Target heart vrs. resting heart rate

[letmein]

After 12 weeks of contest prep and tons of 2 a day cardio, my resting heart rate has dropped to 53. The problem is that even when I bust my ass my training rate is 100- 108. I use to be able to get in the 130's with the same effort. I use an elliptical trainer and set it at level 18 to begin with. Is there a correlation between resting and target heart rate? My fat burning target rate starts at 114. I cannot seem to get it that high. Should my target rate be set by my resting rate?

[partyboynyc]

you're resting HR is a directly related to your cardio conditioning. you will find that runners in exceptional shape have very low resting HR's. in the upper 40's to low 50's (BPM). when i was in college sports my RHR was 50.now it's slightly higher due to the fact that i have abandoned traditional cardio.now my cardio is mainly sparring or hitting the heavy bag working on leg strikes and things of that nature.
the point is......your RHR gives you an idea of your cardio conditioning. your MHR is age related and to get it there you may have to out in a more intense workout so in time yout RHR will drop, meaning that you have improved upon your conditioning.intensity is the key much more than duration of training.

[letmein]

I get that, my question is that if when I train I get my training rate up to 105 is that relevant to my resting rate. My dad can get to 105 by going to the fridge. However, he is starting in the 80's. For me to get my heart rate into the 130's I nearly have to sprint. Can I gain benefit from 105 or do I have to change the type of training I am doing to get it in the 130's.

[partyboynyc]

your MHR should be about 180 so since i don't have a caculator around i would assume that 70% of your max HR (where i'm assuming you want to be traing) is like what, 126. like you said, you have to be nearly sprinting, that the idea.intensity. that's an acceptable THR for fatloss as well as some cardio endurance provided you can keep in in that range for a respectable amount of time.
so is it relevant?yeah it's relevant.if you train at a higher intensity (higher BPM) you will see that your RHR will be directly effected in time by decreasing. that decrease is important because it means your heart does not need to work as hard at rest.
i hope i'm answering this correctly for you

[letmein]

Soooo... Are you saying that my 45 minutes at 105 are not going to keep me fit? I am at 5% bf coming off of a show and want to stay as close a possible to that through summer. I am not excited about trying 45 minutes at 126 bpm as I will have to really bust ass to get there. I am trying to maintain at this point.

[partyboynyc]

you knwo your body better than anyone.you'll see a increase in BF most likely before anyone else notices. i would keep doing what you are doing and increase the intensity(BPM's) as needed as you come off your contest diet.just my .02