Intensity/HR question

[winter2b]

Hello fellow Cathe-ites! I just did Imax 2 (FitTV version, so not the whole thing) and I have a question. I feel like I was very challenged - had to modify some of the moves, especially the last interval...my breathing was challenged, and my HR felt high, but I don't feel like I got as sweaty as I do when I do the elliptical. I have noticed this with some of the other Cathe workouts...and I was wondering if I am modifying too much and not getting as good of a workout as I should be - or if maybe I don't sweat as much because I am moving around more and the air is cooling my skin. Does this make any sense? I want to be sure that I'm working out with the proper intensity to get a top notch workout - so if you have any thoughts, I'd love to hear them.

I guess this leads to my other question. Do any of you use a HR monitor? Do you feel that they accurately calculate HR and calories burned during a workout? I'd love to get a better handle on how many calories I am burning so I can monitor my intake and create a deficit to lose pounds. Thoughts on those would be appreciated as well.

Thanks very much for reading this and happy Sunday workouts to all!!!

Amy

 

[CathydsRNA]

Hi,
An HRM will certainly answer your question about intensity on the ellipical vs IMAX. Not all HRMs are created equally in terms of calculating calorie expenditure based on heart rate. The heart rates are pretty accurate amongst most models. I would recommend one that allows you to enter your fitness level as other models can over estimate calorie burn. Polar has models that allow you to enter fitness level but only some models have this capability.