Heart Rate

[UnatcoAgent]

I was at the gym the other day on the bike for about 10 minutes after doing my main routine, anyway I havn't payed attention to my heart rate before but it got all the way up to 170 at one point.

I hadn't set my weight on the bike. I'm 19, about 6'0 and 156lbs, is this really bad ?

 

[Gurck]

It's a smidge high for fat-burning, but nothing unhealthy. Up over your ideal heartrate for fat burning, you're burning calories too fast for fat to break down fast enough to supply it (or something like that), and so you use other energy sources instead. The formula for max heartrate, IIRC, is 225 - age. The formula for the range to stay in for fat-burning is that x .70 to that x .85. Since the point of cardio is to burn fat, you don't want to go above that second number. At least, as I understand it all.

 

[UnatcoAgent]

Originally posted by: Gurck
It's a smidge high for fat-burning, but nothing unhealthy. Up over your ideal heartrate for fat burning, you're burning calories too fast for fat to break down fast enough to supply it (or something like that), and so you use other energy sources instead. The formula for max heartrate, IIRC, is 225 - age. The formula for the range to stay in for fat-burning is that x .70 to that x .85. Since the point of cardio is to burn fat, you don't want to go above that second number. At least, as I understand it all.

ok thanks!

 

[Entity]

How were you getting results? Measuring your own? Polar heart rate strap? Grips on the machine? The machines have been inaccurate in the past for me -- you might want to check on that.

http://www.geekfitness.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=110&hl=

There's a thread with a bit more info on heart rate training.

Rob