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working out....is there something wrong with me?
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An_245808 posted:
This is going to sound like a dumb question to some people but I'm curious. I recently joined a boot camp class 3 weeks ago and bought a heart rate monitor (polar FT4) to track my progress. I'm not extremely healthy so I know its something I need to do. I'm 5'3, 140lb, 30% body fat and 30 years of age. While working out for the last three weeks (3 days a week) my average heart rate has been 95% and maxed at 103%.....I feel like I'm struggling and dying compared to others in the class and my numbers are much higher. In the span of an hour I'm burning close to 800 calories. Is there something wrong with me? Or is it just because I'm so out of shape? Our classes include a lot of weights, steps, hills, running, tire drags ect......similar to cross training. I'm not a hypochondriac but could something be wrong or is it more then likely because I'm out of shape. I use to hit the gym a couple times a week but nothing with this intensity.
1 Replies |Watch This Discussion | Report This| Share this:working out....is there something wrong with me?This is going to sound like a dumb question to some people but I'm curious. I recently joined a boot camp class 3 weeks ago and bought a heart rate monitor (polar FT4) to track my progress. I'm not extremely healthy so I know its something I need to do. I'm 5'3, 140lb, 30% body fat and 30 years of age. While working out for the last three weeks (3 days a week) my average heart rate has been 95% and maxed at 103%.....I feel like I'm struggling and dying compared to others in the class and my numbers are much higher. In the span of an hour I'm burning close to 800 calories. Is there something wrong with me? Or is it just because I'm so out of shape? Our classes include a lot of weights, steps, hills, running, tire drags ect......similar to cross training. I'm not a hypochondriac but could something be wrong or is it more then likely because I'm out of shape. I use to hit the gym a couple times a week but nothing with this intensity.
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Rich Weil, MEd, CDE responded:
It seems improbable that your average heart rate is 185-190 beats per minute. That means your heart rate is rising above that frequently during the workout. I wonder if the monitor is working properly. Have the instructor take your heart rate manually when you are working hardest. I could see why you feel you are struggling, particularly if you are not yet in shape, but even still, it's just so high that it's difficult to believe that you could work that hard for an hour. If the monitor is accurate, then the one condition where the average could be that high is that during the toughest part of the workout it exceeds your maximum for just a few moments (probably less than 30 seconds). If that happens frequently enough, and the monitor is not measuring the duration of the heart rates, just the absolute value (even if for only a few seconds), then it could be possible, but you should still have the instructor check it.

Now, yes, your deconditioning could certainly leave you feeling wiped out. Boot Camp is intense, and it sounds like you walked in after a long period of inactivity. So you're hitting fitness cold turkey; just plunging right in without preparing your body for it. Any sedentary person would suffer the same way. So, you could continue with it and after another few weeks it will probably be a little bit easier as your fitness level improves, but it could take at least 8-10 weeks before it gets noticeably easier. It's just a very intesne workout and you did nothing to prepare for it.

What you could do is add a day or two of cardio and weights at a less intense pace to help build up your fitness. But listen to your body and give it enough rest to recover from these workouts. If you're exhausted the day after then you need to rest.

Take care,
Rich
Report This| Share this:working out....is there something wrong with me?It seems improbable that your average heart rate is 185-190 beats per minute. That means your heart rate is rising above that frequently during the workout. I wonder if the monitor is working properly. Have the instructor take your heart rate manually when you are working hardest. I could see why you feel you are struggling, particularly if you are not yet in shape, but even still, it's just so high that it's difficult to believe that you could work that hard for an hour. If the monitor is accurate, then the one condition where the average could be that high is that during the toughest part of the workout it exceeds your maximum for just a few moments (probably less than 30 seconds). If that happens frequently enough, and the monitor is not measuring the duration of the heart rates, just the absolute value (even if for only a few seconds), then it could be possible, but you should still have the instructor check it. <br /> <br />Now, yes, your deconditioning could certainly leave you feeling wiped out. Boot Camp is intense, and it sounds like you walked in after a long period of inactivity. So you're hitting fitness cold turkey; just plunging right in without preparing your body for it. Any sedentary person would suffer the same way. So, you could continue with it and after another few weeks it will probably be a little bit easier as your fitness level improves, but it could take at least 8-10 weeks before it gets noticeably easier. It's just a very intesne workout and you did nothing to prepare for it. <br /> <br />What you could do is add a day or two of cardio and weights at a less intense pace to help build up your fitness. But listen to your body and give it enough rest to recover from these workouts. If you're exhausted the day after then you need to rest.<br /> <br />Take care,<br />Rich
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