Exercising over 85% heart rate

christineja
christineja Posts: 22 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
I'm a 45 y/o woman trying to lose weight and improve my fitness levels, so I'm exercising 60+ minutes a day daily, wearing a heart monitor. It's all cardio, mostly dvds. With the dvds I'm using, my heart is above the 85% threshold at least half of the time, sometimes hitting 100% and over (but that's only for a few minutes). The AmHeart Assoc says I should be aiming for 145 tops--that seems crazy to me. After the workouts my monitor says I average anywhere from 130-150 total, but again, I hit 160+ for at least 20% of the workout.

I feel good during and after my workouts--but should I cut back and march in place or something when I get above 145? Not only is that a bummer for my calorie burn, I feel like I won't improve my endurance, etc.

Thoughts?

Replies

  • spoiledpuppies
    spoiledpuppies Posts: 675 Member
    So, based on your age, your calculated/estimated HR training zones are:

    zone 1: 113-132
    zone 2: 133-149
    zone 3: 150-167

    It's totally fine to train in zone 3 if you're comfortable there. (Beginners may need to stay in zone 1, progress to 2, and so on.) It's a good idea to vary your workouts though. Do one per week where you alternate between zones 1 and 2. Do one per week where you alternate between zones 2 and 3. Do one where you stay in zone 2 the whole time. And do one where you actually go into zone 4, but only for about 30 seconds at a time followed by 30 seconds of recovery (repeat 5-15 times).

    Note that these zones are only the estimates for your age. When you do the last routine I mentioned, you should really be fatigued and breathing heavily by the end of each 30 seconds--so push yourself hard for those.
  • Fit_in_Folsom
    Fit_in_Folsom Posts: 220 Member
    If you have are walking away from your workouts and feeling fine, nothing wrong with that. Doing intervals and staying at a higher hr will burn more cals and will also build your cardio engine. Everyone's hr max is different, and it does change as your fitness increases. I have been told you can't get to a max. I have seen 202 for myself on a 100 degree day climbing a 3 mile 12% incline at a fast pace on a bike, after riding 50 miles... and that was not max.
  • lisajsund
    lisajsund Posts: 366 Member
    Improving overall fitness includes doing strengh training. Increased HR happens with strength workouts too. Bottom line on HR? Monitors are not super accurate - some are anywhere from 10-20% off. Agree with Fit_in_Folsom - if you feel fine, nothing wrong with that.
  • christineja
    christineja Posts: 22 Member
    Thank you both, that's helpful info and very reassuring!
  • gobonas99
    gobonas99 Posts: 1,049 Member
    the HR calculators out there are all based on averages. There are people who have much higher and much lower max/working HRs than what the calculator says.

    I will be 38 in January. By those calculators, my max HR should be 182. 85% should be 154. 75% should be 136. That calculator doesn't work for me, because I have a high working HR. When I run, I usually *average* 181-183 - max is usually 188-192, but I have hit 197 as recently as last week. When I bike, my average is usually 155 for an easy ride, and 165 for a race. I did a recovery power walk last week after my half marathon, and my average HR was 113. But....my resting HR is between 52-55, and I Have a very fast recovery time (ie I'll go from 180 at the end of a run down to 110 within 5 minutes of stopping, and down to 80 or less within 10 minutes of stopping).

    If I followed those HR calculators, I'd never be able to do much more than walk. So I prefer to go by perceived exertion, and just make a note of where my HR is. I also only eat back half of my exercise calories, because I know my high working HR will cause my HRM to give me a too high calorie burn. :)
  • jacksonpt
    jacksonpt Posts: 10,413 Member
    So you are going over 100% of your max HR? Clearly the max HR set in your HRM is wrong.
  • 999tigger
    999tigger Posts: 5,235 Member
    jacksonpt wrote: »
    So you are going over 100% of your max HR? Clearly the max HR set in your HRM is wrong.

    +1.

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