?'s about heart rate and increasing fitness level

P

Pamlyn

Member
Hi everyone,

I have been working out regularly, 4~5 times a week, for the last 2 yrs. Along with some other cardio workouts, I have been using a few of Cathe's cardio tapes as well. (Step Heat, Power Max, & All Step) I also use an Elliptical, do minor upper body weight training 3x/week, and fast walk.

As I said I have been working out 4-5 days a week for the last 2 years. However, my cardio fitness level has not improved much at all. For example, when I do Power Max my heartrate is the same today as it was just a few months after I started regularly working out. My heartrate is consistently at the high end (80%) or over what it should be for maximum fat burning. My questions are these:

1) What am I doing wrong? Why is my heartrate still as high today as it was back when I first started?

2) How do I increase my fitness level so I can do my workouts at a more intense level but still get the max. fat burning benefit? A sidenote here...I LOVE working out hard so it is difficult for me to 'tone down' my workouts and keep them in that fat burning range. Even when I do modify the movements in these videos I am still at the very high end of what my heartrate should be.

I *really* want to buy some of Cathe's other workouts, but I'm not sure what to do about my lagging cardio fitness level. Help please!!


Thank you!
Pam
 
You probably were not very unfit to begin with? Cathe's workouts are very high intensity, so your heart rate is not all of a sudden going to drop to the low end. That said, you should see a difference in how high your heart rate climbs in your everyday life...say when climbing that flight of stairs. Here, you should see a significant decrease from Day One to now....assuming, again, that you were unfit to start. Many of us were already in pretty decent shape when we started with Cathe. I really don't think you should expect your heart rate to decline all that much. MAYBE 10 BPM at the most. Atleast this is the case for me. Don't feel alone, I have been working out for a long time and my heart rate has not changed that much over time...

Anybody else?
 
Oh, and quit worrying about the "fat burning" range. It is bogus. Keep your workouts at the high intensity level, but try and get in a few easier workouts now and then. Like, use the step with no risers the day after IMAX, for example. It will keep your heart rate from climbing as high and give you a bit of recovery. If you are constantly staying on the extremely high end, you may want to take a week off. Sometimes, you work out too hard too much and you can overtrain. Back off, and you may find your heart rate actually drops! It does with me sometimes.
Don't worry about it. If you say you love to work hard with Cathe, you probably do, and that is all that really counts.:)

I do Bootcamp and feel like I am going to die everytime! I can do more sumo squats now than before, but I still feel as close to death as the first time....


Now, I can't remember the very beginning of my fitness career, so maybe you are different. I know I can take off sprinting at any given moment and not feel it too much, so I know I have nothing to worry about!!!:)

Good Luck!
 
I don't know what a "maximum fat-burning rate" is. But you can tell how fit you are by taking your pulse at rest - preferably in the morning before getting out of bed for five days in a row and taking an average of the 5 days. Your resting heart rate indicates your basic fitness level. The more well-conditioned your body, the less effort and fewer beats per minute it takes your heart to pump blood to your body at rest. You may already be as fit as you can be, and this would be the best way to tell how fit you are.
 
another indication of what great shape you are in is how quickly your pulse returns to normal after finishing the cardio routine, i.e. within a minute or by the end of the cooldown, your heart rate/pulse should ideally be about 9/10 beats lower than it was during the intense cardio. After that it will continue to fall until it reaches your normal activity heart rate level.

Cathe's suggestion about interval training is also a great wisdom.

And my heart rate maxes do not change that much over the years either, I used to reach a max of 29/28/27/26 beats per ten second count right after finishing Powermax, say, and 7 years later, it's round about the same..... As Nancy says, use your resting heart rate, taken before you actuaally get up in the morning as a good indicator of improved cardiovascular efficiency.

Clare
 
Janice, Nancy, & Clare...

Thank you SO much for your replies! I really appreciate it. You can't imagine how happy I am to hear that I don't need to keep my heartrate in the 'fat burning zone'! LOL

I have finally reached the point where I'm ready to kick up my workouts to achieve much greater results than I already have. I've lost 40 lbs. in the last 2 years. I have about 20 lbs. more to go. Not only do I want to lose that weight, but I want to start sculpting my body as well.

Cathe responded to my question (I posted it in the Ask Cathe forum too). Here is part of what she said....

"A good formula to increase your aerobic capacity and achieve fitness benefits is as follows:

A) One (occasionally two) interval workouts per week.

B) Two moderate-to-mostly-high intensity workouts per week.

C) Two moderate workouts per week.

D) Strength training workouts of various nature which challenge all major muscle groups twice per week.

E) One to two recovery days"

I was wondering if anyone could help me determine which dvd's would fit this bill?

Thank you so much!

Pam
 
For example:


1. Imax and Imax 2

2. Step Blast, Power Max, Step Works, SJP, KPC, Cardio Kicks, Circuit max, any 2 CTX cardios back to back, Boot Camp, MIC, running, swimming

3. Step Fit, a single CTX cardio, Rhythmic Step, Step Heat, Power walking, swimming

4. Pyramids, Power Hour, Muscle Endurance, Slow & Heavy, Pure Strength Series, Supersets, Push/Pull

I think Cathe produces very little that fits into the moderate cardio category, so here you could crib workouts from other instructors.

Clare
 
Pam,

I also don't think Cathe produces anything "moderate". You may want to try fast walking or something much less intense to make sure you don't burn out. Congratulations on your weight loss!! You have a great attitude about it all and I think you will very easily lose those last pesky 20lbs. Clare had great suggestions in my opinion as well.
 
Janice,

Thanks for your kind words! Can you believe that I was introduced to Cathe when my husband bought me "The Step" as a gift two Christmases ago? What luck! It was the BEST gift I've ever received. I can't say enough good things about Cathe's videos. I love how challenging they are!! When I started working out 2 yrs. ago I originally only cared about losing a little bit of weight. Because I have a herniated disc in my lower spine I've never been able to workout much. Certainly not 5 days in a row! Long story short, my dr. put me on a course of maintenance meds (I still take them today, 3 yrs. later), and I was able to start working out. Because I've been able to lose more weight than I ever thought possible I'm now inspired to see just how far I can push my body.

I still have alot to learn about fitness, and it looks like the forums here are a good place to start. Everyone is so helpful. :)


Take care,
Pam
 
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