To all you fitness gurus ... can you help?

Shamrock40
Shamrock40 Posts: 264
edited September 25 in Fitness and Exercise
I bought a new polar HRM and have been using it while I work out on our elliptical. I did the resting HR, (mine was 85-ish the few times I tried it out.) I did the formula to figure my target heart range, (148-168 is what I got for a range) and today while I was working out, I went over the top # several times and kept having to slow down to keep it in range. Do I want to do that? Or do I just want to keep going as long as I'm comfortably pushing myself? I was upping the resistance a lot so would go slower and not go out of my range. I am a 39 year old female, weigh 220 right now and want to burn calories (first) and fat (second) to lose as much weight (first) and fat (second). I know there are several things to do, but I want to make sure I'm getting as much bang for my exercise buck as possible, especially at this weight. Do I want to go slower for longer at a lower heart rate, or faster for the same time and stay at the top of my range or go over it?

And can someone check my numbers to make sure that's a good range for me?

Thanks so much for any help you can give me, I appreciate it!

Replies

  • sweetnshy
    sweetnshy Posts: 97
    bump
  • forty3fab
    forty3fab Posts: 148 Member
    I always wonder about that too! Great question!
  • Mads1997
    Mads1997 Posts: 1,494 Member
    Honestly I don't take much notice of the fat burning setting on the HRM. I just try to work out at about 85% of my maximum heart rate. If I go over that and feel good I don't worry too much. The harder you work the better your fitness will be, the more cals you'll burn.
  • baldzach
    baldzach Posts: 1,841 Member
    Don't use a formula to determine your ranges. There are several tests you can do (I don't know of any on the eliptical, but I'm sure there must be some) to determine your ACTUAL max HR. Then you can use formula to determine your zones. I would look for information on heart rate training and go from there.

    The test I used for my max HR was to run a mile slow on the treadmill to warm up, then run a mile as fast as I could comfortably go for that mile, and then for the last 200 meters really go all out max, and my HR when I crossed the line is my max HR. It's 183, in case you're wondering. :)
  • scottb81
    scottb81 Posts: 2,538 Member
    The advantage to staying between 70% and 80% is that you can go longer and burn more calories and that you maximize your aerobic fitness benefit while reducing the chance of overuse injury. According to the formula on this page, http://www.ottawarun.com/heartrate.htm, that range for you is 158 to 167. Since the formula is using an estimated max heart rate a few points above or below isn't significant if you can exercise there at moderate effort.

    If you are working out nearly every day you should stay in this range most of the time. If you are only working out two or three times a week it doesn't matter so much.

    Also, when I say longer I mean 40 to 60 minutes of steady and continuous effort.
  • FrodoB
    FrodoB Posts: 19
    Generally speaking, you don't need or want to drop back into a lower zone. What the zones are really telling you is the ratio of carb to fat loss. In lower zones, you burn more fat in relationship to carbs. As intensity increases and you cross the anaerobic threshold, you're simply no longer burning additional fat. Still burning fat, just not additional fat. However, with increased intensity you are obviously still burning additional calories. Your initial intuition was correct. If you have a fixed amount of time, then your best bang for the buck is to work out as intensely as possible (within reason of course).
  • Shamrock40
    Shamrock40 Posts: 264
    Thanks for clarifying. I would definitely like to lose the most amount of weight possible, and then cut fat when I weigh less. Obviously, I'll be burning fat as well, but I'm concentrating on calorie burn/weight loss at this time. I'll turn the beep off of my HRM so I don't pay as much attention if I go over.

    Thanks again!
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