HRM question

cwsoxfan

cwsoxfan

Cathlete
I recently added spin class in for cardio. I took my second class yesterday morning. I brought my own heart rate monitor from home. My question is several times I looked down at my watch and it was in the 180's!! :eek: Is this safe? I felt fine. Also, my calorie burn was low, I thought. It was 357. I was thinking I would have been mid 400's both times I took the class. Does heart rate elevated = lower calorie burn? In the past, doing a DVD like LM or RS I've burned in the mid 400's. I can't find my booklet that came with my heart rate monitor. I'm really curious about this, so thought I'd post to see what your experience is with a HRM.

Now today I ran for an hour on the treadmill and my heart rate got into the 170's, but mostly in the 160's.

TIA!

Dallas
http://www.picturetrail.com/chisoxfan
 
I know there is a heart rate range for fat burn and for cardio conditioning or something like that. Fat burn is a lower range than cardio so possibly once you get beyond the fat burn range the calorie burn slows??? Just a guess!

Either that or you need a new HRM!:p

So did you enjoy SPIN? It's a great way to mix things up, isn't it? }(
 
My HR gets in the 180's every once in a while if I'm really pushing (like during a really hard interval in IMAX 3), however when I do a tough workout like that and my HR is really up there (in the 170's) I usually burn around 600-700 in a one hour workout. Your calories burned does seem really low.

Katie
 
Does your HRM measure your average HR? Even though you got up in the 180's, your average may have been lower overall compared to other workouts. Also, how long was your class? I know that many Cathe videos are well over 65 minutes and many spinning classes are only 45 minutes to an hour long. Have you checked the battery of your HRM? When mine needs a new battery or gets interference from another HRM or machine, it will say "00" intead of my HR number. That could definately bring down the total number of calories your HRM records. There could be tons of reasons why your HRM didn't register a high calorie count. But, the higher your HR, the more calories you burn. That's why many trainers including myself, consider the "fat burning zone" sort of a persistant myth. Yes, the body uses fat as the main fuel when at a lower HR, but it's really much more important to burn more calories overall than to work in a specific "zone" if you're trying to lose weight. Of course you shouldn't work at an intense zone every time you do cardio. You do need to mix it up and have some lighter workouts. But on those days, you should be able to go longer.

Carolyn
 
>I recently added spin class in for cardio. I took my second
>class yesterday morning.

-Spinning is absolutely amazing. I've been doing it for about three months now - about two - three times per week

I brought my own heart rate monitor
>from home. My question is several times I looked down at my
>watch and it was in the 180's!! :eek: Is this safe? I felt
>fine.

-I'm no expert and am just passing along the info I've absorbed from my classes. Most spinning classes are designed to work your heart within a range of heartrates. Depending on the type of class, ie - endurance class will aim to work your heartrate between 70 and 80% of max while interval will take you from 70 - 85% and sometimes a push for a few minutes at the end to 90% - a race day will mostly have you working at 85 - 92% of max heart rate.

I find that my calorie burn is definately higher when my heartrate is sustained for longer in the 80 - 85% range, but at this range you are mostly burning glucose - carbs. When you maintain your heartrate between 65 - 80% you burn more fat - total calories will be less but the fat calories will be higher.

I to was working the higher end when I took my first classes - my endurance was fine - it seemed like unless I hit around 92% of max heartrate that would be when I would huf and puf. Talk to your instructors after class - they should be willing to give you time. The instructors where I go, said that they don't want me to constantly work this high range - it's counterproductive. The want me to focus on getting my heart healthy and strong. Also, it is important to know that it is not how quickly you get your heart rate up, but how quickly it drops when you are recovering that counts. For example when you stand, your heart rate goes up, if you keep your tension and your cadence the same, and sit, your heart rate should start dropping pretty quickly.

If you go to polar.com (the website for the polar heartrate monitors) search around, they have some useful calculators that help you determine what your max heartrate should be and also what your range is at 60% etc. Also, search this forum, there has been alot of useful links about heartrates and calculating them.

Hope this has helped you somewhat. Keep on spinning!!!!!!
 
WOW! Thanks for all the info!

Hi Wendy! Holy smokes is all I have to say about spin class!!}( I love that it's low impact. A nice break from running, my DVDs, etc. Well, it's not "nice".}( ha ha! Hats off to all you cyclists on this forum! The first class I took I actually thought I was going to die. I kept thinking I've done Imax 3 - I can do this too! He taught it pyramid style and kept adding things on..i.e jumps, sprints, climbing, hovering over your seat on a really high resistance, etc. Fun, fun! I felt the burn in my entire leg. The second class was more about the different levels of resistance. My heart rate didn't seem to go bananas like the first class.

Katie ~ I haven't done Imax 3 in a long time. I'm just getting over an ankle injury. I just added step back in this week. Definitely no Imaxes...yet! I can't wait to see how many calories I burn when I can finally do Imax 3. I love that one!

Carolyn ~ Yes, at the end of my workout it tells me my avg HRT and the class was 45 minutes long. I didn't think about that. Everything you said makes sense. I'll check out that battery. I'll have to check out those links after I get the kids to bed. Thanks a lot!!!:)

Twosquared ~ Thanks for the info too. I too, am so glad that I gave spinning a try! You're right I don't want to be counterproductive that's why I posted this. I was going to check with the instructors, but I can't wait to get to the daycare for my kids. LOL!

Thanks again!

Dallas
 
I think it's right on to have your heartrate so elevated during a spin push, mine gets to 190 from time to time, but only for a few seconds when I really trying to over exert myself.

On the calorie/fat burn thing what I have heard is this, that your body burn them in this order, un-stored and than stored carbs, than un-stored and than stored protein and finally un-stored and than stored fat calories) for energy. I'm pretty sure this is right.

Hope it helps!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Our Newsletter

Get awesome content delivered straight to your inbox.

Top