Anaerobic Threshold

[Darth Pooh]

When you start to work over these percentages, not unless you are in great shape and can push yourself into a higher range, then you have gone into an Anaerobic Threshold. Which means that you are pushing yourself way too hard, and no healthy benefits are being obtained. You are defeating your purpose. If you push yourself into an Anaerobic Threshold your body can no longer meet its demand for oxygen. You will start to feel exhausted, your HR increases above the Max. (which is 100%), you will stop the fat burning process, and you will start to hyperventilate due to the excessive amounts of lactic acid in your body. In other words, you are not pulling in enough clean oxygen through the lungs to clean it out of the blood. Your heart can no longer pump enough blood to your working muscles to sustain your activity, and you are overloading yourself. You prevent this from happening by staying in your Target HR Range. As you become more fit, you can push yourself into a higher range without going over into the Anaerobic Threshold. The purpose of this article is to give you insight to perceive that, and always know where you are in your range or zone when working out.

Source: Bodybuilding.com - Lisa Moser - Measuring Your Heart Rate For Fitness!

Is this true? It says my Anaerobic threshold is 172... I easily get into the high 170's... sometimes with HIIT I am around 183 (I've even gotten up to 189 before). Does this mean I am more fit than my range is suggesting? I never hyperventilate (breath heavy? sure)... but am I really not burning fat by being in this "state"? I thought HIIT was supposed to keep burning calories long after you've completed the exercise (I've read anywhere from 12 - 48 hours)... does this mean I am in better shape than I perceive myself to be in?

Just interested in getting the truth.

 

[Steve]

I didn't read the article but the author sounds like a tard. As if anaerobic training is detrimental... give me a break.

High Intensity Interval Training IS anaerobic.

Unless she/he was gearing this article to target complete novices, it sucks.

 

[Darth Pooh]

I didn't read the article but the author sounds like a tard. As if anaerobic training is detrimental... give me a break.

High Intensity Interval Training IS anaerobic.

Unless she/he was gearing this article to target complete novices, it sucks.

As usual, my instinct told me this was rubbish. Thanks... again.

 

[Steve]

Without getting into technicalities, I'd think of anaerobic threshold as the highest level of intensity that can be maintained for an extended period of time (20+ minutes).

 

[ali2]

Without getting into technicalities, I'd think of anaerobic threshold as the highest level of intensity that can be maintained for an extended period of time (20+ minutes).

Maybe I am just a wuss, but that just sounds painful...

 

[Steve]

It tends to be. The harder you push, the more things like lactic acid accumulation occur which are linked to muscular fatigue.

I ran track in high school. One of my events was the 400 meter sprint.... holy hell was that a fatigue I don't want to feel again!

I've gotten close to it with some of my HIIT bouts....

 

[maleficent]

I was trying to find the answer for some lame question of mine this mornign and stumbled into this site

Zone 1 (50 - 60% of MHR) - The lowest level you can exercise in and still increase fitness levels. For beginners or people who have not exercised for a long period of time. This zone can be for just improving your overall health. It can also be a good recovery zone for people who are over-training and need to take a break. This mode is also good for people who want to lose weight as the main source of fuel used by the body is fat stores.

Zone 2 (60 - 70% of MHR) - This is the zone where the heart begins to benefit. Training in this zone will begin improve your hearts ability to pump blood and improve the muscle cells ability to utilize oxygen. In this zone stored body fat is the primary source of energy utilized hence this zone is referred to as the weight management zone. This is a good zone for long slow distance exercise as the body becomes more efficient at feeding the working muscles more efficiently especially with fat as the main fuel source.

Zone 3 (70 - 80% of MHR) - This zone is the most effective for overall cardiovascular fitness and is often called the "aerobic zone" or "target heart rate zone". This is the optimal zone to workout in to increase your cardio-respitory capacity or the bodies ability to transport oxygenated blood to the muscle cells and carbon dioxide away from the cells. After a while you will be able to cover more distance during workouts in less time. Your body will burn less glucose and more stored fat as fuel thereby working more efficiently. This zone is also effective for increasing overall muscle strength.

Zone 4 (80 - 90% of MHR)(85-90%= Anaerobic Threshold) - this level is where you cross over from aerobic training to anaerobic training which is called the anaerobic threshold or AT. This is the point where the body cannot effectively remove lactic Acid from the working muscles quickly enough. Lactic Acid is a by product of glycogen consumption by the working muscles. This zone is primarily for people who want to increase their performance levels. You would characterize this zone as hard. During this zone your muscles are tired, your breathing is heavy and your fatigued. The benefit of training in this zone is you can increase your bodies ability to tolerate and deal with lactic acid for a longer period of time as the enzymes in your muscles responsible for anaerobic metabolism are increased. For competitors it is good to know your anaerobic threshold as many fit athletes can compete at or about their anaerobic threshold.

