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Edited Date/Time
5/21/2021 5:28am
OK I recently got a Fit-Bit and was wondering what the end goal is for achieving correct heart rate and where you want to work at like riding a stationary bike.
Right now for example on the elliptical or stationary bike and can go at 130 bpm for 30 minutes pretty comfortable or maybe even longer if I pushed it. I just started this (checking heart rate) March 1st.
So is the end goal to try for a heart rate that is higher like 140 and hold that for 30 mins comfortable or how do you use these things? I'm 63 yrs old. Thanks!
Right now for example on the elliptical or stationary bike and can go at 130 bpm for 30 minutes pretty comfortable or maybe even longer if I pushed it. I just started this (checking heart rate) March 1st.
So is the end goal to try for a heart rate that is higher like 140 and hold that for 30 mins comfortable or how do you use these things? I'm 63 yrs old. Thanks!
One approach is to do a cardiac stress test and see how high your heart rate goes, and then train at specific percentage or in the 5 heart rate zones.
Max heart range can differ with age and person to person, so it's not very valuable to go after a specific number.... just like jetting really.
A good place to start is put it on, get used to it and do some various forms of exercise and see how it changes
For MX, you need training in zone 2 and 4 mainly. Zone 3 you can completely skip.
Zone 5 you get on the bike. If you are doing off season training you could do a 4x4min interval session 1-2 a week or so in the end of a longer zone 2 session.
The training zones are based on percentages of the Max Heart Rate. Depending on what you are trying to achieve, be it fat loss, endurance, or an increase in your high heart rate performance capability, you can use the heart rate monitor to train in specific heart rate zones.
Do a google search or a Youtube search on heart rate monitor training methods.
I hope that helps...?
The Shop
What is your goal? Lose weight? Build an aerobic base? Compliment your anaerobic ability? Make sure you aren't over-training?
A heart rate monitor alone is simply like adding a temperature gauge to your bike. By itself, its purely academic. There are people who devote their lives to using this gauge (in combination with other metrics) to develop a better way to train. (exercise science).
Personally, I find most heart rate monitor training to be excessive, even near the elite level (I race as a pro in XC mtb and enduro). I do however use a heart rate monitor to check if I'm over trained. (whoop is excellent for this)
Your mileage may vary, but don't let the focus on the heart rate get in the way of the most important thing - getting out and getting exercise in the first place.
Most people need to focus on building a lifestyle around working out, and breaking a sweat, the heart rate component is something useful once you are looking to eek the most out of your training.
https://joefrielsblog.com/blog/
I wouldn't use the 220 minus age idea, it's too generic and supposed to fit everybody. You have a HR monitor, get yourself in shape a bit with easy, talking pace riding/jogging, and once you feel your body is good and can take some punishment do a field test with your HR monitor. Basically a 30 minute time trial, by yourself. Go hard the entire time, but the data you want is the HR avg of the last 20 minutes. That will be your Lactate Threshold. That's the number when you get near it, over it, you're burning matches. Of which you only have so many to burn, then you bonk. Your threshold number will be what it is. It doesn't get better with fitness, the amount of work you can do before getting to that number is what changes as you get more fit. It will decrease over time with age. And the number doesn't mean anything compared to your buddies, doesn't matter if theirs is higher or lower. It's just a number that individually, you can use to set up proper workouts for you using your HR monitor.
First thing though I suppose would be to decide your what and whys? What's your goal?
And as far as fat burning stages, such as Z2. that's all good, but you have to work out for a long period of time to to reap any benefits. Higher zones require less time, but you do need to warm up. And your body will also continue to burn fat after the workout, for a longer period of time after a higher intensity workout. Don't go crazy around that buzzword HIIT either, Leave that for the gym rats and the zumba folks. You do you. If you don't enjoy what you're doing, why not? Going to hard? Slow down. Remember, consistency is key. Don't work yourself into being to sore to do it again the next day, or at least two days later. Think long term. Good luck, enjoy
I forgot to add something in my post also. Many folks talk about fitness, getting in shape. But what they really want is to feel better and lose weight. The biggest component to that is the dinner table. Food. Quantity. For those folks, I recommend tracking calories for just one week. Everything. Not a sandwich, but two slices of white bread, mayo both sides, slice of cheese, 3 pieces of lunch meat, etc. I bet most folks would be astounded with the amount of calories they consume in a day! It's so easy these days. It's also convenient to overeat. And by that I mean calories, not necessarily quantity. 32oz soda, double cheeseburger, large fry please..
