Training & Nutrition - Heart rate, weight loss, cadence and resting heart rate questions

Guys,
I am 26 years old and during the past month I have been cycling in order to shed some pounds off. I have been cycling with the help of a heart rate monitor, started three times a week for 45 mins working 100 percent of the workout in the weight loss heart rate target zone (around 60% of MHR). Also cutted carbs and fat consumption to less than half and replaced it with lots of veggies and fruits.

Almost one month after starting my program I've lost 4 pounds and I am very motivated with my achievements, however, I am concerned that my resting heart rate is too high +-76 BPM and my cadence is too low (60-70 cycles per min).

Is there a reason to be worried?? Are there any special workouts for improving cadence and resting heart rate? Could I still lose weight at the same pace I have been sheding it? Should I alternate both workouts or finish my weight loss program and then start my heart rate-cadence workout?

Thanks for your patience with my ramblings.

Ricardo.

Resting HR will probably come down as you get more fit.

You can practice working on increasing your cadence - just shift to an easier gear and focus on spinning it faster. Try spinning around 80-90 and focus on doing it smoothly without "bouncing".

For weight loss, you don't have to keep your HR at 60%. By going harder you'll burn more calories per minute.

Good luck with your goals.

Also cutted carbs and fat consumption to less than half and replaced it with lots of veggies and fruits.

Almost one month after starting my program I've lost 4 pounds and I am very motivated with my achievements, however, I am concerned that my resting heart rate is too high +-76 BPM and my cadence is too low (60-70 cycles per min).

Is there a reason to be worried?? Are there any special workouts for improving cadence and resting heart rate? Could I still lose weight at the same pace I have been sheding it? Should I alternate both workouts or finish my weight loss program and then start my heart rate-cadence workout?Sounds good for now. What you'll want to pay attention to is the changes that will occur in your body over time as you lose more weight and get more fit. This weight-loss rate will not continue it'll plateau when your body gets stronger to deal with the workload, so you'll have to modify the workout.

First, make sure you eat something right after the workouts. This will help recovery to allow you to go out the next day. And it will prevent your body from taking apart perfectly good muscle to replenish the glycogen stores.

Next, practice riding smooth pedal strokes so that you can spin at 80-90rpms. This will help later because you'll be able to go faster and burn more calories later. See, what will happen is your body will get more efficient and that same workout won't cause any more weight loss. So you'll have to ride farther, faster and harder to keep the weight loss up. But your muscles will end up getting fatigued and worn out trying to push harder and harder on the pedals. You won't be able to ride at 20mph pushing 60rpms for very long and you'll have to quit the workout early and again, the weight-loss will stop at this plateau. Also wearing out muscles through mashing will require you to rest every other day, again, limit how much weight can be loss. So, practice the higher cadence, you'll find that you'll go faster and burn off more calories/hr.

At some point, you'll want to add sprints and intervals to strengthen the muscles. This will allow them to keep up with the workload required to lose 1-lb/wk without leaving you continually fatigued. Stronger, more effcient muscles will again, allow you to go beyond the next plateau when you reach it. Eventually, burning off 700-800cal/hr will be a piece of cake and you can do it for hours on end, day after day.

Keep up the good work! :)

Guys,
I am 26 years old and during the past month I have been cycling in order to shed some pounds off. I have been cycling with the help of a heart rate monitor, started three times a week for 45 mins working 100 percent of the workout in the weight loss heart rate target zone (around 60% of MHR). Also cutted carbs and fat consumption to less than half and replaced it with lots of veggies and fruits.

Almost one month after starting my program I've lost 4 pounds and I am very motivated with my achievements, however, I am concerned that my resting heart rate is too high +-76 BPM and my cadence is too low (60-70 cycles per min).

Is there a reason to be worried?? Are there any special workouts for improving cadence and resting heart rate? Could I still lose weight at the same pace I have been sheding it? Should I alternate both workouts or finish my weight loss program and then start my heart rate-cadence workout?
Ricardo.

