Question about heart rate and training?

Question

Pretty new to exercise and using a HR monitor. According to the 220-age x 0.5 etc formula my min and max HRs should be 108-153 (65%-85%). However I find this almost impossible to achieve-my HR stays around 167 (resting is about 70) and I am working quite hard, getting very sweaty but can breathe well and speak ok. If I keep my rates this low will I still get fitter and lose weight? I work out for about 40-50 mins on lots of different equipment doing 10-15 mins on each. Any advice gratefully received!

Answer 1

A lot of people dislike using a heart rate monitor, because following the instructions makes you work out LESS VIGOROUSLY than you'd like.

What you describe is a very effective workout; you should always aim to be able to talk comfortably while you exercise. Try to slow down a bit, and ignore the showoffs who are 'going for it'. Your own fitness really isn't a competition.

There is a widespread myth that exercise needs to be 'punishing' or 'hardcore' to be doing any good. It can actually be true, but it depends on your priorities. If your goal is to break world records or win medals, then you will need to sacrifice a lot of things, including your health and fitness, in order to fine-tune your body to achieve the ambition. (Working at high intensity produces fatigue, which makes you accident-prone, and suppresses your immune system, making you vulnerable to infections.)

If you want to lead a normal life, and gradually improve your physique and wellbeing without increasing your risk of injury or obsession, then you should stay within the 'comfort zone' when you train.

A low-intensity strategy will leave you less fatigued, so that you can exercise more frequently (ideally, daily or more often), and will concentrate on movement (which uses fat-burning 'red' muscle fibres) instead of vigour (which uses 'white' fibres that burn sugar & make you hungry).

In the longer term, low intensity is an excellent weight-control and body maintenance strategy.

Answer 2

The heart rate at which you exercise depends upon your goals and reason for exercise.
For weight loss it is generally better to exercise at a reduced rate for longer. If you can sweat it out for over an hour you will find that you have to work at a slower rate or else you'll feel too exhausted.
For targetted fitness you will need to work out at different rates as each effort catagory will tend to improve different systems within the body.
e.g. I run and my 100% max is 190.
For general training (2 hours run) I try to stay below 150.
For a marathon race I run at 165.
For speed training (20 mins fast running) I run at 175
For a 6mile race I'll be between 180 and 190.
I know if I exceed these figures I will exhaust myself.
It sounds to me that you are working hard, 167 sounds highish, you are sweating and it feels quite hard to you. It's difficult to be specific but perhaps you are working a little hard if you are doing this more than 3 times a week.
Personally I'd slow it down a bit and spend longer on each exercise.

Answer 3

Keep doing what you are doing.You have only begun training so your heart rate will be higher than normal until your body gets used to it. As you train your heart will become stronger therefore requiring less beats to pump your blood around your body,this includes your resting heart rate.Chest pain is a good indication you should stop what your doing.If you are weight training be sure to change your routine every 4 to 5 weeks or you wont get the results you desire.

Answer 4

Take a heart rate class. The are better ways to measure your max heart rate and that formula you listed is out of date and not very accurate. 167 is great, good job! Look up data on HeartZones.