Heart Rate Monitors - What's my target zone??
- Thread starter bernajo
- Start date
naughtoj
Cathlete
Joy.....
You will almost always be out of your "zone" doing a Cathe workout. I gave up on wearing my HRM during Cathe workouts for this reason. Rest assured, if you are doing Cathe, you are working hard enough.
And no, there is no "fat burning zone". Sorry, but I HATE that!
Maybe others can give you better feedback as far as calculating your "real" max HR. I just have never really cared that much...
You will almost always be out of your "zone" doing a Cathe workout. I gave up on wearing my HRM during Cathe workouts for this reason. Rest assured, if you are doing Cathe, you are working hard enough.
And no, there is no "fat burning zone". Sorry, but I HATE that!
Maybe others can give you better feedback as far as calculating your "real" max HR. I just have never really cared that much...
I have a Mio Shape HRM that doesn't require the chest band. You take you heart rate from the watch. I love it. You can actually set your resting heart rate, age, gender, and weight and the watch will calculate total calories burned from the time you set it. You don't have to wait until you reach your target zone...which I happen to love cuz you still burn calories during the warm up and cool down, just not as many. You can even wear it and see how many calories you burn after a workout or during yoga/pilates, etc.
I'm a bit addicted to mine. Even if I know I'm working out as hard as I can, I like to watch my numbers. The Mio Shape also has a function that lets you enter total calories consumed and you can calculate your caloric intake. I don't use that function ...but it is available.
I'm a bit addicted to mine. Even if I know I'm working out as hard as I can, I like to watch my numbers. The Mio Shape also has a function that lets you enter total calories consumed and you can calculate your caloric intake. I don't use that function ...but it is available.
If you set your heart rate monitor for your age and your in decent shape, that should be a pretty close estimate as to how high you want to do, as you never want to go over 80% of your max heart rate. Just take 220 subtract it from your age, then multiply it by 80% and then by 60%, you should stay some where between 60% and 80% for fat loss and burning calories.
Now if your going over your 80% heart rate, you really need a an easier video, you are really stressing your heart a lot, and it won't affect you now, but wait about 10 to 15 years, and you'll have all sort of heart problems and will actually be sitting on the couch instead of exercising because you wore the wall of your heart too thin. Or too thick and if you workout it will kill you. I've seen a few members at the gym actually do this to themselves and after a few years, they age like 10 years all at once almost all of them look close to 60 and most are in their early 40s.
If you can't talk on the phone while working out, your working too hard. You should be able to repeat everything Cathe says and not be winded or gasping for breath.
I know must want to lose weight but killing yourself to do it, really isn't the best way. Keep in your range and try to stay in that range threw the whole workout that's where you'll burn the most calories and fat. The longer you can keep going in your range without taking breaks etc, that's where you'll be burning up that fat like wild fire. You go higher and you actually get less benifits as well as causing yourself a big risk. Just like dring a car, most of us speed a little, but most of us don't do 120 in a 55. Your body is a lot like the car, your car won't last very long if you push the gas pedal down and make the speed meter run all the way up and if you keep it there for a a period of time every day, you'll develop a lot of problems with your car. It's the same for your body, if you go over your max and do it frequently, you will give yourself a lot of problems in the future, and you may think 10 years is a long time and you won't care about having problems then. It's not a long time. Look how fast the last 10 yeas of your life has went and think back 10 years ago when yu thought your current age was old. Well now that you reached it, do you think it is old? You won't think it's old when you reach the next 10 either.
If you don't want to wear a heart monitor, then talk, talk the whole time you workout, and when it starts to get hard to talk drop the intensity down. It's okay to push once in a while but you never ever want to push it more then 85% of your heart rate, and you only want to keep it there for 5 minutes or less.
But one of the best monitors is talking, it tells you if your working too hard, and you don't have to keep looking down at something. As not everyone can stay between 60% - 80% when they are getting into the heart rate thing. And if that's you, base it off on talking. I know some feel like they haven't got a good workout if they still can talk, but if you can't your heading into dangerous waters, and waters you really don't wnat to be in. They aren't fun, they cause a lot of pain and a lot of hardships. As it's nothing to blow a valuve of your heart at any age if you workout too hard, for too long. And do you really want to have open chest surgrey? Or be a canidate for it? Just use your brain and use common sense, your taking care of yourself by working out, but you still got to take care of yourself while you work out. Trust me you don't want to end up like those people who worked out too hard for too long. They always look sick they never seem to feel good, and they have no energy. They just are not the person they were and it's really sad, and heart breaking at times.
Kit
Now if your going over your 80% heart rate, you really need a an easier video, you are really stressing your heart a lot, and it won't affect you now, but wait about 10 to 15 years, and you'll have all sort of heart problems and will actually be sitting on the couch instead of exercising because you wore the wall of your heart too thin. Or too thick and if you workout it will kill you. I've seen a few members at the gym actually do this to themselves and after a few years, they age like 10 years all at once almost all of them look close to 60 and most are in their early 40s.
