So about heart rate...
 

Hi 3fc!

So I have a polar ft4, it's been great in helping me with exercise, it keeps me motivated to see my calorie burn go up!! I know it might be inaccurate but it keeps me going. :)

I do this walk/sprint type of HIIT exercise on my treadmill, and sometimes when I start walking my heart rate drops to the "NOT IN ZONE", does this actually mean anything? Am I supposed to keep my heart rate " IN ZONE" if that makes sense?

According to the watch, I'm supposed to be between 120-165, when I sprint I'm always around 165-170ish. Before when I used to go to the gym, I would also see something on the machine that would indicate what zones were fat-burning?

I guess I'm just asking if I should be paying attention to heart rate at all when I'm exercising. I make sure to never over exert myself, I've had injuries with exercise so I know my limits, but I'm curious if there is any significance to staying in certain zones while working out.

Thank you!!

I don't know how those monitors work but my whole training regimen is based around heart rate as per my personal trainer, so yes - i think it's a good idea to pay attention to heart rate when working out.

On the eliptical, i started with a warm up, then 2 minutes of HR160, 2minHR170, 2minHR175, 2 minHR180 and then approx 3 minutes of recovery getting HR as low as possible and then repeat 4-5 times.

Now, i'm doing intervals - warm up, 1.5 min HR175, 2.5 min recovery (or however long it takes to get below 140 to recover) and rotate between those two for 8-10 times.

I have no idea how or why these are the numbers I'm supposed to strive for but this is what he's got me doing, and so far so good - i need to do more research on it though.

My weight training is slowly moving toward a more sustained cardio kind of routine, but I dont track my HR during it at this point.

It sounds like you can recognize when you are having a good workout that doesn't overtax you. There are too many variables to assume the body is like a test tube. I use 2 guidelines: am I sweating, am I able to talk comfortably? (not counting the wonderful feeling from all out sprint)!

It reminds me of paying attention to the scale vs how your clothes fit. If numbers motivate or entertain you, they're great. But not terribly indicative of what's going on inside the body at a specific moment in time.

I'm the same as Mars. I've never paid attention to the heart rate thing. I can easily tell if I'm doing something at an easy pace or a challenging pace by my breathing and my ability to sing along with the music in a loud and off-key way.

I think it means that you are not exercising with enough gusto to get your heart rate up. Its too low to be doing you any particular good. But can that be right? Is there something wrong with your gadget?

On the other hand if it only happens when you start, it still means your heart rate is at close to resting rate. You want your heart rate to get up into that zone to be doing you the good of either burning fat or getting you fitter. That's what i think it means.

i.e. don't stroll, walk faster.

I am glad someone posted this because while I don't have advice...I do have a question.

I have a Polar FT7 (Brand New!) and I know it is accurate when I am working out - and pretty much the entire time I am working out I am in the 170 - 190 range (figure average 182- 185) and when I tell people they freak out "OMG - thats so high, mine never gets that high, etc". It is something I should be worried about or go speak to a cardiologist about (my PCP is no help). However, I don't feel excessively out of break when I'm doing so I'm not sure if it something to worry about or not..

Before you spend the money going to a specialist, speak to someone at a gym or a nurse or someone with basic medical knowledge.

I know that when you do usual jogging you don't want your rate really high but it might be different when doing gym work. I don't know about that. The harder you are pushing yourself, the higher your heart rate will be. I'm sure even googling will get you more understanding about what is safe, what is good, and what might be a problem.

If you are not out of breath, you might be ok but i am not a medical professional so i don't know.

Hey sugaromeo your hr thresholds are based on age mostly and weight. I freaked out when my trainer told me my max heart rate effort should be 185 but the important thing is to follow it with a recovery period. I don't know your fitness level but I think that unless you're an athlete staying at 185 for an extended period couldn't be to good. My trainer keeps emphasizing the need for recovery.

Wait a minute I just realized u said your not out of breath at 185. That could mean one of two thigs, your device that measure hr could be out of wack or your heart might not be very fit at all and I really don't mean that negatively but it sounds extremely high for someone who is not having breathing difficulty. I would seriously recommend speaking with someone at a gym and they could probably help you figure out what your resting HR is and then find out what hr zones you should be striving for. Average ppl's resting hr is between 60-100. Mine was 100 when I started training so my warm up is 145 and max effort is 185 but it's hard for me to get there so I usually cap off at 180. I wouldn't start freakin out but I think it would be beneficial to talk to someone like a trainer or a nurse just to get the facts straight. Everyone is different and you definitely any trust a device to give u the exact number but it's a very good guideline to go bu

One thing to think about though is that your heart has to worker extra heard to pump the blood around your body the more weight you have which explains the higer resting hr for most ppl and why marathoners are typically between 50-60 at rest.

kaybee i followed someone's link here and ended up reading a thing that said everyone's maximum hearts rate is different. Or rather that mhr is individual specific and based on one's genetics. I read the whole article. It made sense but i don't know where it is now.

but that said, the article said that you shouldn't do the mhr test when you are unfit or very overweight so there is some sort of generic formula that's used in tehmeantime.

Pattience- I should clarify, when I'm running my HR is around 160-180, when I walk it becomes significantly lower (below 125) and my HRM starts reading "not in zone" so I feel like it's telling me pick up the pace, but I just don't know if I need to pick it up. I'm still burning calories, sweating, panting, etc lol but is there a significance to the heart rate in the fat burning zone? Or is that also a myth put on elliptical machines?!

I was going to say speak to your PCP, I did that with mine, and she told me to go off how I feel (she knows about my previous injuries). You could also look up stats for your height and weight to see what you should be around?

Thank you all for the replies!

If you are not just ambling along, then i wouldn't worry about it. I mean if you are indeed puffing, then you are certainly on the right track.

It is possible that the gadget is incorrect. You've just reminded me that some time i ago i remember someone else discussing these fat burning zones on stationary bikes as being fairly arbitrary and useless.

Exercise is good. You will burn more fat the faster you go but there's no need to push yourself to the limit. I think you can probably stop worrying about it.

Based on your age and weight that you entered into the monitor it calculates what your heart rate should be when you are in the zone (optimal fat burning). It has both a low and a high point. When you start walking and it drops below this optimal level it is beeping at you to basically say "pick it up". If you work too hard and get your heart rate too high, you will also go out of the zone on the other end and beep at you telling you to bring it down a bit.

However, since people's heart rate can vary based on a ton of factors, the HRM is just a general guide of your zone, but bottom line that's what it means.