Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
I think of heart rate in association with cardio or aerobic exercise. What roll does your heart rate play in weight lifting? Am I just killing two birds with one stone by keeping an elevated heart rate while lifting or is there a reason? Does an elevated heart rate assist in the building of muscle strength? And why so high a heart rate?
Ya gotta remember that there's a difference between elevated heartrate and target heartrate, the latter of which is what you're prolly thinking about as being usually mentioned in conjunction with cardio or aerobic exercise. Your target rate is the beats per minute (bpm) you want to reach for, say, 45 minutes a day, three to four days a week, in order to get an effective cardio workout and also to aid in losing weight, burning fat, or just toning-up.
This is the formula for determining your target HR: Take the number 220 and subtract your age. Then, take 75% of that number. That final figure is your Target HR. When doing your aerobic activitities, aim to attain this number.
As far a merely an elevated rate, sure, your HR is gonna be a bit elevated even when performing resistance (weight) training, but usually not to the point so as to be effective at burning fat or losing weight or attaining any cardiovascular benefits. Don't get me wrong, even if your HR is ramped up a bit, say at around 110 bpm while lifting weights, it's still gonna aid in your fitness regimen and help you burn more calories than just sitting around, but it's just not high enough to merit what we call an aerobic benefit.
My former trainer wanted to get my heart up to 160 bpm, which was really distracting for me. While lifting I would like to concentrate on my form and lifting enough weight for 8 to 12 reps. Unless there is a compelling reason for me to maintain such a high heart rate while lifting I'd really rather not. I'm getting from you that there isn't. Hmmm
Ya gotta remember that there's a difference between elevated heartrate and target heartrate, the latter of which is what you're prolly thinking about as being usually mentioned in conjunction with cardio or aerobic exercise. Your target rate is the beats per minute (bpm) you want to reach for, say, 45 minutes a day, three to four days a week, in order to get an effective cardio workout and also to aid in losing weight, burning fat, or just toning-up.
This is the formula for determining your target HR: Take the number 220 and subtract your age. Then, take 75% of that number. That final figure is your Target HR. When doing your aerobic activitities, aim to attain this number.
As far a merely an elevated rate, sure, your HR is gonna be a bit elevated even when performing resistance (weight) training, but usually not to the point so as to be effective at burning fat or losing weight or attaining any cardiovascular benefits. Don't get me wrong, even if your HR is ramped up a bit, say at around 110 bpm while lifting weights, it's still gonna aid in your fitness regimen and help you burn more calories than just sitting around, but it's just not high enough to merit what we call an aerobic benefit.
What target heartrate you aim for is dependent on your goal. 60-75% is about the usual range for a long fat-burning session where you want to keep on going for 2 hours or so while for general cardio the 70-85% rate is pretty standard, >85 is associated with interval training...
As for heartrate going up while lifting weights that's definitely normal. How much it goes up depends on how much effort you are putting into it like anything else. for example when i benchpress I don't think I go much beyond 70%, but when I do cleans I'm getting close to maximum, and I can actually see the pounding on the lower ribcage when i look in the mirror.
By the nature of the question I'm guessing the OP could benefit from knowing that the heartrate is a function relatively proportionate to
*the volume of blood pumped by the heart,
*the oxygenuptake(from air to blood) *the need for oxygen in the cells of the body
*other minor factors
So given that a muscle cell is conducting physical effort(like lifting weight) it will need oxygen for the chemical oxidation of your carbon source(i.e. carbohydrates, fatty acids, and in some cases amino acids(protein)). the restproducts will be carbondioxide and water. This oxidation enables your body to convert ADP(adenosinediphosfate) into ATP (adenosinetriphosfate) which can then be used for energy as the third phosfate group is stericly hindered and will easily release it's bond with resulting energy.
So with other words the more you make your body need oxygen the higher will your heart-rate be. That is nothing to be afraid of.
So called "elevated pulse" is when your resting pulse is elevated relaticely to that of a healthy persons resting pulse. An elevated resting pulse is usually caused by a weaker heart, meaning it can't pump as much blood with each beat. the stronger your heart, the smaller the need to pump often. The result of a stronger heart getting more blood through will also make you a better athlete because the better you can supply the muscles oxygen-demand, the better they will work.
And this in turn is the reason for lactic-acid accumulation in muscles. When the oxygen shortage get's too grate in the muscles, they will look for other oxidation methods and use pyruvate, which among other things is the endproduct of glycolysis and oxidize it into lactic acid. (on another note this is the same process that yeast-cells use to produce alcohol when they run out of oxygen, their different set of enzymes makes for the difference in product).
So now you know a bit more about the use of oxygen, the need for it and it's connection to pulse and physical activity.
If your trainer wants to get you to a certain target heartrate, it's is probably because you have stated goals that this heart-rate is compliant for.
My former trainer wanted to get my heart up to 160 bpm, which was really distracting for me. While lifting I would like to concentrate on my form and lifting enough weight for 8 to 12 reps. Unless there is a compelling reason for me to maintain such a high heart rate while lifting I'd really rather not. I'm getting from you that there isn't. Hmmm
Well, doing circuit-style resistance work is kind of a "two birds with one stone" idea. Minimal rest between sets and performing the movements as quickly as you can *while maintaining proper/safe form* will certainly keep your heartrate up there. It's one of the principles employed by CrossFit and other programs.
It's not going to help you get stronger, per se, but that's not to say there is no benefit.
Honestly, it sounds like you're looking for more "ammunition" against this trainer of yours. You don't need it. If you're not comfortable, make a change. Just don't abandon your fitness goals in the process.
Well, doing circuit-style resistance work is kind of a "two birds with one stone" idea. Minimal rest between sets and performing the movements as quickly as you can *while maintaining proper/safe form* will certainly keep your heartrate up there. It's one of the principles employed by CrossFit and other programs.
It's not going to help you get stronger, per se, but that's not to say there is no benefit.
Honestly, it sounds like you're looking for more "ammunition" against this trainer of yours. You don't need it. If you're not comfortable, make a change. Just don't abandon your fitness goals in the process.
To me the PT is a dead issue. It's resolved. Right now I'm just trying to figure out on my own what I need to do to reach the fitness goals I've set for myself.
Unless there is a compelling reason to do so, I'd rather not combine weight lifting and cardio until I'm more comfortable with the lifts. If a 160 bpm is important during weight training for the purpose of building muscle, then I should include it. If not, I'd rather not, at least not in the beginning. I don't want to injure myself again.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
