Heart rate question

[Sheesh]

I've been wearing my heart rate monitor to spin class lately, and I check it many times throughout class. I've noticed that my heart rate is way higher than it should be during most of the class, and yet the instructor is saying to go harder and faster.

What's the best way to keep my heart rate at a lower level - scale back intensity or decrease resistance?

[Eden]

A question first.
Have you ever tested your max and calculated your personal zones? NOT the 220 minus your age formula, but really tested it. The formula is bogus so if you are basing where your heart rate should be from that, it may explain why you seem to be going to high. You may actually be right where you should be, some of us just run at a faster clip....

[Sheesh]

No, I haven't tested my max. My gym does offer that service...is it worth it?

I find that my heart rate gets up to 168-172 when I'm really going hard in class... I'm 32. Does that sound like an okay heart rate?

[Raindrop]

If your gym does a sub-max heart rate test, it might be well worth your while to have it done to get a better feeling for where you should be working. There are many different ways to "estimate" your maximum heart rate, but they are all just that...estimates. However, listen to Eden as far as the age-predicted heart rate measurments. They fit...maybe 1/3 of the population.

If you don't want to go through the sub-max testing try reading some of the different ways of determining heart rates here:

http://www.heartzones.com/

In fact, Sally Edwards and Sally Reed have a book out that is a good read and gives a lot of different drills for improving your riding:

"The Heart Rate Monitor Book for Outdoor and Indoor Cyclists"

[Eden]

No, I haven't tested my max. My gym does offer that service...is it worth it?

I find that my heart rate gets up to 168-172 when I'm really going hard in class... I'm 32. Does that sound like an okay heart rate?

It's very individual and has a lot to do with inheritance- I'm a hummingbird, I max out at over 200, so the 168 -172 range is mostly in my Zone 3, but some people max out in the 170s. (I'm 34 btw) And it has little to do with how strong you are - a team mate of mine who's zones run about 30 beats lower than mine is stronger than I am, though I am stonger than some others with lower max's than myself.

-oh and if you don't feel comfortable doing a self test then getting one at the gym should be well worth it.

[Wahine]

Getting a test done at the gym is a good idea. It will give you a much better idea of what HR to work at. As everyone said above, HR is very individual and depends on many factors, not the least of which is fitness level. Most trained athletes do not fit into the 220 minus your age rule.

The HR you are experiencing would be up around my lactate threshold. So I would be getting a good high intensity workout but wouldn't recover very quickly from it. So you can see that even between Eden and I (we're almost the same age), there is a big difference.

[Offthegrid]

I did the HR test with my trainer, and my cycling max HR is 177. I'm 27. And that was going very hard for me and at the end there was no way I could maintain the pace for long. You are obviously able to maintain this pace for a 1-hour spin class, so it's possible you could have a max HR in the 180s. My race walking max HR is 187 (that was recorded during a 5K). Generally a cycling max HR will be lower than for running.

You don't need to pay someone for the testing, though. Read more online about how to test the max HR. Some advocate doing a 30-minute time trial instead to determine your lactate threshold.

[han-grrl]

I usually use two methods with my class to designate intensity, heart rate AND rate of perceived exertion. HR's will vary day by day depending on where you are in your menstrual cycle, what you ate, how much you slept...so really it is only a ROUGH guideline. But adding in "it should feel like X on a scale of 1-10) really helps. I also use a real like experience as most of my participants walk or run, i say "this interval should feel like you are sprinting for the bus because you realized you just left your blackberry there" or imagine a good steady power walk, you are able to talk, but puffing.

i also jokingly throw in "if you can still complain to me out loud during this interval, you aren't working hard enough..." of course i am only kidding on that one! :D

so that also brings in talk test, how much can you speak during that work interval - can speak, can speak but getting tougher...to can't speak at all...

your breathing will tell you EXACTLY where you are in intensity. so it is great to learn and pay attention to that. I am at the point, where i can tell by my breathing where my HR is roughly. it actually freaks hubby out. :)

[Resi]

Raindrop is correct, check www.heartzone.com out and maybe get the book...



Good luck
Resi