1.  Fitness buffs, has anyone else had a problem with the heart-rate sensors on the machines? I was doing cardio on the eliptical trainer today, interval training between 153-170 as heart rate, well into the “cardio” range for someone my age. And yet, even when I was at 170 (according to the sensors on the machine), I found myself barely breathing hard. Yes, I was working, but not as much as I think I should have been. Do I just have a poor sense of what a 170 heart rate feels like, or is there a problem with the machines?

2.  The people that you meet. I keep running into people I know when I’m at the gym. Today it was someone from my Latin class. Who knew?

In the end, I did 30 minutes of interval training, going between what the machine told me was 153 and 170 as a heart rate. I’m still skeptical.

Julie

From what I’ve noticed, it tends to be accurate. You can always check your own heart rate while you work out. I just use the interval of 6 seconds, and multiply that by 10. So, when it says I’m working out at 160 BBM, I make sure i could 16 beats in 6 seconds. Seems to work fine.

About people at the gym, I find that I’m getting to know faces now. SInce I get there at 5:20 every morning, I’m starting to know people. I had the oppertunity of talking with a few people before it opened one day on a weekend. It was good to connect a personality to a face I see. Have a good time.

Usually when I have issues, it’s very drastic… like it says my heart rate is 38. So I say it’s probably about right.  When I first got a heart rate monitor, I was surprised at how little exertion it took to get my heart rate up.  I guess it’s partly skewed, since your heart rate slows down if you’ve been stopping to take your pulse.

If you want something more accurate, get a chest strap HRM.  I got a cheap Polar one at Target on sale for $40.  It was worth it just for the chest strap.. they sell for $40 by themselves.  The strap works with the heart rate monitor on all the cardio equipment at the gym.

It’s nice not having to hold the handles.  My wife actually brings the gameboy and plays video games on the recumbant bike.

I think it depends on what sensors you’re using and when.

Sometimes, I do have an issue with the sensors, I think they’re actually just flakey or they only count half of my beats. 
Sometimes, for the ones where you have to stop and place your thumbs/whatever on a sensor, my heartrate drops so fast that it’s useless (I can usually drop 10bpm given a couple seconds rest).
Sometimes, if you’re holding the sensors while moving, (esp if the sensors are stationary) you can acutally add in beats that don’t exist with your movement… you ...pulse toward the sensors and it reads it as a beat.

Mostly, though, the machines are fine, especially when either i’m not moving much (say, bike) or the sensors move with me (say, elliptical).  170 is a fairly high exertion rate, however, and it’s the heartrate that should be quite difficult to talk during an such… so, you should feel it if you maintain it for any length of time.  *shrug*

No way, Julie!

170 is like walking on hot coals.  You might be able to do it for a moment, but to maintain it for tens of minutes without sweating and panting (you’re astmatic, right)? I don’t think so.  I did 159 on the eliptical this morning for about 30 minutes out of 60 and had flashbacks of ... ehh...something else.  I left a puddle of sweat under the machine.

Go buy a chest strap and watch.  Measure for yourself.

Wow… thanks everyone for your replies!

Skyler, I utterly abhor taking my own pulse, that’s why I was using the machines.  But I’m glad it’s working for you.  And 5:20 am!  Congrats!  At that time, I’m way off in dreamland.  You’re only 19, right?  What time do you get to bed? *grin*

Otto, I’ll look into that.  I didn’t know that the heart rate straps can interact with the cardio machines at the gym… I’ll have to check that out at my gym the next time I go.  In terms of holding the handles, I use the elipticals, so I actually enjoy it.  I listen to podcasts while I’m doing cardio, so it doesn’t bother me too much.  I can see where it would be frustrating on a treadmill or bike, though.

Aiofe, I suspect it’s the “counting extra beats” that was happening.  It told me I was holding 170 for three minutes, and I wasn’t feeling it at all.  On Sunday I held “165” for 20 minutes and was only breathing a bit hard.

Shai, thanks for the advice.  I’ll look into chest straps.  Based on what you said, I definitely wasn’t at 170, no matter what the machines were saying.

Thanks again, everyone!
Julie

Julie - 03 March 2006 09:54 AM

I utterly abhor taking my own pulse, that’s why I was using the machines.

Hmmm… I kind of like the hot sweaty feeling of findng my pulse and counting for 10 seconds. 

The machines can be kind of funky and not accurate and the personal monitors sometimes don’t work well depending on your body type.  It’s a personal thing.

Another options is the “rate of perceived exertion” test.  On a scale of 1 to 10 - how do you feel?  How is your breathing?

To burn fat - you need to be 7 to 8.  Breathing hard but breathing well.  But remember, as you get in better shape you’ll be able to get to a higher level and still breath well.  Great for shaping up but a little overkill for burning fat.  And the extra stress you put on your body is not worth the trade off.  Give it a try if all the technology isn’t working for you.

Hi Scott!  I completely missed this post as I was surfing MTM a few days ago.  Thanks for the advice: I’ll try that the next time I’m at the gym (probably tomorrow).

Julie

I actually had a question about my heart rate as well.  I’m glad I found this thread!

Yesterday I was on an elliptical, and I was working pretty hard.  I checked my heart rate using the machine’s sensors, and I was at 190!!  I didn’t feel like I was working that hard!  After 15 minutes on the elliptical, I moved to a stationary bike for 30 minutes.  I kept my heart rate around 160-165, but I didn’t feel like I was working very hard at all.  I haven’t worked out regularly in almost two years, so it seems like it should be fairly difficult to maintain that level, but it really wasn’t.

Back when I was working out two years ago, my heart rate was usually around 180-185, and I was able to keep it close to that level for 30-45 minutes.  Am I a freak?  Are the machines everywhere I go that far off?  Should I be worried about my 190bpm heart rate?