You are doing the right sorts of workouts to lose weight and improve your cardio health.

Over time you will likely reduce your resting heart rate, but resting and max heart rates vary from person to person. Even in crappy shape, I'm still in the low 60s, and when I'm trained pretty well, I'll be in the low 40s. But I have a larger than average heart, and my max heart rate is a little lower than you'd expect in somebody my age.

Most road cyclists aim to be in the 90-100 RPM range, but that's with clipless pedals. It's harder to get high cadences if you aren't clipped in, and you can bark you shins if you slip off. There's nothing to worry about riding at 60-70 RPM as long as your knees tolerate it well.

Hope that helps

Guys,
I have been cycling with the help of a heart rate monitor, started three times a week for 45 mins working 100 percent of the workout in the weight loss heart rate target zone (around 60% of MHR). Also cutted carbs and fat consumption to less than half and replaced it with lots of veggies and fruits.

Almost one month after starting my program I've lost 4 pounds and I am very motivated with my achievements, however, I am concerned that my resting heart rate is too high +-76 BPM and my cadence is too low (60-70 cycles per min).

Is there a reason to be worried?? Are there any special workouts for improving cadence and resting heart rate? Could I still lose weight at the same pace I have been sheding it? Should I alternate both workouts or finish my weight loss program and then start my heart rate-cadence workout?

Thanks for your patience with my ramblings.

Ricardo.


There is no such thing as a weight loss heart rate heart zone. There is the zone for training the body to burn fat as fuel which is generally the first stage of training before more strenuous work-outs. Weight loss is simply due the difference between the amount calories you eat and the calories you burn and it does not matter how you burn them.

Your hear rate is high, but that could be natural for you or you are just out of condition. Normally, it's advised that before someone starts a major increase in exercise, they get a check-up from a doctor to see if there's a problem.

When I first started to ride off-road, I drove my heart rate to or near it's maximum rate regularly and way beyond the max rate calculated for my age. That's in spite of the fact that I had a vigorous exercise program the previous 30+ years. Then I started to do intervals and climbing out of the saddle on hills to increase my speed and endurance. Now I'm much faster at a far lower heart rate. My resting heart rate dropped about 7 % due to the riding, but I was in pretty good shape before i started riding. It's possible your resting rate will drop over time and more than 7%.

By the way, fruit and vegetables are mostly carbs, but they are good carbs as opposed to empty carbs (low nutrition and fiber) of the sugar carbs.

There are some good books out there that would be helpful in eating correctly for both nutrition and an active lifestyle. My favorite is Chris Carmichael's Food for Fitness. Eating well, eating less and exercise is the key to weight loss, and more importantly, proper weight maintenance for life.

Al

There is no such thing as a weight loss heart rate heart zone. There is the zone for training the body to burn fat as fuel which is generally the first stage of training before more strenuous work-outs. Weight loss is simply due the difference between the amount calories you eat and the calories you burn and it does not matter how you burn them.


For weight loss, you don't have to keep your HR at 60%. By going harder you'll burn more calories per minute.

Well stated. This is one of the most prevalent "Urban Legends" around.


however, I am concerned that my resting heart rate is too high +-76 BPM

Some info about "resting heart rate."

Resting Heart Rate:

http://www.americanheart.org/presenter.jhtml?identifier=4701


What is resting heart rate?

This is a person's heart rate at rest. The best time to find out your resting heart rate is in the morning, after a good night's sleep, and before you get out of bed.

The heart beats about 60 to 80 times a minute when we're at rest. Resting heart rate usually rises with age, and it's generally lower in physically fit people. Resting heart rate is used to determine one's training target heart rate. Athletes sometimes measure their resting heart rate as one way to find out if they're overtrained. The heart rate adapts to changes in the body's need for oxygen, such as during exercise or sleep.

Perhaps you meant "Sitting heart rate?"

Here is a recent survey (http://www.bikeforums.net/showthread.php?t=226336)regarding sitting heart rate for 50+'rs. No, it is not terribly significant, just sort of interesting.