Heart Rate During Cardio/Target Heart Rate

pecarrick
pecarrick Posts: 12 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
Hi any and all,

I've been back, consistently, in the gym the past few weeks and I've been watching my heart rate during my cardio training (running & biking) out of pure curiosity.

Now, I have a few questions:

How does one know his/her Target Heart Rate?

What's the point of working out at the Target Heart Rate? (My goal is total fat burn)

My heart rate while running will stay in the high 180's and even get to 190 or 192 if I go longer. Is that normal/healthy/okay?

Thankful for any and all helpful, informative feedback! :)

Replies

  • Cyclink
    Cyclink Posts: 517 Member
    The first question is what your goals are. If you are looking to be strong over 1 minute, 5 minute, or 20 minute efforts, your target will be different than someone just looking to lose weight.

    Secondly, start looking into "threshold heart rate", which is the starting point for figuring out your target heart rate. It will give you a much more individualized understanding of your heart rate than "maximum heart rate", which has little to no applicable value in training (despite what you read in most fitness magazines). Testing for your threshold heart rate can take a little effort, but you can learn a lot about your fitness and your progress.
  • pecarrick
    pecarrick Posts: 12 Member
    Okay, thanks Cyclink!

    I'm wanting to be strong, but to also lose weight. I figured they might go hand-in-hand. I have a decent amount of strength I believe but I'm wanting to burn away all the fat surrounding my muscle. I've started swimming some too to help improve my cardio. I could really tell a difference. Swimming has definitely helped improved by ability to run longer.

    Right now I'm running a little bit over a 10min mile pace for about 30-35min. By the end of the 30-35min running at that pace, my heart rate is up around 190. Just curious if that was okay/healthy, and that my heart isn't going to beat out of my chest or something! :)

    I'll look into the threshold heart rate information.
  • kmorganlfc
    kmorganlfc Posts: 115 Member
    This is quite good for an introduction to heart rate zones and training:

    http://www.brianmac.co.uk/hrm1.htm

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