I'm 2 bpm over my max heart rate, 198. My heart pumps at 200bpm after 15 minutes of jogging. I don't feel much pain during the workout other than shortness of breath. After the workout I'm not sore at all the next day. I take a stimulant med and have for years.

Here's the problem; I am required to get in shape for a training course I am currently involved in. How can I excercise at 60-80% MHR and have an effective aerobic workout in this situation? I like running but I cant do it aerobically. I am reluctant to do anything else because I feel I am physically able to run. And I love running. I don't want to take the meds after I work out because I have a tolerence to them. I feel excessively tired when I havent taken them. That could mean I've reached burnout or I just forgot what it feels like to slow down and am not used to it. I'm not sure what tolerance is but it sucks. What will happen if I keep pushing at the pace this course is set at? Please help I need answers.

-Jane

Jane, I think this question is one for you doctor. Unfortunately stimulents can be a risk factor for those with underlying heart problems. I just received this information from the Hallowell Center.

The New York Times reported on August 22nd that federal drug regulators ordered that strong warnings be put on the labels of Adderall, Concerta and Ritalin to caution against their use in adults or children with heart problems and to alert doctors that the drugs cause one child in a thousand to experience hallucinations.

"We're not trying to scare people out of using these drugs," said Dr. Robert J. Temple, director of the Office of Medical Policy at the drug agency. "Still, I would be extremely reluctant to put people with heart failure on one of these drugs."

Dr. Hallowell concurs that patients with known heart issues should not take these medications, but also notes that in his 25 years of practice he has found them to be both very safe and very effective provided they are properly monitored. And, in the face of more news about these medications, he wants to make sure that those considering any medications for ADHD do a risk/benefit analysis before starting medications. Don't forget to ask these two questions - what are the "side effects" of not taking a medication? Do you have other, alternative, options?
I'd definately talk to my doctor and ask him about the blood pressure issue and it's effect on your training.

Take care,
Scattered

Jane.
Your maximum heart rate is just that. Whatever the maximum heart rate you can achieve is what your maximum heart rate is. The best place to determine ones MHR is in a lab with a sports medicine doctor accustomed to doing that type of test. Be prepared to suffer. :D

The formulas you might find on line are approximations and like training regimes, don't fit everyone. They are aimed at fitting most people most of the time. I've got three running friends that found the formula useless because they were so far away from the norm.

Even so, 200b/m seems too high for training except maybe in a limited fashion for someone in the elite of the sport. Generally, anything between 60% and 75% of MHR will show the best gains. It might be wiser to take 15 minutes to warm up with a quick walk and then a run/jog for 30 minutes that keeps your heart in the 60% to 75% range. 30 minutes three or four times a week will show very big improvements very quickly, if you can keep it down to that range. When I began I had to walk most of the time to be within the range.

A good indicator of appropriate effort is how you can talk. If you can carry on a conversation without gasping/gulping for breath, you've likely got it. In the beginning I always wanted to believe I could go harder than I should be going. Now I'm focused on recovery, more than workout intensity.

By working in the proper range and staying away from the upper limits is exactly how one goes about training ones "aerobic" fitness. To work in that range of 60% to 70% means that you don't kick in the anaerobic system which you must avoid to train the former.

You can run aerobically, but you'll have to train for it. In fact one of the more interesting experiments I did in my first year of running was to run absolutely nothing but aerobic range for 10 months. Then I set out to exploit that by taking on a training plan that would take advantage of all that wonderful foundation fitness I had prepared. It was like something drug induced. The rush was incredible! :D Laying down an aerobic base is best before doing anything involving heart rates above the aerobic level. To do this properly you'll need to know what your actually MHR is.

I spent a lot of my first running time working on my form. When I run very slowly, I work on keeping my foot fall up to speed at about 80 per second. I also work on the rest of my form. I believe this has helped me remain injury free. It also fights the boredom of running that easily.

