Hello all! I recently purchased a HRM (a Polar F4) and after plugging in all the info and figuring out what my target HR should be, I put it to use. I am currently doing C25K and HIIT 3X a week (alternating days) and I was surprised when my watch started beeping at me, signaling I was over my target HR. I really didn't feel like I was working all that hard and just kept going at my normal pace (which put my HR between 170-180, my target HR is 119-156).
So today during my HIIT workout I made a real effort to slow it down to keep within my target and I had a hard time doing so. I felt like I was barely working and yet my heart rate still went above my target HR.
My question is, should I just ignore the target HR zone and keep judging my workouts based on how I feel or should I keep slowing things down to stay within my zone? I know that figuring your target HR is more of an estimate and if I really want to know exactly what it is I should schedule a visit with my dr, but I was curious if anyone else experiences this and if so, have you changed the intensity of your workouts or kept them the same?
Thanks so much in advance for any input!