Heart rate too high?

[mark! 449]

Negatory my good man, negatory. I'm saying if your heart rate is peaking that early, and if you're doing sustained cardio for 25 minutes with your heart rate at or near that level, it's not good. If you're doing intervals, and your heart rate PEAKS at 180, and then drops down when you switch to a slower interval, and goes up then down etc over and over and over again, that's fine. However, if you're working out with that high of a heart rate for 25 minutes, you're burning up carbs and glucose/glycogen stores. Burning up glycogen leads to a catabolic state, in other words converting muscle to energy, a bad state to be in. What's your heart rate saying half way through? Also, try another machine. Even before the workout, just get on one and put your hands on the heart rate monitor, a lot of times they don't even have to be on to read your HR, or try to read your HR at least, they're not always accurate.

Slow and steady maintained cardio is perceived as being the best cardio state for fat loss. There's little to no chance of burning muscle for fat. You ever see a bodybuilder run? These guys are rocket scientists when it comes to their bodies. They don't run. They walk at a high incline. And if you're already doing cardio for 25 minutes (my hats off to you sir, I'd die of boredom) then you're better off chugging along at a slower state right now until your body can adjust and you can build up your heart. The heart is a muscle, you don't jump under the bar trying to squat 405lbs, you'd likely die a horrible squishy death, you start with the bar, and then add weight slowly as you progress. The heart is the same way. In muscle form, it's no different, only much, much more important. If you tear a bicep by over doing it, you're out 6-8 weeks. If you hurt your heart by over doing it, you may never have to worry about cardio again.

[BigDaddyJoe 246]

Thanks for the info/advice. This might all seem like common sense to you, but it's all new to me, which is why I asked the question. I figured as long as I was doing what I could, the heart would catch up. I was only able to do 10 minutes the first day, 22 minutes the second day, then 25 minutes the third day. It's been getting easier every day, so I figured I was progressing nicely. I question the accuracy of the monitor, it doesn't make sense that I would be at 115 when I first set foot on the machine.

[SpaceDust 585]

Thanks for the info/advice. This might all seem like common sense to you' date=' but it's all new to me, which is why I asked the question. I figured as long as I was doing what I could, the heart would catch up. I was only able to do 10 minutes the first day, 22 minutes the second day, then 25 minutes the third day. It's been getting easier every day, so I figured I was progressing nicely. I question the accuracy of the monitor, it doesn't make sense that I would be at 115 when I first set foot on the machine.[/quote']

It seems to me that it might be worth it to invest in a decent personal heart rate monitor. As others have mentioned and you suspect, they aren't always all that accurate on some of the exercise equipment, plus you'll have consistent measurements available to you throughout your entire workout.

I know that when I was seeing a personal trainer we found a fair amount of variance on the various pieces of equipment in the gym, even equipment made by the same manufacturer and the same age. It was a lot easier to keep my heart rate consistently in the zone after I got my own.

Good luck!

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-T989 using VST

[CowgirlJane 14,261]

I don't trust the HRM on those machines. in spinning classes we go by perceived exertion and I sure feel exerted. . Those cycling people are a little nuts but they definitely drive us to higher heartrate. Of course everyone is fairly fit in that class.

Don't overdo it early on....build up carefully to avoid injury. This whole fitness thing is more of a marathon then a sprint.

[mark! 449]

Thanks for the info/advice. This might all seem like common sense to you, but it's all new to me, which is why I asked the question. I figured as long as I was doing what I could, the heart would catch up. I was only able to do 10 minutes the first day, 22 minutes the second day, then 25 minutes the third day. It's been getting easier every day, so I figured I was progressing nicely. I question the accuracy of the monitor, it doesn't make sense that I would be at 115 when I first set foot on the machine.

No no, it's all good man, that's what I'm here for, love chiming in where I can. When I started, jeez 15 years ago, makes me feel old, it wasn't easy to grasp each concept, but after years of being around experts and studying, it got easier. Just ease in to things at first, give it some time.

[Egadzman 13]

Don't trust those dopey HR monitors built into machines. Stop exercising, find ur pulse, starting at zero count the beats for 6 sec and stick a zero on the end. Salt in your diet, hydration, how you hold the sensors.....all this and more plays into thier accuracy.