Without having the defined goals of the course laid out, it's tough to say if the expected results are realistic.
Hope this helps.
Ian

Ian,
Thanks for the good tips. I was training to run aerobically this summer. The excercise involved timed intervals of running and walking. I was to a point where I could run for 10-12 minutes without walking and that's where I am now. When I get to the 12 minute point I need to slow down to a walk because I push it out to reach the 12 minute point. Is it productive to push like that? I don't think I can walk fast enough to reach 70% MHR. My ultimate goal is to jog easily for a half hour. When I am able to jog 30min aerobically I hope to work on increasing speed as well as endurance. Also, I am able to leg press 380lbs I'm 5'9'' and weigh 155 so that's pretty good. But, I cant do over 30 modified push ups or 25 of correct form sit ups without a break. Maybe my problem is that my upper body strength is poor and it can't keep up with my lower body. When I jog my arms do tire before my legs. I know that you write alot about recovery, When you are in recovery from a hard workout the day before and your muscles are sore is your heart rate higher until you reach recovery? Just curious.

....it sounds like there might be room for some alternate aerobic conditioning while you build up to the intensity you're looking for. I'd suggest stationary bike, elliptical or even the ergometer to get your body used to the expectations you're putting on it.

I'm not sure if you can attribute the high BPM to the stimulant, but I'm fairly sure that you won't want to spend prolonged time at that high of a heart rate. I think it might be worth while to work towards your goal slowly, and recognize that a good and reasonable foundation is what leads to long term fitness.

Good luck!

If you don't have an accurate measure of your MHR, it's not reliable to base your training on your heart rate. Stands to reason yes? A better gauge is the "talk test" The Borg test is good too, but with all of them, I've found people consistently want to train at higher intensities than is best for advancement. If one knows what their MHR is with certainty, it makes the "fudge" factor so much smaller! :D

From:http://ezinearticles.com/?Monitor-Your-Exercise-Intensity---The-Talk-Test&id=230157
When doing your cardio, you should aim for an intensity that allows you to talk comfortably. If you can talk comfortably, you're probably somewhere around the lower range of your target heart rate zone, which is kinda okay, but you should aim for better. Try singing or reciting a few lines from a favorite song (do it too loud, and you'll look like an idiot). If it's VERY VERY easy to do, you should bump up your intensity a bit and try again after a few minutes. If it gets too difficult to sing or talk, slow down to get into a better zone. The goal is to get to an intensity level where its comfortable to talk, but yet, you're unable to hold a really long conversation and long sentences without having to pause for deep breaths.
The trouble with going at it with any more intensity is that it's not likely that it will be sustainable in my experience. By working within the prescribed percentages, euphoria is often the result and that's easy peasy to be motivated to keep doing!

I was fraught with thoughts of never reaching potential and numerous other messages running around in my head so always felt like I needed to make up for lost time by working very hard. That was bogus! By laying back in the correct zones I'm 47, ran 500 miles last year and I'm still injury free. I've even raced three races! My potential? heheh look out!

It's all about sticking with it even if it doesn't hurt! :D It's about smelling the roses. My heart thanks me. My resting pulse these days is floating around 50 b/m. When I began it was more like 80 b/m. The best part is that the roses in my life are pretty sweet smelling. Once an aerobic foundation has been established over several months, then my body was in a position to exploit some intense work, but before that period, I was at best wasting my time, and at worst risking injury or sickness.

Strength training can be productive too, but remember always to do strength training after your cardio work or preferably on another day. Doing it the other way around will certainly minimise your strength work to the point of being redundant.

Endurance training is very cool. I've benefited greatly from the process. I sure hope I can help you to experience some of the fun I've had along the way. Do you remember the days when I was just getting going with Jim? Life is a ride isn't it?

I will only do a "muscle sore" work out maybe once a week. If I'm muscle sore from running for a couple hours, it's usually due to improper nutrition during or after the run. I only worry about this if I've been out for more than an hour and take nothing but water, if that on any run less than an hour.

Here is another way to gauge how hard your working. Rating of Perceived Exertion (RPE) (http://www.ginmiller.com/gmf06/articles/target_heart_rate/RPE_talk_test.html)

Here's another on the talk test (http://www.unm.edu/%7Elkravitz/Article%2520folder/talktest.html).

To me it doesn't matter how I get my heart into the correct range, as long as I'm having fun. Heck, I can get there wrestling with the dog! :D

My resting pulse is a great indicator of how stressed I am from a previous workout or workouts. If my pulse is up by five beats I take a day off. If it's down by five I know I can put the trottle wide open and get an intense workout in and likely reap the benefits. Working hard when I'm not recovered, leads me to bad places.
Keep us posted please.
Cheers!