Hi all,
I’ve been using my new HRM for my last 4 workouts and I have a couple of questions about it. My main issue is that I’ve discovered that I do most of my cardio in the “Hard Intensity” (80%-90%) range—in my case, above 152. I drop below that every 5 minutes or so for one minute to catch my breath, and then I’m back up close to or above 160. If I drop into the 140s, I feel like I’m pretty much slacking off. Is this a problem? Should I be working out with less intensity and basically strolling on the treadmill or elliptical??? What I’ve read suggests that in the light intensity range, the majority of calories burned are from fat, and that in the moderate intensity range, most are from carbs. I’ve never paid this any attention before, because I just want to burn as many calories as possible. But I can’t seem to find out what kind of calories are burned in the hard intensity range and I’m afraid I’m burning muscle rather than carb or fat calories. Do you experts have any wisdom on this? I feel great—healthy and fit and strong—but I am trying to build muscle, not burn it all up doing cardio.
Thanks!