HRM readings

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amyst92
amyst92 Posts: 9 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
Hi all,

I bought my first HRM (Polar FT4) last week, and have used it 3 times now while doing 30DS. After putting in my stats, my "zone" is 118-155. I spend a lot of time with the watch beeping at me because I'm in the low 170's doing this workout. I'm on day 6 of level 1. My question is, should I continue working out at full intensity, or really try to keep it lower in the 150's? I'm 5'8", 161#, and healthy - no BP, heart problems, diabetes, etc. Is there harm in working out above the target?

Thanks in advance for any help you can provide. I'm loving my HRM - so motivating!

Replies

  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,874 Member
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    what is your overall fitness level? If it is rather poor then you are going to be working at a higher HR than someone more fit doing the same activity.

    Mostly listen to your body...you shouldn't be feeling faint or dizzy or having any issues like that. If you are, then you need to slow down.
  • BusyRaeNOTBusty
    BusyRaeNOTBusty Posts: 7,166 Member
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    Yeah, listen to your body and turn off the sound.
  • EszterNZ
    EszterNZ Posts: 51
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    I have a polar HRM as well and to be honest I never listened to any of those beeps and now its turned off. I listened to my body, and if I felt completely and utterly exhausted or unwell, I'd stop and catch my breath.
    During cardio and especially in earlier stages of me getting into regular fitness training, my heart rate used to go up to 190bpm.. I can still get it to hit around 184bpms if I'm really pushing. I certainly don't feel unwell as much anymore and I can see my average BPM is getting lower as I get fitter.
    Just listen to your body.
  • amyst92
    amyst92 Posts: 9 Member
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    I'm just getting started getting into cardiovascular shape, so it's kicking my butt. But I don't feel dizzy or bad in any way, just doing what Jillian tells me to. I feel great when I finish, so I don't think there's any harm in my HR being so high. I'm sure after a few weeks of doing this that it'll come down when it doesn't take as much effort. I'm only on day 6 and I can feel my endurance getting stronger. Thanks for the input.
  • acpgee
    acpgee Posts: 7,623 Member
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    I am advanced in years, but have decent cardio fitness despite my age and got annoyed by my FT4 beeping at me. I manually raised my max heart rate in the settings so I can work out in the heart rate zone I am comfortable with..
  • Runs4Wine
    Runs4Wine Posts: 416 Member
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    First off - I turned off the beeping.

    Secondly I found my low/high intensity ranges were different than the factory settings on my Polar HRM. I ended up putting my own low/high in.

    Like others said, you have to go by how you feel.
  • Mr_Knight
    Mr_Knight Posts: 9,532 Member
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    Just make sure that If you are eating back exercise calories, you cut the number from the HRM in half (or more).
  • jensan37
    jensan37 Posts: 151 Member
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    Personally I love it when I hear those beeps!

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