Heart Rate NSV!!

MommyLumpkin
MommyLumpkin Posts: 129
edited September 24 in Success Stories
My commitment to myself this time around has been to get healthy, not just lose weight. So when I started 3 weeks ago I had to push myself to do 4 miles on the stationary bike and my heart rate would always be around 150. My goal target HR is 124-131 ish. So, today when I was on the bike, I kept close track and my HR never got over 132 and I did 10 miles in just under 40 minutes. That's HUGE!!! I think I'm more proud of getting my heart healthy and making it work more efficiently than I am about losing weight!!!

Replies

  • JeninBelgium
    JeninBelgium Posts: 804 Member
    That's excellent- and your resting heart rate is probably reducing too - congratulations on the health improvement!
  • alecta337
    alecta337 Posts: 622 Member
    Your heart is growing!! like the grinch... hehe =]
  • pouringraina
    pouringraina Posts: 106 Member
    Yay! It's always GREAT to see those little improvements. They are such an encouragement.

    Something similar happened to me yesterday. When I used to use the Elliptical, my heart rate would ALWAYS be over target. But yesterday I went 40 minutes and 30 of them were in my target heart rate. I was so proud of my heart! haha

    Way to go!
  • MommyLumpkin
    MommyLumpkin Posts: 129
    Yay! It's always GREAT to see those little improvements. They are such an encouragement.

    Something similar happened to me yesterday. When I used to use the Elliptical, my heart rate would ALWAYS be over target. But yesterday I went 40 minutes and 30 of them were in my target heart rate. I was so proud of my heart! haha

    Way to go!

    That's great! The older I get, I see how important it is to have a healthy heart!
  • MommyLumpkin
    MommyLumpkin Posts: 129
    That's excellent- and your resting heart rate is probably reducing too - congratulations on the health improvement!

    Is 76-78 a good resting heart rate? I really don't know. lol I wanna say when I was pregnant it was in the 90s but I haven't taken it resting in a long time.
  • hroush
    hroush Posts: 2,073 Member
    I would say if you're heart stayed that low, you aren't pushing yourself hard enough. You are becoming used to this workout; you need to increase the resistance. The real area to look at heart improvement is resting heart rate. Due to my 2 spin classes a week my resting heart rate stays around 40. One time I was in the hospital I kept setting off the alarms while I slept because my heart rate hit 22!
  • dzilobommo
    dzilobommo Posts: 73 Member
    I agree with hroush - it's your resting heart rate that is best to watch for improvements! The average is around 73-76 BPM, apparently.

    I've just got myself a HRM and have done some research online, which quickly burst my bubble thinking I needed to keep my heart rate down during exercise to be in the 'fat burning zone'...it turns out that simplicity wins again: if you work harder, you burn more calories and more fat overall, and your heart gets stronger and more efficient over time because there are greater demands on it.

    (Disclaimer - I am a relatively fit person, been exercising regularly for a while and have no known health problems - obviously, if you have a heart condition or asthma, it makes sense to keep your heart rate down!)

    So anyway, if you want to get a true comparison, you should be doing the SAME distance in the SAME time. If your heart rate is now lower than it was before, for the same amount of effort, it does mean that your heart is working more efficiently than before, so you should be pleased indeed!

    However, if you stop here and don't push further, it also means that your heart won't be getting any more efficient, just getting comfortable at this rate. So if you can, push yourself a bit further every time you feel that you are getting used to a certain performance level, to see even more improvements and to get your heart muscle even stronger!

    After all, take someone like cyclist Miguel Indurain who reportedly had a resting heart rate below 30, meaning his heart had to pump less than half as frequently as the average person to get the same amount of blood circulating - a super-efficient heart. I'm sure he didn't get there by keeping his heart rate down to 130 :wink: Well done and good luck!
  • MommyLumpkin
    MommyLumpkin Posts: 129
    I was just really excited to see an improvement of any kind . I've only been doing this for 3 weeks and the fact that I've not only DOUBLED my original distance, but at the same time and resistance, and at a lower heart rate, I feel like that's an accomplishment. I have no intention on quitting now or staying where I'm at. I have goals that I've listed on my blogs and home page. I understand that some of you are trying to be informative, but trust me I've done the research too. I just wanted to share my little victory with people who would be supportive and congratulate me! My resting heart rate is between 76-78 so I'm getting there.

    Also, I would never dream to compare myself to anyone else, especially a trained athlete. I've done more in the last 3 weeks, physically, than I've done since my junior year in high school. I just want to be at a point where i can ride bikes with my children without getting winded or dying walking up a flight of stairs.
  • hroush
    hroush Posts: 2,073 Member
    Sorry, I didn't mean to be a downer, just trying to say it's time to up the workout. Congrats on the new found endurance. Keep it up.
This discussion has been closed.

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