
    bump to read later :flowerforyou:
  • 00trayn
    00trayn Posts: 1,849 Member
    I was just wondering the same thing. I just bought a heart rate monitor and when I've worked out, my max heart rate is in the 180's and my average is in the 160's. Both are above the 130-150 for fat burning. But I'm not really winded when my heart rate is in the 170's or 180's. I burn a decent amount of calories when my heart rate is up like that. It's good to know that it's not a bad thing. I was a bit worried.
  • canstey
    canstey Posts: 118
    If you are using your HRM to calculate calories burned and your max HR is much higher or lower than age predicted, you need to change it. For those with higher than normal max HR, like my wife who is another one of those people whose heart rate goes very high during exercise, you need to make your best reasonable guess as to how high it really is and set it. Otherwise your HRM will be significantly over counting calories.

    I am no expert on this but I use a combination of the highest I can hit on a full out attempt to get to max HR plus determining the HR range where I cannot sustain exercise, theoretically the anabolic threshold. Anabolic threshold is somewhere in the low 80's% range unless you are very fit and have increased your anabolic threshold tolerance. So if I can sustain it then it would be at most 80% or so of maxHR.
  • DizzieLittleLifter
    DizzieLittleLifter Posts: 1,020 Member
    If you are using your HRM to calculate calories burned and your max HR is much higher or lower than age predicted, you need to change it. For those with higher than normal max HR, like my wife who is another one of those people whose heart rate goes very high during exercise, you need to make your best reasonable guess as to how high it really is and set it. Otherwise your HRM will be significantly over counting calories.

    I am no expert on this but I use a combination of the highest I can hit on a full out attempt to get to max HR plus determining the HR range where I cannot sustain exercise, theoretically the anabolic threshold. Anabolic threshold is somewhere in the low 80's% range unless you are very fit and have increased your anabolic threshold tolerance. So if I can sustain it then it would be at most 80% or so of maxHR.

    Very good point! Don't forget to change it in your HRM! :smokin:
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