I was taught that working to could be done in two ways:
- By exertion form 1 to 10; or
- Based on heart rate.
The problem with exertion, is that it is really variable on how you are actually feeling at that specific time, whereas your heart rate is the actual energy usage at the time.
I am a fan of both ways of cardio, but I do like to understand what my body is really doing! So the Polar Heart Rate monitor is really useful for me!
I have been using it for a week now and I am really happy with what it has shown me, which while a bit of a surprise was not entirely unforeseen.
Whilst quite often in
cardio I feel like I am really working myself to the optimum level, in fact I was at about 60 - 70% of my optimum level for
cardio / fat loss. My recovery is
OK and I can go from a really high pulse rate down to a slightly above my norm quite quickly.
But and there is a huge but, my normal resting heart rate is a lot higher than I would like. Walking around it is still somewhere between 80 - 90 bpm which is indicative of not being overly fit!
The other issue I have noticed is that to keep in my own optimum cardio zone I have to quite push myself.
And finally the difference between what the machine at the gym says my calorie burn and what the actual is, is a difference of up to 20%. I thought I was doing between 500 - 550 calories a cardio session when in fact it was about 420 - 450.
So all in all an excellent present and hopefully one that will really help me achieve my long term fitness goals!
Whilst quite often in cardio I feel like I am really working myself to the optimum level, in fact I was at about 60 - 70% of my optimum level for cardio / fat loss. My recovery is OK and I can go from a really high pulse rate down to a slightly above my norm quite quickly.