Heart rate monitors

Richard Miller said:

I'm 55 and been in shape all my life.Got out of the hospital about a month ago from a back
operation. I'm walking 1 3/4 miles twice a day, 3 times a week plus other things. I bought a heart
rate monitor, did a calculation on the web and went out and over did it on my bike. Well I don't
need to work out at 80% of my max right now. You can workout from 20 to 60 minutes and from 50% to
90% of your max. 50% and 90% can be thrown out the window. I'm new at this, so does anyone have
any advice?

Richard

you have to decide what your goals are

from what I know and it's not much.. a steady 80% is excellent for endurance work. anything below
70% is not really working but qualifies for cardiac fitness. 90% and above is anaerobic (vs. aerobic
training) which depletes your muscles but if you are hardcore (racing) you need to be able to stay
here for a while.

I think there's a book called Heart Rate Monitors for Dummies (really)

I use it only in the gym on the spin bike or elliptical trainer. Two reasons... first was so I could
learn what my body felt like working at different levels and two I get lazy so I watch it to make
sure I'm meeting my goals.

Penny

Richard Miller said:

I'm 55 and been in shape all my life.Got out of the hospital about a month ago from a back
operation. I'm walking 1 3/4 miles twice a day, 3 times a week plus other things. I bought a heart
rate monitor, did a calculation on the web and went out and over did it on my bike. Well I don't
need to work out at 80% of my max right now. You can workout from 20 to 60 minutes and from 50% to
90% of your max. 50% and 90% can be thrown out the window. I'm new at this, so does anyone have
any advice?

Richard

oh yeah, what does your doc say?

Penny

Thanks for asking. I had a tumor removed from my spine. I'm also pretty hard core when it comes
to training. So I didn't even bother to ask. 5 weeks later I'm doing pretty good and plan to be
back in top shape in a couple of months.

Richard

"Penny S." <[email hidden]> wrote in message "]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Richard Miller said:

I'm 55 and been in shape all my life.Got out of the hospital about a month ago from a back
operation. I'm walking 1 3/4 miles twice a day, 3 times a week plus other things. I bought a
heart rate monitor, did a calculation on the web and went out and over did it on my bike. Well I
don't need to work out at 80% of my max right now. You can workout from 20 to 60 minutes and
from 50% to 90% of your max. 50% and 90% can be thrown out the window. I'm new at this, so does
anyone have any advice?

Richard

oh yeah, what does your doc say?

"Richard Miller" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...
| Penny
|
| Thanks for asking. I had a tumor removed from my spine. I'm also
pretty
| hard core when it comes to training. So I didn't even bother to ask. 5
weeks
| later I'm doing pretty good and plan to be back in top shape in a couple
of
| months.
|
| Richard
|
<snip>

Good luck with it all Richard. It seems like you have half the battle won with the correct attitude.

Simon

"Richard Miller" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

I'm 55 and been in shape all my life.Got out of the hospital about a month ago from a back
operation. I'm walking 1 3/4 miles twice a day, 3 times a week plus other things. I bought a heart
rate monitor, did a calculation

on

Quoted message said:

the web and went out and over did it on my bike. Well I don't need to work out at 80% of my max
right now. You can workout from 20 to 60 minutes and from 50% to 90% of your max. 50% and 90% can
be thrown out the window. I'm new at this, so does anyone have any advice?

Richard

Richard,

I have been using a pulse monitor for my training for cross country skiing for the past 15 years and
have learned some of the guidelines from my coaches and books read. Here are some general guidelines
that I have learned for xc skiing and hold true on the bike training I do as well:

Max Pulse: General Rule 220-age, for you 220-55=165 If you find a higher pulse in a race you
can recalculate your levels below based on that new number. Training heart rates are divided
into 5 levels:

Level 1 = 60-70% of Max (100-115) Easy Distance. This level is usually a good place to start at, and
is where most world class athletes spend most of their time training due to their sheer volume of
training (700-900hr/yr). Level 2 = 70-80% of Max (115-132) Distance. For those of us that don't have
3-4 hours a day to train, we can benefit from training a bit harder. After you get used to training
at level 1, move your shorter rides (under 1.5 hrs) up to level 2. This is where most of your
training will most likely fall. Level 3 = 80-90% of Max (132-149) Easy Intervals. This is used to
increase your Anaerobic Threshold. For this type of workout simply go hard on the uphills (assuming
they aren't miles long) and take it easy the rest of the time. Level 4 = 90-95% of Max (149-156)
Race Pace. This is the pace that you should try to average in races that are 3 hours or less in
length. The more you train, the higher you can get this number. Level 5 = 95-100% of Max (156-165)
Max Intervals or Parts of Races. This is a tough level to get to, and requires a LOT of mental
toughness. This level should not be attained for more than a minute or so during either a tough
interval or race. Getting yourself to this level will help increase your Aerobic Capacity.

As a general rule, the most common error that I see is that people consistently train too hard. As I
said before start with level 1 bike rides, and as you get back into shape bring your short bike
rides up to level 2. If you don't have any plans to race, then the other levels are not necessary.
Final note: Run this by your doctor before beginning. I hope this helps.

Dan The XC Ski Man