I friend of mine gave me this book called “Younger next year. Live strong, fit and sexy – until you’re 80 and beyond”. It is an interesting book that basically deals with why exercise is a must when you turn older. They are big on heart monitors so that a person knows that they are in the “right exercise zone”. They are referring to exercises in the 60%-70% of max heart rate and what it does to you, 70%-80% of max heart rate and so on. They define the theoretical max heart rate to be 220 minus your age. The real max heart rate is to give it your all after a good warm up.
Of course I ran out and bought one, strapped it one and turned it on during my Saturday row with Stephanie B (The Iron Woman) and Charlie H. Too keep up with Stephanie, I found out to my shock my heart was pumping at 180-185. I was able to sustain that for the entire row (1 hour 5 minutes and 5.4 miles) with a couple of short stops around a minute or so. At the end I gave it my all to find out my max heart rate and according to the book’s equation I am 28 years old. In other word, I peaked at 192 beats per minute. (My resting pulse is 60)
Now to my questions:
1) I take it that I am out of shape which is no surprise since I have been a heavy smoker for more years than I like to admit?
2) Is this considered to be an aggressive exercise and if so, is it OK to exercise this aggressively? I was a little surprised that I was able to keep it up for that long. (I could be that I am a little stubborn, which is also news to me :)
3) If I need to change my exercise routine, what should it be? (The book talks about staying in the 60-70% range most of the time with short bursts into the higher heart beat ranges.)
4) Am I reading too much into the heart range monitor thing?
5) What does it mean to have a low resting pulse? Good I take it!
Thanks
Jon Hancke
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For vigorous exercise, aim for a target heart rate of 70 to 85 percent of your maximum heart rate (MHR). Your MHR (roughly calculated as 220 minus your age) is the upper limit of what your cardiovascular system can handle during physical activity.
ReplyDeleteThese numbers are estimates that provide an average value. Many people have a higher or lower MHR, sometimes by as much as 15 to 20 beats per minute. Disagreement exists on how to most accurately estimate your MHR and what percentage range to target.
If you're looking for more than an estimate, consider discussing your target range with an exercise physiologist or personal trainer.
for more info: http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/target-heart-rate/SM00083
Jon
ReplyDeleteMy advise to you is the following:
1) Try not to keep up with anyone but yourself.
2) Start slowly and build up your pace overtime. (I mean days and weeks not hours)
3) Try to stay in a lower range of your MHR over an extended period of time rather than peak it
4) We all know you are stubborn after all it's in your Norwegian genes
Jon,
ReplyDeleteI am taking this book with me on vacation, leaving tomorrow. I'll give you my take next week.
ArtC