i dont understand how target heart rate works. i went on the ellyptical machine at the jim last week and they have the heart rate monitors, within about 30 seconds it stopped and said my heart was going too fast?? but sureley its different to each person...i put in my height weight and age but it said it was goin too fast, sowhat am i meant to do>??

too fast for what? some of the machines have a "fat loss" target heart rate, where you theoretically burn the most fat. Its likely that you went outside of this range. Theres much debate as far as what is more beneficial. I prefer to go at a faster pace, improving my endurance as well as burning calories. Ultimately its going to depend on what kind of fitness base you have and what you can handle.

well i was doing cardio training i didnt feel tired or out of breath but it kept saying my THR is over the limit? when i was excercising within the thr it really was not strenuous almost like i wass walking, i have a pretty fast heart anyways so maybe mine should be a bit faster than normal when excercising?

I've never been able to take my pulse to actually figure out my heart rate...

the easiest method to check ot make sure you're in the right range is the talk test or the rate of perceived exertion (it's either Shape Magazine or Fitness Magazine that uses this as it's guide ).


Basically, if you can carry on a light conversation while exercising, then you are in a good intensity range. Once your speech starts to break, slow, or cause discomfort, you’re working too hard.

If you don't have someone to talk to - or don't want to talk to yourself try singing..

I sucked it up and took a VERY measured approach at my weight loss, and im glad i did... leaving very little room for error. I INVESTED in some very good tools. I use a Polar F11 Heart Rate Monitor, A scale to weigh my food so there is very little guess work on my calorie intake, and everythin is data logged in fitday.

In total its 200.00 INVESTMENT, that has more than paid for itself.

Heart rates on machines tend to be way off. I think it's potentially valuable to know your heart rate during a workout, but it's not a necessity. I would definitely go with interval-type training. It will probably get you better results in the long run and may improve your strength a little bit to. Just make sure that you're pushing the pace.

A circuit-style of training for one or two of your workouts would help you lose weight. Use short rest intervals of 30-45 seconds between sets and repetitions over 10. It's also important to note that you should have at least one session focused on lifting as much weight as you can for a mid-to-low rep range. This will help you hold onto muscle while losing fat.

I wish I had a reason to justify my toys with like that. My heart rate monitor alone was nearly $400. It's just not really needed for weight loss though.

of course weight loss is possible with out it. its just that i am personally a numbers person. and having a number such as calories burned, when approching mathematically with calorie counting it is a tremendous help. the margin for error is much smaller than if you just guestimated your activity and intensity.

I have two questions here, but am just going to post the first one and see if the second one make sense after I see the responses.

Question: The higher the heart rate, means the more calories u r expending to maintain that heart rate?

Steve and I attempted to answer this in the "misconceptions" thread.

http://weight-loss.fitness.com/weigh...eptions-7.html

Nope. Often heart rate and calories burned have little to do with each other. Someone grossly out of shape will achieve a high heart rate relatively fast and metabolically not too much will be happening.


Your heart beating faster might make up 5 calories a year (kidding, but really, it is insignificant, as it is autonomic and damn efficient.)

Michael

Thanks Mike,

I think that is where I was getting confused. Thinking a higher hr means more calories burned. So, I thought, great I have a conditioned heart but then I burn calories slower.

Also Thanks Corndoggy & Steve.

yes, I was definitely thinking there was a correlation to a higher hr meant more calories burned.

At the gym, the cardio machine's heart rate monitor tells me that my heart is beating at a rate higher than what the charts say is my maximum heart rate. Obvious that can't be true. But how high is too high? What feels like a good workout to me seems to be above the max heart rate on the charts. Any ideas?

Thanks,
Magic

The machines can be incredibly inaccurate. Time it yourself. Find a place where you can feel your heart rate and time it out for 20 seconds and multiply by 3 for a more accurate count.

For those, like me, who are absolutely incapable of finding a pulse, let alone being coordinated enough to be able to count beats...

the RPE (Rate of perceived exertion) or Talk test is a method that will work to see if you're working in the 'right area'

RPE 1-2: Very easy; you can converse with no effort.
RPE 3: Easy; you can converse with almost no effort.
RPE 4: Moderately easy; you can converse comfortably with little
effort.
RPE 5: Moderate; conversation requires some effort.
RPE 6: Moderately hard; conversation requires quite a bit of effort.
RPE 7: Difficult; conversation requires a lot of effort.
RPE 8: Very difficult; conversation requires maximum effort.
RPE 9-10: Peak effort; no-talking zone.