Ideal heart rate

Options
According to my HRM, during 75 minutes on the elliptical my max HR was 142 and averaged 126. It shows a target of 120 and when I get above that it indicates fitness and below it indicates fat burn. My question is what would be a good range for my HR and how much attention should I pay to the fitness/fat burn on my HRM. My HRM is a Polar FT7. Right now I am at 227, 5'9", 40yr, male.

Replies

  • JennLifts
    JennLifts Posts: 1,913 Member
    Options
    well your max would be 180, and you can calculate your heart rate by the desired intensity. So you would probably want between 60-70% of your max, which would be 108-126 I do believe.
  • ktanderson05
    ktanderson05 Posts: 207 Member
    Options
    I'm not sure what the answer is but I'm curious to know as well....Thanks for asking!
  • mishmash73
    mishmash73 Posts: 166 Member
    Options
    that seems low... but you can find a sight online to hep calculate your fat burn heart rate, cardio heart rate, etc. my max rate is usually around 175-180 and when i'm in between intervals it's about 150. you should pay attention so you aren't wasting time exercising & not burning as much calories as you can. I'm 5'6 & 180..female.
  • rileysowner
    rileysowner Posts: 8,239 Member
    Options
    The whole fat burning mode is a misunderstanding of what the body does. Do a google of fat burning mode myth and you will find a bunch of articles that will explain it much better than I can.
  • Aitenev
    Aitenev Posts: 62
    Options
    Your maximum heart rate is calculated by subtracting your age from 220 so in your case it would be 180. Your target heart rate is generally 50-85% of the max heart rate depending on how fit you are. I also have a Polar FT7 and the scale you mention just shows you whether you are working hard enough to improve the fitness of your cardiovascular system or just hard enough to burn fat. Don't be fooled though...even if you are in the "fitness" zone, you are still burning fat. Here's a link to a web page that explains target heart rates a little better. http://www.americanheart.org/presenter.jhtml?identifier=4736

    Hope this helps and good luck!