Target Heart Rate ?

[sooners04]

So I started cutting this week and started cardio for the first time. My THR is 126-137. So I get on the treadmill and start walking. The treadmill has the handgrips that supposedly tell you your heart rate. I put the treadmill on 4.0 and start walking fast and it tells me my heart rate is only 105. So I bump it up and start jogging then I am at 150. First of all, how accurate is that machine on judging heart rate and second how do I know if I am there or not, I mean my heart was pounding and I was sweating.

[AFGym7]

you could always invest in a heart monitor, i think they go for like 40 bucks,.. thing is you have to wear a strap on your chest and a watch that tells you your heartrate, they're supposed to be really accurate though

[chest6]

I dont know how accurate those are. I do the elliptical with one of those and it says my HR stays around 140 the whole time. I dont know if that is bad or good..

[Soldier of Misfortune]

the hr monitors attached to treadmills are generaly bad. polar makes a good one for pretty cheap, i had to use those for this gay aerobics class for my degree. it was a strap deal around your chest n a watch

[anabolicwannabe]

hmm usually i just take my heart rate for 10 secs manually and multiply it by 6. it may not be totally accurate but it gives me an estimate. is there anything wrong with this method?

[chicamahomico]

HR monitors on most treadmills are OK but not the most accurate measurement. If you measure your HR at several points over, say, an hour of treadmill walking you will first see a spike from starting the activity, then a fairly gradual increase up to your THR. How fast HR rises will depend entirely on the intensity and your current cardio fitness level. If you take a measurement too early it will mislead you big time. If you plan on doing cardio and watching your THR then the $40-100 is well worth the investment in a heartrate monitor IMO.

[Panzerfaust]

I would also invest in a HR monitor, i got mine at wal-mart and like said above you wear it around your chest and you have a watch that comes with it.

[ducatibob]

Invest in the heart rate monitor. Most of the equipment at your average gym has "Polar Link” the telemetry that links the watch to the chest strap also links to the machine. You can pick the "heart rate" program and set the heart rate you want. The machine then usually gives you a 5-minute warm up and then adjusts the resistance or incline until you reach your target. As the workout goes on the machine continually adjusts to you.

This allows you to optimize your cardio time. It's also a great way to circuit train, 2 minutes at 85% MHR / 3 minutes at 65%.

Plus it's a great way to track your cardio vascular progress. A lot of people start out at 30 minutes 4 mph, 2% incline etc. After a few weeks your body has adapted, but people keep doing the same routine.

[anabolicwannabe]

HR monitors on most treadmills are OK but not the most accurate measurement. If you measure your HR at several points over, say, an hour of treadmill walking you will first see a spike from starting the activity, then a fairly gradual increase up to your THR. How fast HR rises will depend entirely on the intensity and your current cardio fitness level. If you take a measurement too early it will mislead you big time. If you plan on doing cardio and watching your THR then the $40-100 is well worth the investment in a heartrate monitor IMO.

sorry i don't quite get what you say, but yes i do see a spike from starting activity, but the "gradual" increase is REALLY gradual. mainly after i spike it in the first 10 mins it roughly stays around there at 65-70%.. can't be too exact since i take it manually but it stays like this throughtout. any flaws?