If you can't talk on the phone while working out, your working too hard. You should be able to repeat everything Cathe says and not be winded or gasping for breath.
I know must want to lose weight but killing yourself to do it, really isn't the best way. Keep in your range and try to stay in that range threw the whole workout that's where you'll burn the most calories and fat. The longer you can keep going in your range without taking breaks etc, that's where you'll be burning up that fat like wild fire. You go higher and you actually get less benifits as well as causing yourself a big risk. Just like dring a car, most of us speed a little, but most of us don't do 120 in a 55. Your body is a lot like the car, your car won't last very long if you push the gas pedal down and make the speed meter run all the way up and if you keep it there for a a period of time every day, you'll develop a lot of problems with your car. It's the same for your body, if you go over your max and do it frequently, you will give yourself a lot of problems in the future, and you may think 10 years is a long time and you won't care about having problems then. It's not a long time. Look how fast the last 10 yeas of your life has went and think back 10 years ago when yu thought your current age was old. Well now that you reached it, do you think it is old? You won't think it's old when you reach the next 10 either.
If you don't want to wear a heart monitor, then talk, talk the whole time you workout, and when it starts to get hard to talk drop the intensity down. It's okay to push once in a while but you never ever want to push it more then 85% of your heart rate, and you only want to keep it there for 5 minutes or less.
But one of the best monitors is talking, it tells you if your working too hard, and you don't have to keep looking down at something. As not everyone can stay between 60% - 80% when they are getting into the heart rate thing. And if that's you, base it off on talking. I know some feel like they haven't got a good workout if they still can talk, but if you can't your heading into dangerous waters, and waters you really don't wnat to be in. They aren't fun, they cause a lot of pain and a lot of hardships. As it's nothing to blow a valuve of your heart at any age if you workout too hard, for too long. And do you really want to have open chest surgrey? Or be a canidate for it? Just use your brain and use common sense, your taking care of yourself by working out, but you still got to take care of yourself while you work out. Trust me you don't want to end up like those people who worked out too hard for too long. They always look sick they never seem to feel good, and they have no energy. They just are not the person they were and it's really sad, and heart breaking at times.
Kit
Kit - I always thought it was good to do aerobic/anaerobic intervals which takes your heart rate over the threshold. I've also read that sometimes you need to "shake up" your cardio and do a higher intensity workout for a shorter amount of time every once in a while. Have I been mislead?
MadnNatsmom
Cathlete
Kit -
I would also like to know what you base your theory on.
I've never heard about stressing out your heart and thinning the heart walls.
>>>>If you set your heart rate monitor for your age and your in decent shape, that should be a pretty close estimate as to how high you want to do, as you never want to go over 80% of your max heart rate. Just take 220 subtract it from your age, then multiply it by 80% and then by 60%, you should stay some where between 60% and 80% for fat loss and burning calories.<<<<
Actually, this is an outdated formula. It doesn't take into account a persons resting heart rate. Even the Karvonen formula (which takes the RHR into account) is accurate for only 75% of the general population.
Elite runners are able to sustain 85% of their heart-rate for 2+ hours (for a marathon) and they train in this higher heart-rate zone.
If you are able to talk easily during exercise you are not exercising hard enough - and this is from the exercise guidelines of ACSM - American College of Sports Medicine - which does numerous researches and sets a lot of exercise guidelines.
It is a known fact that intense exercise produces HGH (Human Growth Hormones) which is not the case with lower intensity exercise.
I would also like to know what you base your theory on.
I've never heard about stressing out your heart and thinning the heart walls.
>>>>If you set your heart rate monitor for your age and your in decent shape, that should be a pretty close estimate as to how high you want to do, as you never want to go over 80% of your max heart rate. Just take 220 subtract it from your age, then multiply it by 80% and then by 60%, you should stay some where between 60% and 80% for fat loss and burning calories.<<<<
Actually, this is an outdated formula. It doesn't take into account a persons resting heart rate. Even the Karvonen formula (which takes the RHR into account) is accurate for only 75% of the general population.
Elite runners are able to sustain 85% of their heart-rate for 2+ hours (for a marathon) and they train in this higher heart-rate zone.
If you are able to talk easily during exercise you are not exercising hard enough - and this is from the exercise guidelines of ACSM - American College of Sports Medicine - which does numerous researches and sets a lot of exercise guidelines.
It is a known fact that intense exercise produces HGH (Human Growth Hormones) which is not the case with lower intensity exercise.
