When I bought my elliptical, I also bought a separate heart rate monitor, but I put it on the shelf and forgot about it.
I’ve been struggling to do more than 10 or 12 minutes at a stretch on the elliptical. I just get winded too quickly. I know I’m fat, and out of shape, but I expected to be able to do more.
After doing a little research about target heart rates, it seems my maximum heart rate should be about 184, and my target should be about 80% of that. I settled on 150 as a nice round number. I put on the heart rate monitor, and started my workout.
Once I was into the workout my heart rate hit 160, so I slowed down and let my heart rate fall to 150, then started pushing it a little harder. This worked well, and I was still working out at 31 minutes. I could have went longer, but my legs were giving out this time.
I spent money on the heart rate monitor, yet didn’t bother to use it until today. I could have made more progress, if I would have bothered to use the tools I had already bought.
Hey Dave, I wouldn’t worry about struggling to do more time on the elliptical. I bought one too and I also found it hard to go for as long as I wanted to. Don’t exhaust yourself, it’s counterproductive anyway. You could try exercising several times a day for 10 minutes, it’s not as intimidating and you still get the same benefits as one 30 min workout.
Where did you find the information on the maximum heart rate? I’m looking to start getting back to the gym and want to make sure I’m getting the most out of my workout by not tiring myself out as quickly.
Hi, I’m from Fark, i just wanted to say good luck on your weight loss goal! As far as excerise is concerned, have you talked with your doctor about starting a workout routine? You don’t want to push yourself too hard and end up hurting yourself. In college I was working out waaaay to much, and tore this ligament or something, that ran from my hip to my knee…yea..that hurt for a while. And weight training is a large part of losing weight too. Anyway, best of luck.
Michael:
I just googled “target heart rate” and hit the first few results. The very first is a calculator.
“Krauts Ahoy”:
I’m not exhausting myself if I watch my heart rate. That was the key. It’s all about pacing. I usually do several workouts, but I would like to do two 30-minute workouts a day. I’m still learning though.
Thanks!
Jenn,
No, I haven’t seen a doctor in a while. I have thankfully few medical problems.
My workout at this point is the Elliptical only. I want to gain some strength before running. I’m not ready for weights yet. Maybe sometime next year.
Thanks!