exercise gurus, how much is too much?

So I can now make it all the way around when pedaling the bike and today did 15 min.  I can get fast enough to get my heartrate up easily.  Then I get on the eliptical.  After 2 minutes, my heart is racing/pounding.  Yesterday, I took my pulse and it was 170.  I know that is too high.  The charts for my age, 63, say in the 112 range is max, 85%.  So I have been working for 2 min, resting for about that and doing another 2 min.  My heart rate doesn't come all the way down for sure but at least I don't feel like I am going to stroke out on the darn machine.  If I really have to aim for 112, I can't use the machine at all.  So am I ok in short spurts resting in between or should I wait until I can do it without my heartrate going so high?  I get sick of the bike pretty quick and there are days I really don't have time to do all the changing for the pool.

I'm not an expert, but that sounds a bit low (112).  I would go by how you are feeling. If you are short of breath and your heart is pounding, you could back off, and exercise at a lower intensity for a longer period of time.  As your level of fitness increases, it will take more work to get your heart rate up to a high enough level to get the aerobic effect. Also, interval training is going at a higher intensity with short bursts of energy for a shorter period of time, and then backing down, and repeating the cycle within a specific time frame.  So, you could do this. It is a great fat burner and an excellent way to burn more calories.

Exercising at a higher intensity for 2 minutes, then dropping to a lower intensity for another 2-3 minutes, so that your heart rate can drop a bit, and repeating this cycle would be consider interval training.

Sounds like you are more acclimated to the bike, which is why it takes longer to get your heart rate up. As your body becomes accustomed to the elliptical or any type of exercise, it will take longer to increase your heartrate and to burn calories.

When I started Spin classes, it wouldn't take very long to get my heart rate up and to start perspiring. Now, it takes longer and I have to work harder. This is why, it is good to have variety in one's exercise routine.

Gail

You could always check with your doctor.

Hi Price

You're right 170 is too high for your heart rate.  I go a little above the 85% occasionally, but I've had clearance from my cardiologist, and I'm exhausted if I go over 155.   At 170, you're working in a very anaerobic mode, which does not help as much as working aerobically.  It can be a little hard on your heart.  The cardiologists use 220-age as the maximum, and I do believe you're over 50     Even on stress tests, they don't go all the way to maximum.

My recommendation is to take it slow - use less resistance and a slower pace. If the eliptical is too intense for you then do some light weight lifting with your arms to get your heart rate in a good place, or walk. Keep that up for 30 min a day.   If you do that after 6-8 weeks, you'll see a noticible difference. 

To put it in perspective, it took me a year to get to a level of fitness where I can do the elliptical for an 45 min.  (Now I do elliptical for 45 min, then weight lifting for 30 min, and go to the gym 3x per week).

Good luck

 "At 170, you're working in a very anaerobic mode, which does not help as much as working aerobically."

Doesn't help much for what? It totally depends on your goals how hard  you should work for what percentage of your workouts. If you are trying to build speed, you need to do high intensity intervals. If you want to build endurance, you do a lot of really long slow stuff. If you want to build muscles, you do a different kind of training.

But in general if you just want to improve fitness and burn calories and fat, you should work as hard as you can. The idea that we burn more fat by working out in some mythical 'fat burning zone' doing very easy 'aerobic' workouts is not scientifically sound.

Plus, if you want to get technical about it... it's aerobic. 

Thanks.  Both the bike and the eliptical beep at me if I go too slow and then do this pause, restart thing that increases the resistance.  I AM NOT trying to ru**** and I have the resistance set on 1.  I haven't done any cardic in months because first of my injured knee then the replacement.  I guess I am trying to jump back in where I left off and just can't seem to do that.  I've been running in the pool and pedaling there but I gues it hasn't gotten me ready for the eliptical quite yet.  So I will stick to the bike for a while and do the eliptical only in short spurts.  I'm just ready to be back, tired of being weak.

Sounds like a plan. I don't even use the elliptical machines in the gym that I go to, because I am just about too small for them. I tend to use the Stair Mill, treadmill, and rowing machine. I also go to some of the fitness classes. I have found that if one is away from the exercise for any length of time, it does take your body some time to readjust. Each machine and activity uses the muscles in different ways, so there is always a learning curve, when you start something new and/or restart.

You've been through a lot the past several months, but glad to hear that you are progressing.

Price,
I don't remember anything about the heart rate scale,  but I know when I started on the eliptical, I could only do like 15 seconds and then I felt like I was dying.  I finally worked up to like 12-15 minutes.  I don't go to the gym now because I mostly walk/jog or do zumba.  It is one of the hardest machines to work up time on. 
My BIL has to do the eliptical machine instead of the treadmill because of his knee.  It is suppose to be a lot better for your knee.
I get bored with some things really easy too. 
I would check with your doctor to see what they think the highest your heart rate should be.
Linda

When I went to the Dr today, of course, I didn't ask that question.  I did ask about any restrictions and he said no jogging and nothing that would pound the joint but walking, bike and eliptical were ok.  And of course the pool is fine.  I asked about Zumba because I really loved that and he said ok with being smart and keeping it to very little twisting and pounding.  I had to do that before because of my knee so I may wait a few weeks and give it a go again.

I don't see a Dr for 6 weeks but I can ask the PT tomorrow.  He probably has an idea.

I would think the PT person would have a good idea.

Be careful with Zumba, it bothers my knees sometimes if I do a lot of twisting and jumping!!

"The charts for my age, 63, say in the 112 range is max, 85%."

The charts are completely bogus. They work for about 5% of people. Just ignore them.

In several studies they found that people's max heart rates vary along all possible values no matter what their age and fitness levels. For example, in one study of the mens' rowing team at a university where all the participants were very fit and between ages of 18 and 22, some had max heart rates as low as 160 and some had max heart rates of 220. If the formula works for most people, most of the kids would have had max heart rates of around 200 and they did not.

The only way to know your max heart rate is via a cardiac stress test. When I had one done pre-op to check for problems, I found out my max heart rate was 187. That's more than 20 points higher than the formula says.

Basically, if your heart rate got up to 170 then your max heart rate can't be what the formula says (which is around 157, yes?). Because if your max heart rate was what 220-your age would say it was, you would be dead right now. Since you aren't dead, your max heart rate is over 170. By definition. 

Just listen to your body. If you feel horribly out of breath and like you are going to explode, then stop. If you feel fine, then don't stop.