Target Heart Rate

syedsaad
syedsaad Posts: 156 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
When I am on a cardio exercise machine i try to just burn the most calories possible in the shortest amount of time without worrying about the heart rate(My heart rate used to be really high and the machine used to start slowing itself down automatically so to avoid that i never hold the heart rate sensing bars), But i found out the best results are at the target heart rate. How does it work? Can anyone please explain? Should I work on Target Heart Rate or keep doing what I am doing?

Replies

  • apacheav8tor
    apacheav8tor Posts: 1
    I have been running since I was 18 and I have never been a long distance runner. I have recently started monitoring my heart rate while I am on my 2 mile runs. I have to make my 2 mile run in 18:18 in the military so I try to run an 8 min mile. When I push to make my time, I exceed my max everytime. My Max is 180 for a 40YR male. Mine will stabilize around 191 for the entire time after the first half mile. I dont know if it has always been this way or not. Hope you get some answers cause I would like to know also. My doctor is not concerned but I am.
  • dbmata
    dbmata Posts: 12,950 Member
    You can't exceed your maximum heart rate, it's not physically possible.

    Is target heart rate training good? Yes. It also depends on your goals, and the target range you're using.
  • Hornsby
    Hornsby Posts: 10,322 Member
    I have been running since I was 18 and I have never been a long distance runner. I have recently started monitoring my heart rate while I am on my 2 mile runs. I have to make my 2 mile run in 18:18 in the military so I try to run an 8 min mile. When I push to make my time, I exceed my max everytime. My Max is 180 for a 40YR male. Mine will stabilize around 191 for the entire time after the first half mile. I dont know if it has always been this way or not. Hope you get some answers cause I would like to know also. My doctor is not concerned but I am.
    Yea, how can your max be 180, if you consistently go to 190..? Confused.
  • ninerbuff
    ninerbuff Posts: 48,993 Member
    Most people don't have to be concerned with target heart rate. If one is working to hard, they'll know it. People with heart disease should control their heart rate, but again for the general population it's not a big concern.
    To figure out your max heart rate, use this formula:

    0.7 x AGE then subtract from 208 to give you max heart rate

    A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
    IDEA Fitness member
    Kickboxing Certified Instructor
    Been in fitness industry for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
  • syedsaad
    syedsaad Posts: 156 Member
    my question really was should i workout at max heart rate or target heart rate? the goal is to loose weight.
  • ninerbuff
    ninerbuff Posts: 48,993 Member
    my question really was should i workout at max heart rate or target heart rate? the goal is to loose weight.
    Exercise is for fitness and health. Calorie deficit is for weight loss. If the goal is to lose weight, you just need to burn more than you consume.

    A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
    IDEA Fitness member
    Kickboxing Certified Instructor
    Been in fitness industry for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
  • Greytfish
    Greytfish Posts: 810
    my question really was should i workout at max heart rate or target heart rate? the goal is to loose weight.

    You can't tell either of those things without measuring.

    And, a max heart rate is just that, a maximum.
  • No_Finish_Line
    No_Finish_Line Posts: 3,661 Member
    I have been running since I was 18 and I have never been a long distance runner. I have recently started monitoring my heart rate while I am on my 2 mile runs. I have to make my 2 mile run in 18:18 in the military so I try to run an 8 min mile. When I push to make my time, I exceed my max everytime. My Max is 180 for a 40YR male. Mine will stabilize around 191 for the entire time after the first half mile. I dont know if it has always been this way or not. Hope you get some answers cause I would like to know also. My doctor is not concerned but I am.
    Yea, how can your max be 180, if you consistently go to 190..? Confused.

    I think its really just the max HR that is considered safe.

    if the formula posted in this thread is correct, my Max HR would be 184. The very first time i did insanity, i don't think i ever got that high.

    my experince is the more inshape you are, the harder you have to work to get your HR high. 190 is HELLA high. especially for a whole mile. i'd suspect there is something wrong with the HRM or you my be taking some type of medication effecting your HR.
  • No_Finish_Line
    No_Finish_Line Posts: 3,661 Member
    But i found out the best results are at the target heart rate. How does it work? Can anyone please explain? Should I work on Target Heart Rate or keep doing what I am doing?

    What results are you looking for?

    What is your 'target heart rate'?

    How did you find out that this would produce the best results?


    my experience is that working as hard as you can for longer produces better results. they used to say that you wanted to keep your HR down because it would mean you could get oxygen to your muscles fast enough to use fat as a fuel source. this is true but your better off going faster and maximising your calorie burn. your body is still going to dip into its fat stores to make up fo the calorie defecit, even if you might technically be burning less calories DURING exercise.
  • _Waffle_
    _Waffle_ Posts: 13,049 Member
    My doctor said that I shouldn't go too much over 120 in the heart rate thing so I'm going to say that getting it too high isn't good for you.
  • odusgolp
    odusgolp Posts: 10,477 Member
    I think what you're asking is really... how many calories will you burn at "X" average heart rate. We can't tell you what your "target" is, as we don't know your health, etc...

    http://www.shapesense.com/fitness-exercise/calculators/heart-rate-based-calorie-burn-calculator.aspx -- this will give you a calculation so you can figure it out if you are wearing a chest-strap HRM (which I recommend if you're hoping to have some accuracy). There might be a better calculator out there someone could recommend as well?


    I can tell you, my resting HR sucks and I can get that sucker up to 200 during hard cardio... mind you I feel like I'm going to vomit and die, but... I'm working on that.
  • No_Finish_Line
    No_Finish_Line Posts: 3,661 Member
    you only have to avoid a high heart rate if you have cardiac issues, as mentioned before.

    a normal healthy person in good shape is going to have to have the work out of thier lives to exceed thier maximum HR, or even get within 10 BPM of it IMO

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