Heart Rate - What number to shoot for???

[Sue Magoo 71]

Hi:

I've been banded since July and have lost 114 pounds. I think a good part of my loss is attributable to all of the walking that I've done.

Now that I'm getting down to fighting weight I am thinking I should make sure that I'm working hard enough when I walk. There was no question about that a hundred pounds ago.

I bought one of those fitness watches with the heart rate monitor, pedometer, etc.

What heart rate should I be shooting for? I'm 48 years old, current weight is 210, and I'm 5'7" tall. I'm going to be walking, not running (yuck!).

Please let me know if you know the answer.

Thanks.:tongue:

Sue

[antsmith101 0]

I'm not sure what your target heart rate suppose to be but for me im 32yrs old & 5-7 & 238 and I try to hit 145-155 which give me a good work out. I think the older you get also the number suppose to be lower. Theres also so called different zone... like fat burning, cardio, and dont know other zone names... last one probally heart attack zone ;p

[make33 2]

I found a chart out on the Internet that would tell you. There's three figures for your age: the low range, the medium range, and the highest range.

It's great that you want to be in the correct range for your age!! Congratulations on the weight loss to now!

[rharriet62 0]

The traditional formula to determine your rate is:

220- your age x 65% = 65% at your target heart rate

220 - your age x 75% = 75% at your THR

220- your age x 85% = 85% at your THR

I always have all 3 figured out because there are days when I keep it up to 85% and other days when I vary it during my workout. If you hang around 75-80% you will be doing super great! You should be able to get this by walking if you are fast and do inclines in your route.

[Sue Magoo 71]

Thanks for your help.

Sue

[gkeyt 0]

Funny, I've just been thinking this way as well. I started running a month ago (after 2 years of lower impact cardio workouts), and just got a heart rate monitor yesterday. I highly recommend getting one, already I can see it's a huge help!

The standard equation didn't really work well for me because my resting heart rate is relatively high (84, and when I had surgery a year ago it was over 100!). I'm including a link to a WikiHow page that gives another way to calculate your target HR that takes your resting heart rate into account. This seemed like a much more reasonable range for me, since using the standard equation gives me a target heart range that I could recite the entire Declaration of Indepencence at--clearly not working hard enough! (By the way, using this method, it would make sense that you would need to recalculate your target range as you become more fit and your resting heart rate decreases.)

Here: How to Calculate Your Target Heart Rate - wikiHow

hth,

Gwen

[Turler 6]

You can also google Target Heart Rate Calculators. Some of them will do all the math for you...all you do is plug in the numbers. Write down all the numbers and the formula used. You should be shooting for 75-85% of your THR (target heart rate). You'll burn the most calories at that rate. Do not go above 85% as you will be working anaerobically which is not what you want. A monitor is a good investment and can be found cheap. Saves you the trouble of stopping during your workout and having to time your pulse.

~Carol

[luluc 6]

I'm not sure what your target heart rate suppose to be but for me im 32yrs old & 5-7 & 238 and I try to hit 145-155 which give me a good work out. I think the older you get also the number suppose to be lower. Theres also so called different zone... like fat burning, cardio, and dont know other zone names... last one probally heart attack zone ;p

I'm in fat burning zone myself *tho heart attack, sometimes:rolleyes:*

I'm 5'1 @155lbs & just shy of 39yrs ..My zone according to "trainer" is 147...I fluctuate around that up to 153, I'm told the lower you can keep your target heart rate for "your extended cardio time" the better...that's what to drive for. For example my cardio HR when I started was 167-173...I've brought that down significantly - Have much more energy and don't feel the early pain...Not sure this helps???

And I'm No professional in any way...