Your exercise plans for 2021 and how it went in 2020?

[audreyh1]

From reports I have seen some people experience my sort of problems while running even with the new watch (series 6?). So for some the running issue is still there. I am guessing it is a physical issue that not all people share ... or there could be some running dead zombies.

I have a series 4 watch. I am not sure what I would gain with the series 6 other then to be able to have it always visible. Is there another reason to upgrade?

I guess it’s the option to have an always on display but I turned that off after a while to save on battery, because I now wear it all night for sleep monitoring. Charges while I’m taking a shower/getting ready for bed.

The series 6 also does blood oxidation readings.

I upgraded from a series 3 to series 6 at the end of last year.

I do outdoor cycling, walking, etc., in addition to indoor rowing and other workiuts, and have had no problems with heart rate readings

 

[braumeister]

I was noticing some erratic BPM readings during my runs, and finally figured out that I needed to make it just a little tighter on my wrist. I use the kind of band with Velcro (I think it's called Sport Loop) so it's a very simple matter to snug it up before a run. Since I started doing that the readings have been solid.

 

[mystang52]

For about 12 years, I ran quite a bit. A couple years ago my ankles kind of gave up (collapsed). I still try to run once in a while but it seems like whenever I do, I hurt for a few days afterwards. Earlier this year I determined that I wanted to get back to running well enough to do half marathons again. Problem is that I gained some weight because of not running enough and not altering my diet to reflect the reduced running. Now, it seems that if I want to get back to it, I’m going to need to do something else to lose some weight first, otherwise it is just too painful, even with podiatrist prescribed orthotics and shoes.

I do walk at least 45-60 minutes every day, in addition to my “chores”. A typical day sees about 15,000 steps.

Rambler - have you tried run-walking? Stick to a regimen of X minutes running/Y minutes walking. As you get back into shape, you may be able to increase "X", keep "Y" the same. I've had my share of orthopedic issues, as well as health issues that have affected my stamina, and run-walk is the key to keeping me out there.

 

[Aerides]

Rambler - have you tried run-walking? Stick to a regimen of X minutes running/Y minutes walking. As you get back into shape, you may be able to increase "X", keep "Y" the same. I've had my share of orthopedic issues, as well as health issues that have affected my stamina, and run-walk is the key to keeping me out there.

A C25K plan is a good way to do this with a progression that works for many.

 

[iloveyoga]

For 2021 I have been walking two miles in the morning, with DH or with a friend. I do yoga via Zoom 2-3 times a week. Now there are some in person yoga options outside that I will also attend. We also swim daily for 30-40 minutes, weather permitting, from May to the end of September. I like to ride my bike outside and I do that a few times a week.

 

[Lsbcal]

I was noticing some erratic BPM readings during my runs, and finally figured out that I needed to make it just a little tighter on my wrist. I use the kind of band with Velcro (I think it's called Sport Loop) so it's a very simple matter to snug it up before a run. Since I started doing that the readings have been solid.

I tried this in multiple ways and the performance was erratic. For instance, I would go out on a run and it was working at first but then crapped out for 10 minutes before resuming readings. The app Cardiogram will nicely show the results for a run or walk just using the free part of that app.

 

[friar1610]

A thought on inconsistent BPM readings...I don’t have a fitness tracker. I am a regular exerciser albeit not a fanatic. When I take my BP at home, I get consistent readings from the high 50s to the mid-60s. BUT, at the gym I’ve always gotten crazy and inconsistent readings from the ellipticals and stationary bikes where you grip the handles to check your heart rate. Several years ago I had my first (at the age of 74) treadmill cardiac stress test. Turned out they couldn’t complete it because I have a left bundle branch block, a condition in which the electrical impulses in one part of my heart are not functioning exactly right. The only way they can do an accurate stress test is to do a nuclear one where they inject a radioactive material into my blood, give it a while to absorb and then do the test. Although I didn’t think to ask the doc, I suspect this condition is what screws up the results on exercise machines. I was also told that if I ever go to the ER with potential heart attack symptoms I should be sure to mention the LBBB as it can erroneously make them think I’m in worse shape than I really am.