Sorry, Kit--I don't mean this as an attack or a flame in any way. Just posting out of curiosity and a desire to learn more. I haven't heard anything about stressing out your heart and thinning or thickening the walls, either. I searched PubMed (the National Library of Medicine database of medical journals) for this, too, using a bunch of different search terms. Came up with lots of hits on "athletic heart," which is actually a training effect and not detrimental. But nothing at all on heart rate or maximum HR and heart wall thickening/thinning. Do you have any links to articles about this? Again, not meaning this as an attack in any way!! Just want to know if I've missed something, and to read what there is to say on the topic, if anything.
Thanks.
Thanks.
Thanks Kit,
I remmeber when I used to take step classes, instructors would make us take our heart rates and the talk test - if you could still talk bu tnot sing, you're working hard enough. When I'm doing a Cathe tape, I feel great, not at all like I'm working too hard, but my heart rate monitor says my heart rate is out of my zone. I think I will just use the talk test for awhile until I figure out how to program the silly thing.
I remmeber when I used to take step classes, instructors would make us take our heart rates and the talk test - if you could still talk bu tnot sing, you're working hard enough. When I'm doing a Cathe tape, I feel great, not at all like I'm working too hard, but my heart rate monitor says my heart rate is out of my zone. I think I will just use the talk test for awhile until I figure out how to program the silly thing.
shobbsie
Cathlete
Hi Joy,
Which Polar model do you have? I have a Polar M61 which has a fitness test (actually measures resting heartrate while lying down) that figures into the range (probably similar to the Karvonan method..if I spelled that right). What I found out by wearing a hrm is that I was being a little lazy!! I needed to work harder. I only keep my step 4 - 6 inches due to knee problems, but I was being a little too easy on myself. I love that the hrm is keeping me in line! I have seen better fitness gains since using it. I'm close to 49 and was probably thinking I should be a little too sedatex(
Sharron
Which Polar model do you have? I have a Polar M61 which has a fitness test (actually measures resting heartrate while lying down) that figures into the range (probably similar to the Karvonan method..if I spelled that right). What I found out by wearing a hrm is that I was being a little lazy!! I needed to work harder. I only keep my step 4 - 6 inches due to knee problems, but I was being a little too easy on myself. I love that the hrm is keeping me in line! I have seen better fitness gains since using it. I'm close to 49 and was probably thinking I should be a little too sedatex(
Sharron
bernajo,
The talk test is great and one of the best ways to work in your zone. Also another way to do it, through out your workout rate your intensity, how do you feel? 1 I could sleep through this it's that easy, 10 I'm going to pass out or collaspe in about a minute.
1 is way too easy kick it up, 10 is way too hard. You want to generally stay at a 5 or 6 and then with intervals you want to push it up to a 8. If your good at listening to your body and not over doing it, this is a great method as well as the talk test, once I got my clients use to it, if they said 5 or 6 they'd always be in their target heart rate, if they said 3, they'd be under it. And if they said 9 or 10 they'd always be over it. It does take a bit to get use to, so do the talk test like you were tought and when you to the peak of starting to take in more air then speaking words call that a 7 or 8 and work your way down from there. After I tought them to do that, I hardly ever needed the heart rate monitors, I always did a quick check but their numbers always agreed with the heart rate. The only time I made sure to keep the heart monitor hooked up all the time even with the number system and talk system was for my people who had over worked their hearts and were trying to keep fit to keep other health problems at bay. Those were the only ones that wouldn't match what the heart rate said. But then again I think a lot of them just wanted to work harder again as they liked that winded feeling.
Good luck and it sounds like your pretty much on target do try to reset or fix your heart monitor as it is nice to see how long you are in your max heart rate zone.
Kit
The talk test is great and one of the best ways to work in your zone. Also another way to do it, through out your workout rate your intensity, how do you feel? 1 I could sleep through this it's that easy, 10 I'm going to pass out or collaspe in about a minute.
1 is way too easy kick it up, 10 is way too hard. You want to generally stay at a 5 or 6 and then with intervals you want to push it up to a 8. If your good at listening to your body and not over doing it, this is a great method as well as the talk test, once I got my clients use to it, if they said 5 or 6 they'd always be in their target heart rate, if they said 3, they'd be under it. And if they said 9 or 10 they'd always be over it. It does take a bit to get use to, so do the talk test like you were tought and when you to the peak of starting to take in more air then speaking words call that a 7 or 8 and work your way down from there. After I tought them to do that, I hardly ever needed the heart rate monitors, I always did a quick check but their numbers always agreed with the heart rate. The only time I made sure to keep the heart monitor hooked up all the time even with the number system and talk system was for my people who had over worked their hearts and were trying to keep fit to keep other health problems at bay. Those were the only ones that wouldn't match what the heart rate said. But then again I think a lot of them just wanted to work harder again as they liked that winded feeling.
Good luck and it sounds like your pretty much on target do try to reset or fix your heart monitor as it is nice to see how long you are in your max heart rate zone.
Kit