|   Heart Rate Monitor Question - Am I training too hard? | red_rider
Jan 6, 2003 9:49 AM | | I just bought a heart rate monitor to better manage my exercise routine for weight loss and getting into shape. I'm having trouble believing the results.
When I'm at the gym I usually run 3 miles on the treadmill at a 6.5 to 7 MPH pace. According to my heart rate monitor this puts my HR at 85 to 90 percent of my max HR for 20 to 30 minutes. Virtually all that I've read and heard seems to indicate that a HR this high is reserved for intervals, and not for extended general cardio exercise.
When mountain biking my results are even worse. I'm amazed to find that my HR is in the 80-90 percent range a lot of the time during a 2 hour ride.
These two things are my usual workouts, which I consider manageable (i.e. feels healthy). I like to exercise, but I'm genuinely concerned I'm trying to do too much. Am I pushing myself way too hard for my fitness level?
BTW, 6'0, 225 lbs, 24 years old, and the HRM works fine at resting pulse rates.
Thanks. |
| A couple of issues | Dwayne Barry
Jan 6, 2003 10:01 AM | | How did you determine your Max HR? If you used a formula, they can be very inaccurate. So you may not be exercising at nearly the percentage of max HR you think.
I don't think there's really an issue of pushing yourself too hard unless you're worried about peak performance for racing or something like that. It's not like your going to drop dead from too high of a heart rate that came from pushing yourself too hard.
Now if you're worried about overuse injuries or getting burned out I would say persistent muscular soreness and lack of motivation are good indicators, respectively. A HR monitor can be used to gauge overtraining as well, but you'd expect an elevated HR at rest and a depressed HR during exercise which is not what you describe. |
| I agree | Radar MCM #35
Jan 6, 2003 10:22 AM | | Yes, overuse injuries are much more likely to happen when you train often at high heart rates. I've seen injuries happen even before lack of motivation (or burn out) sets in. This happened to me a couple years ago in a period where I was very motivated but not too fit at that time of year and I have the knee surgery scars to prove it (ruined my whole race season). In my opinion its much better to build aerobic (ie lower heart rate) fitness first. Otherwise you'll always be trying to build your "high end" but never have a good base to back it up. I understand you're not a serious racer or anything but if you want to be healthy, uninjured and get in good shape, its best not to always train at high heart rates.
Radar MCM #35 |
| re: Heart Rate Monitor Question - Am I training too hard? | millennium
Jan 6, 2003 12:09 PM | | I agree that your max HR might not really be your max, if you used a formula. I have a couple of other comments:
I believe that, for most people, running max HR and cycling max HR are different, with the running max usually higher than the cycling max.
Casual off-road mountain biking is usually more intense than casual road riding--it can be difficult (though not impossible) to do a low intensity aerobic endurance ride off-road. |
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