 

[Lsbcal]

A thought on inconsistent BPM readings...I don’t have a fitness tracker. I am a regular exerciser albeit not a fanatic. When I take my BP at home, I get consistent readings from the high 50s to the mid-60s. BUT, at the gym I’ve always gotten crazy and inconsistent readings from the ellipticals and stationary bikes where you grip the handles to check your heart rate. Several years ago I had my first (at the age of 74) treadmill cardiac stress test. Turned out they couldn’t complete it because I have a left bundle branch block, a condition in which the electrical impulses in one part of my heart are not functioning exactly right. The only way they can do an accurate stress test is to do a nuclear one where they inject a radioactive material into my blood, give it a while to absorb and then do the test. Although I didn’t think to ask the doc, I suspect this condition is what screws up the results on exercise machines. I was also told that if I ever go to the ER with potential heart attack symptoms I should be sure to mention the LBBB as it can erroneously make them think I’m in worse shape than I really am.

Friar, you should consider buying the Apple watch. It has emergency medical notes that emergency personnel are apparently trained to access. It has some other features that might be very useful to your health maintenance. Should an ambulance be needed such on-the-spot information could be life saving especially if you are not conscious enough to give them info.

The watch also has a fall indicator that calls 911 if you do not respond to unset it. I've fallen in remote areas while exercising but so far have not needed assistance and so unset the call.

I know this entails a good size outlay especially if you do not have an iPhone. But there are many other side benefits to having the iPhone and watch.

 

[friar1610]

Friar, you should consider buying the Apple watch. It has emergency medical notes that emergency personnel are apparently trained to access. It has some other features that might be very useful to your health maintenance. Should an ambulance be needed such on-the-spot information could be life saving especially if you are not conscious enough to give them info.

The watch also has a fall indicator that calls 911 if you do not respond to unset it. I've fallen in remote areas while exercising but so far have not needed assistance and so unset the call.

I know this entails a good size outlay especially if you do not have an iPhone. But there are many other side benefits to having the iPhone and watch.

Good suggestions - thanks.

 

[Mark1]

Yeah, I had heard of this, but only started doing HIIT this year as the Apple Fitness+ Rowing workouts do several “all-out” intervals.

My heart rate can get way up there, I back off the effort a bit if my heart rate starts approaching or exceeds 170. I figure I’m working hard enough already. My heart rate recovery is pretty fast though which is reassuring. 10 seconds or so rowing slower will get me back down into the 150s.

Otherwise I’m doing strength training including core, and a whole lot of yoga. When weather permits I go on long bicycle rides.

Wow, 170 bpm seems high, I'm about your age Audrey and didn't realize we were suppose to get it that high at our age. DW and I routinely get our rates up pretty high at times doing burpees or hiking up a ~300 steps canyon in the CO Monument, but no where near 170 bpm. I asked my cardiologist a few years ago if I should be worried about excerising too hard and getting my heart rate too high and he didn't seem concerned at all so I really don't monitor mine. Seeing this on HIIT makes me much less worried.

 

[braumeister]

Wow, 170 bpm seems high, I'm about your age Audrey and didn't realize we were suppose to get it that high at our age. DW and I routinely get our rates up pretty high at times doing burpees or hiking up a ~300 steps canyon in the CO Monument, but no where near 170 bpm.

You have to remember that the heart rates published are averages. We're all different.

When I was in my 30s and 40s I routinely got up close to 190 by the end of a long run, and now in my 70s I'm at 170 nearly every morning on my run through the neighborhood.