For instance, after my recent injuries, my fitness went away entirely. I went from being able to ride 15-20 minutes at a high intensity to in 3-4 laps I was breathing heavy. I trained 5 times a week (45 minutes, 5 min warm up, 30-35 min at level 3/4 HR rate zone which is 70%-89% of MHR, then 5-10 min cooldown and stretching). Usually my wednesday I would do a light day and just walk with my HR in level 1 or 2. After 6 weeks of training like that with some strength training the last 2 weeks. I never get tired.
Also for people who hate running, you can do what I do. Walk on a treadmill if you have access to one, raise the incline up anywhere from 8% to 15% grade and walk. The speed can be a lot slower and is much more like hiking. Much easier on the impact regarding knees and easier to sustain for me. I do 15% at 3.4 to 3.9 mph for 30 minutes and im sweating good.
If you ride in the weekends, then you have tue+thu to train on. Monday & Friday rest days.
Regarding heart rate, if you want a good estimate of your max HR, do something to warm up well for about 20 minute, then on either a steep hill or some outdoor stairs, run up about as hard as you can go. The combination of gravity plus leg movement will do a better job estimating your max HR than doing this on a bicycle. Once you have that number, in simple terms you can knock off about 20 bpm for your upper training range, and then another 40 for your lower training range. So if my Max HR was 185, I'd aim to do cardio training in the 125-165 zone. One can get way more scientific, and the previous referenced training books by Joe Friel are a great resource.
For that belly fat, I'm now approaching 53 and I notice how even though my body weight is pretty constant, my morphology is changing a bit. I carry a bit less muscle mass in my legs, but a little more insulation around my middle. I'm sure some of it is beer related, after being a slave to training from mid-20s to mid-40s I've let things relax. I also think it is result of mild insulin resistance. My bloodwork shows nothing of note (normal glucose and A1C) but science largely has shown that as we age we are more prone to putting on weight in fat from carbs. So....the answer in addition to the aerobic exercise regimen, is too also cut back on junky carbs and try to make good choices in choosing lower glycemic foods that do not spike blood sugar. This is my opinion, and in practice it is much harder to execute.
Good luck with the training, remember most of us are already doing pretty well for our age so don't beat yourself up too much
There's some good wisdom in jbrow125's comments.
My 50+ year old moto buddies and I were just talking about age, moto & weight loss last weekend at the track. For us the consensus was between now and even 20 years ago:
1) we need more recovery time between hard exercise/moto sessions,
2) we need to keep muscles "long" (i.e. focus on mobility training, yoga, etc.) and,
3) it's WAY harder to loose body fat at 50+.
Pit Row
For my own sanity I decided that older guys are just more fit for endurance sports. Maybe not as physically fit as the younger dudes, but the mental toughness you get from 50+ years of bullshit is definitely a benefit.
The highest HR’s I’ve registered have always been Moto. Guess that’s some extra BPM’s due to adrenaline.
So doing max hr test of the bike, means you have to have a setup that don't drain your muscles before you reach max hr. Running up a to step hill will not get you to max hr, muscles will burn out before. That's why when doing max hr test on treadmill there is a increase in speed in combo with increase in incline.
I wear one for Moto and that is also where I find my Max and it is a "Rather High Spike". The spike will make one's eyebrows raise!!
My moto average is 158 + - for a 15 minute moto. What I want to understand is the spike and how to manage it. Cleary the first step is to be aware.
Now I'm 69 and the average' are OK with me. I have a lower average on a hard MTB ride and in the Kart my average is in the 140's.
I find the Karting readings interesting as my max and average are real close to each other. Where the MTB has range changes that are farther apart.
Moto is clearly is off the map.....why? Adrenaline or .......?
Moto has the biggest changes.
Additionally, check your resting heart rate in the morning right when you wake up. This will give you a baseline on how recovered you are. Also, if you have trouble getting to the target HR zone you may want to take a day to rest.
Calorie intake vs calorie expenditure is king...I ate 9 donut holes yesterday and a bowl of cereal before bed...scale still went down. Eating at night is ok as long as your aggregate amount of calories is in check, measuring your food is the ticket. I eat whatever I want in the quantities that help me achieve my goals - and I log it all. Good luck, I hope I look like you in my 60s!!!
As far as heart rate monitor accuracy. The monitors on wrist watches/ bands are ballpark. For example the Polar Vantage M like most. Will be a ballpark reading not dead on. You would need a chest strap HR monitor. Something like the Polar H10 or other brands to get the most accurate reading. Those will put you right in the zone of your HR readings. I use the Vantage M and H10 strap when I ride and workout and it has helped me tremendously to stay in the zones I am after.
There are tons of zone articles and apps to help with acheiving any goal.
My wife’s resting heart rate is about 40 And she will pass out of she gets her rate up to 175 for very long.
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