I do 30 mins on the elliptical machine 4 - 5 times a week, and I try to push myself to get the most out of it. My MHR is 190 bpm. About 15 mins into the cardio session I'm hitting 160-ish bpm, and by the time I have about 8 mins or so left, I'm pushing 175 bpm, which is over 90% of my mhr. I maintain that for a good 8 mins, sometimes longer depending on how hard I push it.
Yes I am fatigued when I stop, but never exhausted to where I want to fall on the floor. I guess I just think that if I maintain 90% of my mhr for that long I should feel more tired. Is this too much, or are these machines inaccurate? Can I harm myself doing this?
why don't you just count it out yourself. Take a quick break at a low pace and count out how many heart beats within 6 seconds....multiply by 10. done.
i don't rely on machine monitors.
__________________
You are what you eat. Eat big to get big.
The equation of MHR (220- your age) is only an estimate of your max HR. It can vary by up to 15-20 beats per minute either side. So your max may actually be higher then predicted in which case, you are working at a lower % of MHR than you think.
You could also just be fit. The fitter you are the longer you can work at a higher % of your MHR. Cyclists in the Tour De France regularly work at 95% of their MHR for over 45 minutes. Of course they are super fit freaks...
Unless you have some underlying cardiovascular disease there is no harm in pushing yourself near your max heart rate. In fact, increases in fitness are directly related to exercise intensity, so working yourself at a higher % of MHR will lead to faster increases in fitness.
according to my suunto HR watch, elliptical machine's usually off by a good 5-10. ex; watch shows 165 bpm, machine shows 155-160 etc...
and also, when it comes to calories burned, again machine's off by 50-100cals..
many people say machine shows more than the actual calories, but my experience has been quite the opposite...
ex; watch shows 400cals burned vs machine shows 300-350cals...
I believe its because, you have to keep your hands on the sensors at all times and sometimes, machine cant read your HR etc, on the other hand a good HR monitor is as good as you'll get, mainly because it gets a continuous reading and calculates your %s according to your "resting HR" not just your age and weight....
__________________
****Patrick Bateman: Sabrina, don't just stare at it. Eat it*****
according to my suunto HR watch, elliptical machine's usually off by a good 5-10. ex; watch shows 165 bpm, machine shows 155-160 etc...
and also, when it comes to calories burned, again machine's off by 50-100cals..
many people say machine shows more than the actual calories, but my experience has been quite the opposite...
I agree about Suunto being more accurate. It also has a great tracker. Look at my weight / hiit log for one day (attached).
Linear Mode