 

[audreyh1]

Wow, 170 bpm seems high, I'm about your age Audrey and didn't realize we were suppose to get it that high at our age. DW and I routinely get our rates up pretty high at times doing burpees or hiking up a ~300 steps canyon in the CO Monument, but no where near 170 bpm. I asked my cardiologist a few years ago if I should be worried about excerising too hard and getting my heart rate too high and he didn't seem concerned at all so I really don't monitor mine. Seeing this on HIIT makes me much less worried.

Yes, mine can get quite high but I feel fine and am not gasping for breath. If I don’t watch it, I’ll end up going above 175 when rowing, I pull back at that point. Once a few years ago I did an experiment, I was feeling very good that day, and got it up to 181 before scaring myself and pulling back. I put that down as my “max”.

The 220 - age max heart rate rule is bogus. It’s very individual.

According to the “charts” I should be working at 130-139 for my age, but on the rower taking it “easy” I’ll recover to the 140s, and am usually at least in the 150s before going “all out” and going higher.

I never feel winded. Yes, I’m deliberately breathing hard. I do a lot of yoga breathing too in yoga, so maybe that helps with lung capacity.

In the workouts they are usually yelling at us to pull harder, “give it all you’ve got”, but that’s for the young folks. If my heart rate is getting way up there I just try to maintain.

It’s worth noting that the rower is working almost all the muscle groups - legs, arms and back/core. So getting the heart rate way up is not surprising. I don’t go nearly as high in my other activities, topping out at 140s to 150s.

DH has a very low resting heart rate and it’s difficult for him to even exceed 120.

 

[Lsbcal]

Here is a good source for suggestions on calculating target heart rates and planning your exercise intensity:
https://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/fitness/in-depth/exercise-intensity/art-20046887

Using the Mayo Clinic method my target heart rate for vigorous exercise is 118 to 133.

Using a different formula for max heart rate from this paper:
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3935487/

gave me a target heart rate between 125 and 141.

These numbers seem to fall within the values I get with my Apple watch on hill runs.

 

[braumeister]

Here is a good source for suggestions on calculating target heart rates and planning your exercise intensity:

Um, no.
What many of us have been saying is that their formula is completely bogus.

 

[Lsbcal]

Um, no.
What many of us have been saying is that their formula is completely bogus.

Did you look at the second source. Formula for max heart rate is:

max HR = 208 - 0.7 * age

This is max HR but not the suggestion for target vigorous workout heart rate.

Am I missing something?

Also, how accurate do you think your HR workout rate is? What is your measurement source? The Apple watch seems to be OK for me but I have no clue how accurate it is.

 

[braumeister]

Am I missing something?

WADR, yes. I believe what you're missing is the idea of individual differences. There is a lot of variance among people, even within the same age group -- much more than you might expect. Formulae like these may work OK, more or less, for the majority of people, but it's not hard to figure out your own parameters.

Start by finding your own max heart rate (assuming no existing medical contraindications).

Here is a decent way to do that:

1. Wearing a good heart rate monitor (the chest strap type is best), warm up thoroughly so you start sweating.
2. Do two intervals, each four minutes long. During the intervals you should be too short of breath to talk. Intersperse each interval with three minutes of active rest.
3. Start the third interval, but two minutes in, increase your speed even further and run until you're too exhausted to continue. Your HRmax will be the highest heart rate you reach. The heart will reach a plateau at which it cannot beat any faster, regardless of how much you increase the workload.

If you don't have a heart rate monitor, you can measure the maximum heart rate by holding two fingers to your neck for 30 seconds right after finishing the test. Double the number you get to find your HRmax.

Once you know your own actual max HR, it's simple to apply the percentages you want in order to get targeted workouts.

 

[Sniggle]

Lift 4 times a week, ruck 2 times a week. Lifting consists of a chest day and a back day. Rucking is 4-12 miles with 40# dry weight, and often a mile with an added 120# bag.

Need to get back to dieting though.

 

[audreyh1]

Did you look at the second source. Formula for max heart rate is:

max HR = 208 - 0.7 * age

This is max HR but not the suggestion for target vigorous workout heart rate.