Zone 5 (90 - 100% of MHR)(VO2 Max) - You will only be able to train in this zone for short periods of time. You should not train at this level unless you are very fit. In this zone lactic acid develops very quickly as you are operating with oxygen debt to the muscles The value of training in this zone is you can increase your fast twitch muscle fibers which increase speed. You will not be able to stay at this level very long and should be used in intervals or sprinting work at the track.

Zones 4 and 5 are rather -intense ...

 

[ali2]

It tends to be. The harder you push, the more things like lactic acid accumulation occur which are linked to muscular fatigue.

I ran track in high school. One of my events was the 400 meter sprint.... holy hell was that a fatigue I don't want to feel again!

I've gotten close to it with some of my HIIT bouts....

yikes!

so here is a question, maybe it is out of place but it could have something to do with this - if I am on the elliptical, sometimes, my leg will just give out and buckle a bit...does this have to do with pushing too hard and fatiguing myself?

 

[Steve]

I really can't answer that question, Ali. It could be a billion things... what do you mean it just gives out?

 

[ali2]

I really can't answer that question, Ali. It could be a billion things... what do you mean it just gives out?

Meaning that I am chugging along and it will just buckle for no reason and then be fine...I can't describe it any better than that...it doesn't seem to be a problem b/c I catch myself before it results in anything embarassing, I just didn't know if it could be related to fatigue or something since there seems to be no rhyme or reason to when it happens.

Don't sweat it, as long as I don't fall off the damn thing I should be fine.

 

[Steve]

Sounds strange... and it's impossible to diagnose of the net. Plus, I'm not even qualified to do so even if it were in person. I'd pay attention to it though... if it happens frequently I think it would be worth getting it checked out.

 

[ali2]

Sounds strange... and it's impossible to diagnose of the net. Plus, I'm not even qualified to do so even if it were in person. I'd pay attention to it though... if it happens frequently I think it would be worth getting it checked out.

I will Steve, thanks for thinking about it though

 

[Darth Pooh]

Meaning that I am chugging along and it will just buckle for no reason and then be fine...I can't describe it any better than that...it doesn't seem to be a problem b/c I catch myself before it results in anything embarassing, I just didn't know if it could be related to fatigue or something since there seems to be no rhyme or reason to when it happens.

Don't sweat it, as long as I don't fall off the damn thing I should be fine.

Happens all the time when I am on the elliptical. It's never happens when I run outside though, I think it's because the unnaturalness of a treadmill and elliptical machine that makes the body do funky things... I know it isn't scientific at all, but I know what you mean. It's the idea you body is being told to go one way due to the rigidness of the machine and sometimes the body wants to react differently since it isn't a normal movement in the sense.

Sorry if it sounds lame.

 

[ali2]

Good to know I am not the only person making an ass out of myself on a regular basis

You make perfect sense though - I will just have to keep an eye on it...

 

[Trainer4Newbies]

That article never even defines the goal of the reader. In the beginning she says it is to "get fit" and at the end she says " get fit or training to Compete". If somebody is competing then why wouldn't they train anaerobically? I guess she is writing to a novice, like Steve said.

 

[Steve]

Or she's an idiot.

I'd put my money on this to be honest.

 

[LandonsBaby]

so...lets say, i pretty much ignore my heart rate. i do what i can do and thats what i do. am i an idiot?

sometimes i could do it. and i have. i checked it once this week while i was doing some cardio. but other times i'm just trying not to hit the floor or puke. i can't be bothered to check my heart rate.

 

[Steve]

That's pretty much what I do. If I'm not training an athlete who needs specific metabolic training, I pretty much set a pace that is conducive to the time we're shooting for and that's it.

Also, pumping it as hard as you can time and time again isn't necessarily the best idea either.

 

[maleficent]

so...lets say, i pretty much ignore my heart rate. i do what i can do and thats what i do. am i an idiot?

BrunetteGoddess asked the question about HR in her diary -and Slim Col asked about it in another thread and my answer there was the same - and I'd say the same thing to you..

Bottom line: Vary your intensities, work as hard as you comfortably can, and—most importantly—stick to your cardio workouts for the rest of your life. You’ll get fit, lose fat and help keep it off.

I think too many of us (ME ME ME ME And ME) get hung up on the details and the nitty gritty and forget the obvious - 99 percent of us aren't ever going to be world class athletes or have it even matter what our heart rate is - as long as it keeps ticking... gotta go with the simple..

 

[LandonsBaby]

Also, pumping it as hard as you can time and time again isn't necessarily the best idea either.

haha, i'd die. i'm only doing it in spurts.