Heart Rate, too high?

[hjs]

Now you got me thinking, that's always trouble...

If my heart and lungs are going crazy and I can keep it up for 25 to 35 minutes, it seems that I am maximizing my aerobic training for the time I spend, while getting an additional anaerobic workout on top of it. To my untrained eye this looks like a win-win. ...or does it work that way?

I guess it boils down to my wondering how a workout of the same duration at 85% is not as good for me as a workout at 94%, seems odd at first glance.

By the way, my goal is to be able to carry 50 pounds of gear up and down steep trails at 9 to 10 thousand foot elevations. I need strength, and aerobic fitness, to do this for 4 to 6 hours a day...I was capable last year, but this year I want it to be more fun than work.

Any help?

To train on this high a level is not sustainble for a long period of time. You will get injuired and overFatiqued very quickly.
If you goal is to walk in the mountains for several hours per day you should train long and slow, not short and fast, and you also should crosstrain.
Row, bike, walk, run. do weightcircuits. And try to improve the totale duration of your training. That is what you need so that is what you ought to train.

To know your exact max hartrate is not important for this, you should train on a level quit beyond that.

[gcanyon]

Breaking news!!! (as if you still care)

Todays NEW max heart rate for MOKO is 182. Found while doing a fairly middle of the road 30 minute workout. At this rate, by the weekend I'll top 200.

This monitor is going to be a great motivator if nothing else, this is fun!

Yes, the endorphines are flowin'

I had a somewhat similar experience with the HR monitor. A few days after I got it I looked up to see that I was at 191BPM!

I'm 42, so that's more than a bit above any of the estimate methods will say. More personally, I've never in my life seen my heart rate above 180, even back when I was 25 and rode a bike all day.

So I asked several people, including my doctor. The general consensus is that if it doesn't hurt (apart from what you would expect when working out as hard as you can) then it's not a problem.

My doctor also said that 200 is about as fast as a human heart can go and still function properly (beyond that it loses synchronization). So he said anything that feels okay up to 200.

I have had the same questions as you regarding aerobic/anaerobic. I have rowed twenty minutes at 175-185, so unless someone chimes in and says that twenty minutes isn't long enough, I have to think that 180 is aerobic for me. It generally feels like the main thing limiting me is overheating rather than burning out.

After the March Madness is done, I plan to put the rower out on the balcony in the morning (50 degrees) to see what I can do about my 2k, 5k, 30 min and 60 min times if heat isn't a factor.

[jbell]

During the winter I used a heart rate monitor (my coach's) and we did an hour and I think my heart rate for the hour was 170ish or so (I'm 15). For 2k's the coach said 190+ isnt bad for my age.

[Ben Rea]

haha, i was just about to post somehting exactly like that. im 15 as well.

[Hapa]

Here's some other articles to find your actual max HR rather than just using calculators which might not consider your level of fitness which has an impact.

http://www.lifetimefitness.com/magazine ... icleId=337

Here's another one on training using your heart rate to guage the level of workout (download the .pdf file):

http://www.lifetimefitness.com/heart_rate/

Good luck!!
Aiko

[jdchmiel]

Does the HR monitor go up to 200?
I ask as for my first attempt to do a 500 meter race at max pace I pretty quickly got it to 197 range..peaking at 199. Then for my 2k race I kept it at 199 for over 5 minutes straight. All of the max heart rate calculations point me to a much lower rate for my max.. but I wass curious if I might actuall go even higher than 199 but the PM4 cant display that high?

Also, is it bad to put your heart rate up so high or is it pretty ypical to be near max heart rate for the duration of an all out effort race?

[BobD]

Mine has gone to 223

[hjs]

Does the HR monitor go up to 200?
I ask as for my first attempt to do a 500 meter race at max pace I pretty quickly got it to 197 range..peaking at 199. Then for my 2k race I kept it at 199 for over 5 minutes straight. All of the max heart rate calculations point me to a much lower rate for my max.. but I wass curious if I might actuall go even higher than 199 but the PM4 cant display that high?

Also, is it bad to put your heart rate up so high or is it pretty ypical to be near max heart rate for the duration of an all out effort race?

200 for a 26 year old is very normal. Not even very high, just average. Don,t worrie. And if you don,t reach your max hartrate during an alout attempt it is not an alout attempd . So again, don't worrie about that either.

[LJWagner]

As you get more fit over time , a given aerobic workout will be less demanding on your heart as the heart muscle gets more fit.

A year ago, I strained a heart valve, and was breathing fast and shallow walking at 1.5 mph on a 1.5% grade treadmill.

4 months ago I had a triple bypass. I had been three weeks before I did three 2Ks on my C2 at 10:29 each, hitting about 160 max HR, limiting at 95% of HR Reserve on my heart monitor.

One month ago, I could maintain 5% grade at 3 mph at 135 HR for 7 minutes.
Two weeks ago, I could maintain 7% at 3.2 mph at 135 HR for 7 minutes.
Last week, I went 10% grade at 3.2 mph at 135 for 10 minutes.

To hike with a pack is different muscle load than rowing. You are conditioning your heart well and some muscles, but not those you will use for hiking directly. Start doing some hiking, or do some "backpacking" on a treadmill, too. If you are ever hiking with 50 lbs and your HR is at 190, something is not quite right.

Always warm-up.

[Sean Seamus]

Heart Rate is a fascinating topic, and very complex, but even a slight understanding of the basics will greatly reward the serious trainee. Here are a few introductory points.

Maximum HR and Resting HR are needed to determine appropriate exercise rates. You will have to get YOUR erging max HR on an erg. It is a brutally tough piece of work, and you will not want to do it often. If you train seriously for any length of time, you will have to repeat it occasionally, maybe annually.

You may find that your Maximum HR will be MUCH higher on the erg than many other activities, due to the relatively large amount of muscle mass utilized.

The Training Manual is a very good resource, and is available FREE from the Concept 2 UK site. Get the 200 page version if you are serious about erging. Begin with the Physiology chapter if you are interested specifically in HR. There are step tests in another chapter.

One good intro overview book is "Heart Zone Training" by Sally Edwards.

Over age 40, you should get a doctor's clearance for high rates. A supervised max stress test is smart. It (like all tests) isn't the whole story, but is a good basic.

An analogy : Intensity, however determined, is somewhat like temperature in an oven - hotter is not inherently "better"; it depends what you're cooking. Train in all zones (aka "training bands") and cultivate the entire spectrum of your body.

HR monitors are still relatively new, which I guess is why they are not used as widely as - In My Opinion - they should be. Rather like oven thermometers a few decades ago - I still meet people who claim they "just know". Often they are just used to under/over cooked food.

~ Sean