Am I missing something?

Also, how accurate do you think your HR workout rate is? What is your measurement source? The Apple watch seems to be OK for me but I have no clue how accurate it is.

Yeah, I read one article that said just use the highest you’d ever seen on a workout as your Max HR, so that’s what I do. In general my max is way higher than what any age based formula gives me.

For example, your formula gives me 165, but I routinely get above that and I instead use 181 as my max rate which is the highest I happened to see once when goong all out.

220-age gives me 159. I’m in my 150s routinely between interval rests and often exceed 159 while rowing, so obviously it’s not my “max”. I’m quite comfortable rowing at that rate.

But I don’t actually work in zones anymore anyway.

Accuracy - my heart rate monitors all agree including the Apple watch.

 

[1242Vintage]

I’m enjoying the conversation about heart rate.

I’m 57 and use a max heart rate of 185 bpm and resting of 55 bpm. I train and compete in mountain, high intensity cyclocross and gravel endurance bicycle races and have seen higher numbers when the adrenaline of race day kicks in, but that’s not my norm. I usually train in heart rate zones 3 and 4.

I’m embarrassed to say my recent all-time high heart rate was a couple years ago at 204 bpm. It was a race day and I had a couple cups of coffee … an energy drink … and two puffs of albuterol in the hours before starting. Didn’t think anything of this combination until during the race my vision got blurry and I crashed out. All returned to normal in the hours after the event and yes my doctor advised at my annual physical that 204 was a little high for me and suggested I lay off the pre-race Red Bull.

 

[Ronstar]

I’m enjoying the conversation about heart rate.

I’m 57 and use a max heart rate of 185 bpm and resting of 55 bpm. I train and compete in mountain, high intensity cyclocross and gravel endurance bicycle races and have seen higher numbers when the adrenaline of race day kicks in, but that’s not my norm. I usually train in heart rate zones 3 and 4.

I’m embarrassed to say my recent all-time high heart rate was a couple years ago at 204 bpm. It was a race day and I had a couple cups of coffee … an energy drink … and two puffs of albuterol in the hours before starting. Didn’t think anything of this combination until during the race my vision got blurry and I crashed out. All returned to normal in the hours after the event and yes my doctor advised at my annual physical that 204 was a little high for me and suggested I lay off the pre-race Red Bull.

Now that's getting the ticker up to full speed! Please explain what you mean by "crashed out". Did you pass out?

 

[Lsbcal]

I’m enjoying the conversation about heart rate.

I’m 57 and use a max heart rate of 185 bpm and resting of 55 bpm. I train and compete in mountain, high intensity cyclocross and gravel endurance bicycle races and have seen higher numbers when the adrenaline of race day kicks in, but that’s not my norm. I usually train in heart rate zones 3 and 4.

I’m embarrassed to say my recent all-time high heart rate was a couple years ago at 204 bpm. It was a race day and I had a couple cups of coffee … an energy drink … and two puffs of albuterol in the hours before starting. Didn’t think anything of this combination until during the race my vision got blurry and I crashed out. All returned to normal in the hours after the event and yes my doctor advised at my annual physical that 204 was a little high for me and suggested I lay off the pre-race Red Bull.

To me it sounds like a dangerous mixture. I think races should be done without help from any source other then normal nutrients. This is assuming you want to continue to be healthy and fit for future years.

I would definitely check blood pressure with the concoctions you select. You should be sitting and resting about 1 hour before taking the BP measurements. So you cannot really measure the BP + concoctions + racing.

 

[1242Vintage]

Now that's getting the ticker up to full speed! Please explain what you mean by "crashed out". Did you pass out?

Didn’t pass out. What I mean by “crashed out” is I hit a curve way too fast, grabbed the brakes in a panic and slide off the race course and bounced out into the weeds and dirt beyond. Fortunately no long-term issues and only ego was bruised but that crash took me out of the race that day.