question about heart rate

babybosco
babybosco Posts: 13
edited September 23 in Fitness and Exercise
I have a heart condition and have been told that I can only get get my heart rate up to 120 bpm is this going to be enought of a rise for my body to get the proper exercise i need to help me loose weight??? anyone who has any knowledge of this it would be very helpful

Replies

  • Dreamingwillow
    Dreamingwillow Posts: 33
    If I'm not mistakin' you can exercise at that rate for an extended period of time and still gain weight loss benifits.
  • cflorkie
    cflorkie Posts: 92 Member
    of course you could! Just start walking. I have a friend that watched what he ate (really closely) and started walking to and from work, and everywhere else he could. He would average about 2-3 hours walking a day.

    He lost over 100 pounds in six months. It's not about how active you are its about the fact that you are active!

    So sorry about your heart condition, you may want to talk to your doctor before you start exercising!
  • borisda
    borisda Posts: 122 Member
    I assume that you've got medical advice due to the fact that you know your max bpm, so with that in mind I'd recomend a polar HRM and like the last lady said go for a walk and observe your heart rate. You'll know when your pshing to hard and you will be able to control the inensity of your exercise. And the fitter you get the more you can do without exceeding your limit.
    take care of yourself and enjoy it
  • boardedney
    boardedney Posts: 31 Member
    This really all depends on how much over weight you are. It should work for a while. And then once you've lost some weight, get your doc to re-evaluate your max heart rate. If your heart condition is related to your weight or your weight has a strong bearing on your heart condition, then perhaps as you lose weight, your max heart rate will increase as well and that can help get you to your next level of weight loss. But, ultimately this is up to your cardiologist. Now, if your heart condition is not related to or heavily affected by your weight, and you must keep it under 120 for ever, then at some point, your body will be lighter...it will get used to working at 110 or 115 and will stop burning calories as quickly.....You'll want to include interval training....where you would work with your heart rate at maybe 95 or 100, for a minute, then take it up to 115 for 3min and repeat for the whole 60 min or whatever. You may just have to work 50% to 75% longer than an average person to obtain the same results. Another important way to burn calories without increasing your heart rate, is to get more into strength/resistance training. Your heart rate doesn't have to increase as much during the workout and then you will continue a slow, but effective caloric burn over the next 48 hours because of the energy it takes for your body to go through the process of breaking down and building up new musle. PLUS, you will be stronger and appreciate the way your body is changing more when you have good muscle tone. So, run all this by your doctor and as personal trainer, who has worked a lot with people who have all kinds of limitations, I am confident that you will succeed in your endevours.
  • Healthydiner65
    Healthydiner65 Posts: 1,448 Member
    Always and I mean always check with your physician first!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
  • babybosco
    babybosco Posts: 13
    Thanks SO much for all this information you guys are very very informative I am feeling better and better about myself and what i may be able to achieve!!! I had a heart attack two years ago and really kinda got left on my own to deal with things like the exercise and whenever i ask anyone they never seem to give me a direct answer like this!!! So thanks for all the useful info!! I LOVE this site. if anyone would like to be friends just send me a request!
  • givprayz
    givprayz Posts: 328
    I have tachycardia, and take a beta blocker to keep my resting heart rate at a nice 70 bpm. Problem is, I can't get my heart rate above about 145, the medication just won't let it happen. I set my HRM to analyze my exercise to start, and it came to the conclusion my goal was 125-140, and now it tracks me. I could set it to tell me if I went over, but I only do that if I've forgotten to take my med. I agree with the others who 1) recommend getting a heart-rate monitor (HRM); 2) recommend being in contact with your cardiologist as you build up your exercise tolerance and decrease your weight, because your limit will almost certainly change, and 3) weight-loss does not require high heart-rate exercise, but you will feel better, and look better, if you do some light cardio as well as toning exercise in addition to dietary changes.
    Best of luck to you. Feel free to friend me.
  • carfix2000ca
    carfix2000ca Posts: 2
    Higher heartrate workouts target cardio, lower targets fat burn. At 120 you will burn fat. Anything above rest will burn fat.
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