Target Heart Rate

[Cacia]

edit: written before your last posts.....I'm eagerly waiting....just want news I can use. Resitance training as opposed to what? Yea, looking for free advice. My son has a trainer so so I can't afford one.

I do the cardio everyday and try and do my weights three days a week. I do sets on a parabody (4 sets each, increasing the weight). I use the Polar on the treadmill to get in the zone where my HR is high enough (130) but maintainable.... so it helps me "pace myself". I want a simple plan I can follow and understand.

 

[SteveDiver]

Get daily exercise. Your doctor can recommend a hobby, routine, or workout that will benefit your physique and health. Walking at a moderate pace for 30 to 60 minutes daily is a great way to incorporate aerobic activity in your lifestyle, tone muscles, and enhance your metabolism. Your circulation will thank you, too, as it becomes more efficient at pumping blood through your body and breaking up plaque buildup in your arteries, thus allowing your heart to pump more easily. Just be sure to wear appropriate footwear and clothing, and don’t overdo it. Let your doctor know if you experience shortness of breath or painful limbs.

 

[Cacia]

your doctor? You are kidding right? Everything else you said I have been doing a long time now. Doctors usually just give me a blank look, to be honest. They know a lot, but fitness routines have not struck me at their forte. (...hope you aren't a physician)

My biggest issue to be honest, is when I step up the weights, my appetite goes off the chart. I am not overweight but I feel that if I stick to a rigorous routine, I could be. I have always felt it did increase my metabolic demands because of this.

 

[SteveDiver]

Catherine this is from the American Heart Association. It's too bad that you do not have a Doctor that will get involved in your physical conditioning. My father is a cardiologist he has been running for many years before I was born. He is now 56 years old and can out run many 20-30 year olds.

My appetite goes off the charts as well. This is normal you will have to find healthy snacks such as fruit, veggies,yogurt,salads, water to help out. It is a good thing that you feel hunger your burning up those cals and your body is screaming for more just eat smart and you will not have a problem...

Age Target HR Zone
50-75 % Average Maximum
Heart Rate
100 %
20 years 100-150 beats per minute 200 beats per minute
25 years 98-146 beats per minute 195 beats per minute
30 years 95-142 beats per minute 190 beats per minute
35 years 93-138 beats per minute 185 beats per minute
40 years 90-135 beats per minute 180 beats per minute
45 years 88-131 beats per minute 175 beats per minute
50 years 85-127 beats per minute 170 beats per minute
55 years 83-123 beats per minute 165 beats per minute
60 years 80-120 beats per minute 160 beats per minute
65 years 78-116 beats per minute 155 beats per minute
70 years 75-113 beats per minute 150 beats per minute

Your maximum heart rate is about 220 minus your age. The figures above are averages, so use them as general guidelines.

Note: A few high blood pressure medications lower the maximum heart rate and thus the target zone rate. If you're taking such medicine, call your physician to find out if you need to use a lower target heart rate.

 

[LG Diver]

Please define fitness before you keep going further. The statement refers to what was mentioned about 20 minutes being sufficient at the levels being presented, which will do nothing more than elevate core temperature and provide very little benefits in the long term. Once again, take the time to read properly as well as all that's implied.

Fitness in the most general sense is being suitably trained to accomplish your goal. If your goal is powerlifting, being able to run a marathon does not make you "fit" for the task at hand, and vice-versa. "Fitness" in the context of this discussion, in my mind is general health and weight loss.

And since you seem to know so much about lactate treshold training, please elaborate what it is and how is not applicable to conditioning. Catherine and Countryboy want to know and I'm sure you have great knolwedge of what it is since you made such a witty analogy... Care to give it a shot?

In general terms, lactate threshold training is training at or slightly above lactate threshold pace (running) or power (cycling). Due to the high intensity of the work period, an LT workout is usually done as an interval set with a predefined number of work periods and recovery periods. LT is generally defined as the pace/power which is sustainable for 60 minutes in a race situation. A good analogy would be the pace at which you can run a 10K at. LT is specifically defined as the point at which blood lactate concentration in the bloodstream rises above some baseline level though this requires a blood analyzer to determine. The purpose of LT training is to increase LT power or pace. If you have a specific goal of running a faster 10K or marathon, or riding a faster time trial, LT training is an integral part of training. If you have a goal of losing fat or increasing lean body mass, LT training is probably not the right tool to use.

Now, with all of that said, I think that this thread has needlessly overcomplicated matters. In my mind, there are a few key principles that will serve people very well if the goal is weight loss and general health.

1) When the goal is fat loss the name of the game is raw calorie burn. If you can burn more calories than you eat, you'll lose weight.
2) Every exercise you do has a "recovery cost", that is, your body has to work to recover from the work you did.
3) The key variables when talking about exercise are intensity, duration, and frequency.
4) A low intensity/high duration exercise is easier for your body to recover from than a high intensity/low duration exercise.
5) Faster recovery means that you can have more quality workouts per week, thus increasing your overall calorie burn.

