Max Heart Rate Questions

kmudica
kmudica Posts: 29
in Fitness and Exercise
I am currently on week 4 of the C25K program. I run with a hrm. when i run i seem to stay at 155. I could talk at this rate but not sing as the saying goes. My question is- my calculated heart Rate is 144 which is a hard rate for me to maintain while trying to run. Is it okay to work at the 155 or should i be slowing to the crawl it would take to be at 144.

Replies

  • ixap
    ixap Posts: 675 Member
    The heart rate guidelines are just suggestions / averages. If you feel good at 155, and you've been fine for 4 weeks of this now, I think you are okay to continue. If you were having trouble completing your workouts, I'd say slow down, but I wouldn't slow down just for some arbitrary number on the hrm.
  • Lrdoflamancha
    Lrdoflamancha Posts: 1,280 Member
    The heart rate guidelines are just suggestions / averages. If you feel good at 155, and you've been fine for 4 weeks of this now, I think you are okay to continue. If you were having trouble completing your workouts, I'd say slow down, but I wouldn't slow down just for some arbitrary number on the hrm.

    yup I agree
  • neonemesis
    neonemesis Posts: 74 Member
    I base my HR on this formula

    Karvonen Formula

    http://www.briancalkins.com/HeartRate.htm

    Typically i run an average of 144 and max of 167. if i really give it my all i have hit 182-185. i wouldn't slow down just do whats comfortable and stay within the 50%-75% range. you'll see in the table for this formula
  • gimpygramma
    gimpygramma Posts: 383 Member
    This is a different question totally unrelated to yours but fits under the heading so I thought I might butt in. Is your calorie burn directly related to your heart rate?

    I am totally dependent on a cardiac pace maker....so dependent that it classifies as artificial life support. But heh! It works really well I usually forget about it completely...Until there is the issue of "burn" envy. I have been logging about 4,500 calories a week in exercise but it takes me about 16 hours of exercising to get to that figure. Then my MFP friends check in and tell me they have burned 800 calories in an hour.My pace maker is set so I have a range from 60 to 120. My heart simply doesn't beat any faster than that. I get dizzy and sick feeling if I try to push it.
    That's just by way of background. I am not asking for medical opinions just a response to my initial question.
  • kmudica
    kmudica Posts: 29
    I have noticed a lot of huge cakorie burn numbers here too so i am a little skeptical on some "burn" numbers my fitness pal gives. For example- i can run/walk for 30 minutes and my monitor will tell me i burned 225 calories. Then i will see here someone cleaned house for 30 and burned 850 calories. Doesnt seem to add up? Even if you take size into the factor.
    Seems to me, and i am only guessing mind you, if you work out at a 120 heart Rate, thats your max and you would burn calories with no reason to go higher. 120 is in my calorie burning zone too since i am 46.
    I wonder, could you strength train or do yoga? You could build muscle without pushing cardio? That might help you feel more like you are getting somewhere.
  • kmudica
    kmudica Posts: 29
    Thanks for the answers! You really relieved my worries! I am going to check out the link. thank you!
  • Jynus
    Jynus Posts: 519 Member
    Then i will see here someone cleaned house for 30 and burned 850 calories. Doesnt seem to add up?
    It doesn't add up because they decided to live somewhere thats not reality. A trained marathon runner tops out at aprox 16cal/min. Thats a running intensity that 99.99% of the population utterly cannot hope to do. And that includes your 2-3cal/min BMR. Meaning from exercise, most everyone on this forum is doing under 14cal/min as their max limit, and prob closer to 10-12 as their actual calorie burn during their moderate intensity exercise. (the exception being bigger people who are trained enough to give er for that hour, they can hit a few cal more per min, but point stands, instead of 14cal/min being their upper limit, it's say 18cal/min.

    Some people just want to live in fantasy land, and don't want to listen to the reality that they didn't exercise as hard as they think they did. So be it, what can you say to someone like that anyway. Just accept you're in a realistic place and let them be. In the end you're doing this for yourself and not others anyway.
  • SyllyThings
    SyllyThings Posts: 15 Member
    This is a different question totally unrelated to yours but fits under the heading so I thought I might butt in. Is your calorie burn directly related to your heart rate?

    I am totally dependent on a cardiac pace maker....so dependent that it classifies as artificial life support. But heh! It works really well I usually forget about it completely...Until there is the issue of "burn" envy. I have been logging about 4,500 calories a week in exercise but it takes me about 16 hours of exercising to get to that figure. Then my MFP friends check in and tell me they have burned 800 calories in an hour.My pace maker is set so I have a range from 60 to 120. My heart simply doesn't beat any faster than that. I get dizzy and sick feeling if I try to push it.
    That's just by way of background. I am not asking for medical opinions just a response to my initial question.

    Heart rate is a way to measure calorie burn but is not calories burn. You are actually burning more calories but your heart, due to the pace marker, is not allowed to work harder to get the oxygen to your muscles and hence you get dizzy and light headed and feel sick. So you don't have a choice but to workout in the range of your pace maker. It would be unhealthy for you otherwise. Slow pace, longer duration to burn the calories.
  • gimpygramma
    gimpygramma Posts: 383 Member
    Thanks for your thoughtful responses. Makes me feel better. And yes I do spend some time doing strength training. It shows on the inches if not on the scales.

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