I have a question about training at your target heart rate. I just purchased a PaceMaster ProElite treadmill for cross training with your workouts. Yesterday, I programmed the cardio heart rate workout at 85% of my max (I'm 42) and set max speed at 6.0. I was surprised & discouraged to see that I reached 85% (150bpm) rather quickly and never exceeded 5.5 mph. I didn't feel worked out and barely broke a sweat. I have been running comfortabely outside or on my old treadmill at 6.0-6.3 mph for 1 hour. Does this mean I was pushing myself too far above my max THR and is this something to be concerned about? I feel much more pumped while doing IMAX 1&2 or MIC in which my HR check is usually 27. I work out 6 days/week doing cardio, karate & weights. I was just wondering what your thoughts are regarding training at or above 85% of your "theoretical" max HR. Is is possible to be more fit cardiovascularly for your age and therefore able to exceed your max? I want to be safe but also effective so I really feel worked out. Thanks for your help
My first question would be how are you calculating your maximum and your workout ranges?
Also I doubt you can really compare your old treadmill to your newer one and question the accuracy of those speeds they show you on the displays. That's belt speed I believe, and I wonder how that actually relates to foot speed. And don't even bother comparing outside running to your treadmill. They are very different. I once had someone tell me that you actually need to run on a 1% incline on a treadmill to more accurately compare it to outside running.
Trevor
Thanks for your response. I was using the age adjusted formula that was explained in my treadmill manual to calculate the "theoretical" maximum heart rate. 220-42(my age)=178x85%=151 bpm (25 for 10 sec count) when working at 85%(aerobic training zone) of my max. I thought this was somewhat accurate since the number Cathe provides for the heart rate check in MIC at my age level is around 25 beats for a 10 second count. I never thought about belt speed vs foot speed and if they are the same or different. I guess I assumed that if I set the speed at 6.0, I was being forced to run at that speed. Anyway, I just wanted to make sure I wasn't pushing my heart to hard and if this formula is accurate, should I heed to the guidelines? (Or maybe I'm making more out of this than I need to)
Hi JJ,
Try using this formula, called the Karvonen formula, in the link I have attached at the bottom of this reply. It's more accurate in that it takes into account your resting heart rate, thus making it tailored more to an individual person. Basically your resting heart rate is subtracted out during the percentage part of the calculation and then added back at the end. You may find that when you compare your workout range using this formula to the workout range you have calculated using your formula that your current workout range is actually not high enough. This could be why you think you are over your upper limit when actually you aren't.
Also keep in mind, like I said before, that those numbers that the cardio equipment spits back at you on the display are often VERY rough numbers, especially the "calories burned" reading which usually is extremely inaccurate.
Cathe, please correct anything I have said if you disagree. I definitely am not an expert like you are.
Trevor http://www.nemultisport.org/karvonen_formula.htm
Thank you Trevor. I think the Karvonen formula will be more accurate for me because it takes into account a person's fitness level (ie. resting heart rate) rather than grouping fit and unfit together by age. I'm going to try it in the morning after I take my resting pulse and see where I should be. I just want to use this as a guideline to make sure I'm working my heart safely but effectively. Heart disease runs in my family, my maternal grandmother died quite young of a heart attack, my uncle died of congestive heart failure and my dad has had a couple heart attacks. So it is important that I keep my heart healthy
JJ
p.s. I have never paid much attention to the "numbers" like calories burned or aerobic points earned but I do use time, speed and distance. I understand these may not be completely accurate but it helps to compare so I know when I've made improvements.