Can you lose weight, by working out for 20 minutes, 3 times per week? Sure. You just need to adjust your dietary plan to balance calorie intake with calorie burn. My main issues with LT training for weight loss are:

1) LT training is a high stressor, thereby increasing the risk of injury if the body doesn't have a suitable level of base fitness.
2) The recovery cost of LT training is high so this is not an efficient use of the body's recovery resources. This is a very specific form of training that has a high cost and risk associated with it, and no clearly discernable benefits to someone looking to lose weight. To put it in simple terms, let's compare two workouts. I can either go out and run 6 miles at a 10 minute pace, or I can run 2 miles at a 6 minute pace. I will definitely be more sore from the latter workout. I will burn more calories from the first one. I will also be able to do the first one again the next day (assuming I've been running for a little while and this isn't my first workout), while it will probably take me several days of recovery before I can go out and run another 2 miles at a 6 minute pace. Which plan do you think is better for weight loss (the context of this discussion).

Now if the discussion is not strictly weight loss and you want to talk about how to run a faster 10K or triathlon, the context changes and my answers will change.

 

[Supernal]

Now, for those of us who DON'T have degrees in physiology and biochemistry, how can someone get and stay healthy?

 

[freediver]

Now, for those of us who DON'T have degrees in physiology and biochemistry, how can someone get and stay healthy?

Supernal, would you please refrain from complicating this argument with your simple questions!

 

[Steve Egner]

Hi countryboy,

I have been dieting / working out (aerobic for now) for 5 weeks and seeing great progress...

You're on the right track. I would add (to all the sage advice preceeding) that it's time to take your aerobics outside, weather permitting. You'll find that it takes less time to achieve your target heart rate when actually running or cycling outdoors, and IMO, is infinitely more interesting.

What is the "target heart rate" for performing aerobic activity?

The formula you used is extremely conservative, and therefore inaccurate for most fit athletes. I can recommend a great book, "The Heart Rate Monitor Book for Cyclists" By Sally Edwards and Sally Reed. She has some better formula suggestions. Sally documents fit people maintaining a max heart rate in the 190's past the age of 80.

I'm 45, and my max heart rate is 199 (the highest I've seen on my HRM). My resting rate is 55.

Check out that book... the principles are universal. Your max heart rate is determined by genetics (it represents potential, and is not an indicator of fitness in and of itself).
Your resting rate, however, can be improved, and you should log it regularly to track your progress.

How accurate are the machines (Precor) for determining your heart rate? If I check manually (carotid artery) I get very similar results, but it is not easy while on the machines..

I'm not familiar with the HRM's incorporated into Precor machines, but I know that the Life Fitness (Life Cycle) products use Polar monitors. When I've double checked them at my gym (using my own HRM and chest strap) they've been right on.

Good luck with your program!

Steve

 

[Cacia]

So, tell me, on weights, the BF taught me to have the weight high enough that I can only do about 6 reps. then after a couple minutes, I do another set. I stop when the burn prohibits the next rep in the set. he had me working to the point where the muscle shakes and can't seem to fire..... does that sound right? I have no problem keeping up the cardio but the weight thing was making me too hungry. But, I am back on it now.

I am a little curious about the blood analyzer in so far as what kind of PH drop you would see from the lactic acid....... 7.3? or more subtle?

some of you are coming up with a very high target HR which I am not sure would be possible for me to maintain for 20 minutes.....

Polar Monitors are completely accurate, I use one every day.

 

[countryboy]

Thanks to all, lots of great info..

How do I define fitness: I want to look good naked!



As an example, here is what I have been doing:

Started with 30 min eliptical and 30 min treadmill, 5 - 6 times per week. Heart rate on elip, was ~155 - 165, treadmil (3.4 mph) HR was ~ 150.

Increased resistance on eliptical, and increased speed on treadmill over 2 - 3 weeks, kept the same HR, or thereabout.. Increased time to 45 min / 30 min, or 30 / 45.

Past week or so, am now doing eliptical for 60 + mins (cool down, etc..)

Last night:

Eliptical
5 mins warm up 130 strides/min heart rate up to ~ 140
10 mins @ 140 SPM heart rate up to 155
3 mins - increased resistance, increased pitch, increase spm to 150, heart rate 180 - 185
12 mins - back down to lower resistance 130 spm heart rate 160 - 170
5 mins increased resistance, increased pitch, increase spm to 150, heart rate 180 - 185
10 mins - back down to lower resistance 130 spm heart rate 160 - 165
15 mins - back down to lower resistance up to 150 spm heart rate 170 - 175
5 mins - work down to even lower resistance, 120 spm, heart rate back to 140 - 150

Looks more confusing than it really is.. but essentially I am varying the intensity to "peak" my heartrate for ~ 3 mins, then come down for 5 -10, then peak then down, then long "push", then slowly come back down..

I feel labored during the peaks, but recover pretty quick..

I will keep doing this (or similar) and will be adding weight training (machines mostly for now).. The days I work with weights, I will taper the aerobic exercise to 30 - 45 mins. No weights, 60 min aerobics. Still try to take 1 - 2 days off per week, varying days.

My main question was about the higher heart rate, and it seems from the posts that it is not an issue..

Stay tuned for the next thread on what is the best weight training program ... lol...