Out of shape newb, we advice on target heart rate.



metomeya

New Member
Oct 16, 2004
22
0
0
Okay, i'm completely out of shape. My goal is to keep get in shape to eventually do a marathon in I don't know 2 or 3 years (trying to be realistic).

Okay, so I bought a stationary spinning bike, cause somedays I'm crushed for time, but I always have 20 minutes infront of the television. Anyways my resting heartrate before I started to train was about mid 90s, after about 3 to 4 months of training (5-6 days a week, for 20 minutes) I'm now about high 80s to low 90s. I hit about high 120s to low 130s as my target for 20 minutes. Is this a good target? Can I get better results going higher, or do I need to stick to the plan? I can't do marathon training (long hours) cause of my busy schedule but 20 minutes is always something i can spare.

P.S. I also do some extra training (push-ups, sit-ups, a little boxing) just o get my body in better shape (okay just to look better, but you know ;) ). I usually do this after the bike for about 5 minutes.

thanks for the input
 
Heart rates are funny things. They are not the be-all-and-end-all, power is as/more important. Keep in mind heart rate is affected by:

-temp. etc

-how well you slept/ate/drank last night

-your specifics

In terms of your marathon, and I don't want to discourage you, I think you might struggle is you can only do 20 min. of cardio at a time. You need to build up gradually increase by no more than 10% a week, and if you haven't excercised in a long time go and see a Dr. first.
 
80 - 90 BPM resting heart rate is pretty high and does indicate that you are unfit. 120 - 130 BPM would probably be about the same level of exertion as a moderate walk so you are not really working very hard at that level for only 20 minutes and to get fit or even consider a marathon then you will need to do much more.

That said, you should seek professional help, have a thorough check up by your doctor before trying to do too much more. What heart rates are appropriate for you to train at will depend on your weight, health and level of fitness and can't be answered on this forum.

If you are very unfit then I would suggest starting out with lots of walking, make the time and get medical advice before trying anything more strenuous.

All the best

Pat
 
metomeya said:
Okay, i'm completely out of shape. My goal is to keep get in shape to eventually do a marathon in I don't know 2 or 3 years (trying to be realistic).

Okay, so I bought a stationary spinning bike, cause somedays I'm crushed for time, but I always have 20 minutes infront of the television. Anyways my resting heartrate before I started to train was about mid 90s, after about 3 to 4 months of training (5-6 days a week, for 20 minutes) I'm now about high 80s to low 90s. I hit about high 120s to low 130s as my target for 20 minutes. Is this a good target? Can I get better results going higher, or do I need to stick to the plan? I can't do marathon training (long hours) cause of my busy schedule but 20 minutes is always something i can spare.

P.S. I also do some extra training (push-ups, sit-ups, a little boxing) just o get my body in better shape (okay just to look better, but you know ;) ). I usually do this after the bike for about 5 minutes.

thanks for the input
Target heart rates are very individual and it's impossible to say, given the information you have provided, whether or not 120-130bpm is an appropriate intensity for your goals. If you are cleared by a physician to perform high intensity exercise, I would recommend an intensity 10-20bpm below where you find you can no longer talk do to heavy breathing. This intensity should feel challenging but under control and will provide you with excellent aerobic adaptation and a high calorie per hour workload.
Also, 20min is not long enough to stimulate adaptation to your exercise, especially after several months of training. 30min of quality exercise (not including warm up and cool down of ~5min each) would be an appropriate improvement...closer to 60min would be even better!
 
Exercise according to % Max heart rate. Do at least 75% to 85% Max Heart Rate to burn fat - this is the range I do when I go for 38 to 54 mile fat burning rides. I lose up to 3.2 lbs doing that. If you compete in any event, you will be pushing yourself really hard. I raced in a criterium and hit my Max Heart Rate of 185 and had an avg hr of 175 or 94.59% MHR.

I was once out of shape at 205 lbs and now I'm 157.2 lbs. I will go to 145 lbs this year.
 

Similar threads