Thought I was a smart jock until......

I got myself a Polar F11 Heart Monitor.  I am so confused and almost ashamed to admit it. 

I am a lifelong athlete and former college athlete etc etc.  I work out hard and always shoot to get fitter, faster, healthier etc etc.

I got a Polar F11 and I am struggling to figure out what is best.  The monitor says that I need to keep my runs between 135-153 beats per min for my target to burn the most fat/cals.  I am STRUGGLING to keep my heart in that range, it appears that I train somewhere in the 175 area. 

So I read that for optimal results I need to do my longer runs in that range...(135-153)  THEN I read that nooooo, when I push harder I burn more calories and that is more important...calories are calories no matter how you slice it.  So what in the heck do it do?  Stay in that range where I hardly feel I am getting a workout, or forget the pricey monitor that I had perhaps too much faith in?

I say ashamed bc when I was playing vball in college we ran with heart monitors during our interval training and I had no idea how to interpret the data, nor was that knowledge shared with me.  I am desperate to figure this all out to:

#1 LOSE WEIGHT

#2 Increase my endurance (my cap is around 14 miles right now)

#3 Increase my speed (I avg a 8:30--9 min mile)

Any help will be grealy appreciated.  I have read the Polar site and 50 bazillion other sites about this and keep getting conflicting info!

THX!!

I am no expert but I recently bought a Polar Heart Rate Monitor and I basicly use it to help keep track of how many calories I am burning so I can then balance it in with what I am eating.  I think the 135-153 is probably the fat burning range (where you may be moving slower but pushing harder like high resistance) and 160-180 would me more of a high intensity cardio range.  Exactly where your heart rate should be depends I think on exactly what you might be training or doing for that work out. 

I would guess that if you wanted to be able to run further or longer then you might want to keep your heart rate in the 135-153 range so you could do just that.

Either way your total calories burned  plus your normal body expenditure verses what you you are consuming is what is going to help you to loose weight.

I hope that helps a little.  There might be others who could explain this in more detail.

I appreciate the feedback.  I had the same thoughts about the "range" and going longer distances....I can see how that may help.  My concern is that I have to run soooo slow to keep it in that range I feel like I will lose some of my fitness. 

Is this heart monitor telling me that I am grossly out of shape? 

What should I opt for...the higher heart rate to burn more calories...or try to stay in that range?

Thanks again.

From these forums, this is what I've concluded

- The range is based on your "max hr" which is really just an estimate based on your age. Since max hr isn't really based on your age, but on your physical ability, the formula that determines your max hr typically isn't accurate. You can do a test to see what your max hr is, if you'd feel better about that.

- The "fat burn" and "cardio" ranges are misleading. If I am getting this right - someone please correct me if this isn't accurate - the fat burn range is supposedly where you will burn the highest percentage of calories from fat. However, this is just a percentage. So (and I'm making up numbers), say you are burning 100 cal every 10 minutes in the fat burn zone, and that it's 90% efficient - so 90 calories come from fat. But if you go above the zone, you are burning 150 cal/10min, but the efficiency drops to 80%. Sure, it's a lower percentage, but in 10 min, you've burned 120 cal from fat, instead of 90, so that's better.

- My impression of the cardio range is that if you want to improve your cardio vascular health, you should aim to get up to this range - but that assumes that you have to push yourself to go that hard, not hold yourself back.

- HRMs can be good to measure calories burned during exercise, to get an idea of how your fitness has changed, and to make sure you are pushing yourself hard enough. But I think it shouldn't make you hold back (unless you have a medical condition that necessitates it).

I'm no expert but amethystgirl's explanation seems to be more logical.  Does your body tell you that you are working hard enough?   The answer should be the determining factor.   You can't go wrong if you listen to your body.  Good luck.

When you read your instructions when you bought the monitor how did you set the user info? Did you set it for improvement? The program that it would create for you based on that info would be different than a program that you program in to it yourself.

I created a custom program in my F11 that is more in line with my goals vs the standard exercise recommendations.

Also make sure that you test once a week. Although I am overweight my resting heart rate is less than 50. It takes a while to understand all of the features but the F11 can really be a great tool to reach your fitness goals.

Well, my body is telling me that I am not working hard enough which concerns me.  I am listening to my body and I am used to pushing much harder in my workouts.  I am still sweating but I feel cardio-wise my capacity is much higher. 

When I read the instructions I set the info to my personal stats and did the One ZOne test etc.  I set it for moderate exercise to challenge myself as opposed to the elite level (I can't remember what that is coined)

I just ran a 5k this past Thursday and am preparing to start an 18 week marathon training for a fall marathon.  I am still struggling to decide how much to let the F11 dictate my workouts, or if I should just focus on my mileage.  I really want to improve overall, in fitness, weight loss...etc.  Is this too ambitious or is this a realistic expectation for all the hard work that lies ahead?

I have read and re-read the users manual in hopes of figuring this out.  Do you think it is worth going to talk to a professional?  (Not like I am in the market for that type of consultation but I am really that desperate to figure this out!!!)
Thanks again everyone...these conversation is helping me piece this togther.

amethystgirl is exactly right.

The percent of calories is highest in the so-called "Fat-burning zone" but that actual calories burned from fat is larger at higher intensities. A slightly smaller percentage of a larger number can be larger than a larger percentage of a small number, and that's what happens in this case. 

Also, like she said, the "max hr" that are often given and that everything is based on is kinda rediculous. It's given as 220 minus age I believe, but there is no way that the max hr of a 20 year-old athletic person is the same as a Homer Simpson who's most exercise is from the tv to the fridge. It depends on way more factors of physical fitness.

I think that those type of heart rate monitors have a use, definitely, but there's no way for it to spit out a number and say "for best results, keep you heart pumping at xxx bpm" cause for some people that may be way to much for their heart, and for others not enough.

Basically, to improve cardiovascular, just push yourself, you'll know if you're getting a good cardio workout.

I think at the very least the F11 will give me a tailored # in terms of exactly how many calories I am burning when I do exercise.  I think that in itself will help me a ton in tracking my expenditure and balancing that with intake. 

Anyone else out there use a F11?

I don't have an F11 but I always work out with a heart rate monitor of some sort. I have a high heart rate too - I usually get up to 165-175 on a good run. I noticed that the more I ran the longer it takes to get my heart rate up to that though, so I take that as a good sign. Now for the first 20 minutes or so of my run my heart rate is around the 150 mark. When running you definitely want to be in the cardio zone (85% of 220 minus your age) otherwise you aren't running hard enough. I find that I only start really feeling in my stride when I run if my heart rate is over 165.

I just use my comon sense and if I start feeling dizzy, I take a walk break - but that barely happens anymore