Max heart rate vs Average heart rate

Ellem86
Ellem86 Posts: 204
edited September 2024 in Fitness and Exercise
I'm slowly getting the hang of my new HRM. On Saturday I did 40 minutes on the Cardio Wave (similar to the elliptical but a skiing type movement instead) and my max heart rate was 172 bpm (88%) and my average was 152 (78%). Today I did 45 minutes of Spinning, my max heart rate was 180 (92%) and my average was 143 (73%). Calories burned on both days were roughly the same. Which day's statistics are better? I.e. is it better to have a higher max heart rate with a lower average or a lower max heart rate with a higher average?

I have asthma and use a salbutamol inhaler before exercise as a preventative measure. This skewers readings a little but I'm not sure by how much, in any case I always use the inhaler so it's a common factor.

P.s. it's so great having something other than calories to focus on!

Replies

  • leedavis88
    leedavis88 Posts: 4
    Why are you training? If it's to loose fat and you have a HRM I would look to zone rather than concern yourself with averages. The Fat Burning Zone Definition: In the fat burning zone, the body utlizes stored fat for energy. At approximately 60-70% of your maximum heart rate, 85% of your calories burned in this zone are fats, 5% are proteins and 10% are carbohydrates.

    If you are looking to improve your aerobic system I would research interval training and start to log your Resting Heart Rate...

    Probably didn't answer your question but these are recognised practices depending on your goals.
  • erickirb
    erickirb Posts: 12,294 Member
    Why are you training? If it's to loose fat and you have a HRM I would look to zone rather than concern yourself with averages. The Fat Burning Zone Definition: In the fat burning zone, the body utlizes stored fat for energy. At approximately 60-70% of your maximum heart rate, 85% of your calories burned in this zone are fats, 5% are proteins and 10% are carbohydrates.

    If you are looking to improve your aerobic system I would research interval training and start to log your Resting Heart Rate...

    Probably didn't answer your question but these are recognised practices depending on your goals.

    This may be true about the % burned in the fat burning zone, but keep in mind you will burn more total calories when exercising above 70% max Heart Rate and most will still be from fat, maybe a smaller %, but more total fat calories will be burned at the higher level over the same duration, due to the higher intensity. The "fat burning" zone is not the best for loosing weight, and pushing yourself harder will burn more total calories, including more calories from fat.
  • canstey
    canstey Posts: 118
    After having recorded my workouts for the past 4 months, I would say that average HR is the one that gives you the best overall estimate of how hard you worked. For me, in the low 70's is an easier day and upper 70's near 80 is a hard effort day. Not much difference in % but a fair amount of difference in perceived effort.

    MaxHR is just the highest you got in an instant. It is useful if you trying to see how hard you can push yourself and if you can attain closer to your true maxHR. I also find maxHR useful when I bike up certain hills to see how high my HR gets now if I go up slowly like I used to. I see that my HR does not get as high doing the same climbing effort. I also see how hard I have to climb the hill to get my HR up near my maximum and how long I can sustain it.
  • leedavis88
    leedavis88 Posts: 4
    Good point, I go for 60 mile road bike rides on Sundays and burn near 3,000 calories. No way is any of that at close to 20mph 60-70% MHR...
    Why are you training? If it's to loose fat and you have a HRM I would look to zone rather than concern yourself with averages. The Fat Burning Zone Definition: In the fat burning zone, the body utlizes stored fat for energy. At approximately 60-70% of your maximum heart rate, 85% of your calories burned in this zone are fats, 5% are proteins and 10% are carbohydrates.

    If you are looking to improve your aerobic system I would research interval training and start to log your Resting Heart Rate...

    Probably didn't answer your question but these are recognised practices depending on your goals.

    This may be true about the % burned in the fat burning zone, but keep in mind you will burn more total calories when exercising above 70% max Heart Rate and most will still be from fat, maybe a smaller %, but more total fat calories will be burned at the higher level over the same duration, due to the higher intensity. The "fat burning" zone is not the best for loosing weight, and pushing yourself harder will burn more total calories, including more calories from fat.
  • Azdak
    Azdak Posts: 8,281 Member
    Why are you training? If it's to loose fat and you have a HRM I would look to zone rather than concern yourself with averages. The Fat Burning Zone Definition: In the fat burning zone, the body utlizes stored fat for energy. At approximately 60-70% of your maximum heart rate, 85% of your calories burned in this zone are fats, 5% are proteins and 10% are carbohydrates.

    If you are looking to improve your aerobic system I would research interval training and start to log your Resting Heart Rate...

    Probably didn't answer your question but these are recognised practices depending on your goals.

    This may be true about the % burned in the fat burning zone, but keep in mind you will burn more total calories when exercising above 70% max Heart Rate and most will still be from fat, maybe a smaller %, but more total fat calories will be burned at the higher level over the same duration, due to the higher intensity. The "fat burning" zone is not the best for loosing weight, and pushing yourself harder will burn more total calories, including more calories from fat.

    To add to your comment even more--"fat burning", whether at high-intensity or low-intensity--should be well down the list of workout goals. What happens during a workout is not that significant compared to what goes on in the body the other 23 hrs a day. Most people should focus on balanced *training*, which would include endurance workouts, tempo workouts, and interval workouts in the cardio plan. It will allow for greater sustained progress.
  • Azdak
    Azdak Posts: 8,281 Member
    Also keep in mind that "average heart rates" will be different for different modalities. So you need to exercise caution when comparing, in your case, the Wave to a spin class workout. The average heart rates are not comparable. You can compare wave to wave workouts, and spin classes to spin classes.
  • Ellem86
    Ellem86 Posts: 204
    Thanks everyone for the responses. I guess it makes sense to compare like exercise. It's also pretty hard for me to get to 180 bpm so my guess is I was there for a couple of mins max before dropping back down to low 170s, so on the face of it I reckon my average means more.
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