How do I elevate heart rate?

Jack wrote:
> 62-year-old geezer who can no longer run/jog due to knee problem.
> Resting heart rate in 40s and 50s.
>
> Ski machine was great, heart rate up to 120, but the machine has
> uncorrectable maintenance problems. It's nine months old and has been
> out of service for at least half of that time. No more Nordic Track
> machines for me. They just don't make 'em like they used to.
>
> Air glider has been absolutely worthless. Unstable and heart rate
> never exceeded 72.
>
> Walking while wearing 20 lbs. in a back pack: heart rate 80 at best.
>
> Can't afford an aquatic set up that allows you to walk against water
> pressure.
>
> No health clubs nearby.
>
> QUESTIONS:
>
> 1) Are steppers good for elevating HR and how do they compare with
> regular walking for knee friendliness?
>
> 2) Are ellipticals reliable from a maintenance standpoint? Don't want
> the maintenance issues I had with the skier.
>
> Incidentally, walking up the steep driveway elevates the HR into the
> target zone but it takes only 1.5 minutes. Then the HR drops when
> walking down hill. Would like to maintain target HR for at least 30
> minutes. Thanks, Jack
>
>
>
Options
1. Elliptical. Good ones are reliable.
2. Treadmill with incline. Mine goes steep enough to kick my butt.
3. find an "older" Nordic Track on ebay, want ads, craigslist etc
4. concept2 rowing machine.

As for stepper, try one and see if it hurts your knees. There a health
club or YMCA or Cardiac Rahab place you can try the various pieces of
equipment?



--
Del Cecchi
"This post is my own and doesn’t necessarily represent IBM’s positions,
strategies or opinions.”
 >> Stay informed about: How do I elevate heart rate? 

Jack wrote:
> 62-year-old geezer who can no longer run/jog due to knee problem.
> Resting heart rate in 40s and 50s.
> [....]
> 1) Are steppers good for elevating HR and how do they compare with
> regular walking for knee friendliness?

I know someone about your age who has had running-induced knee problems
for many years (she struggles to walk uphill on uneven terrain), and
she uses a Stairmaster on a daily basis to augment her daily
hill-climbing cycling. I am a bit surprised that she can use the
Stairmaster, but I suppose it depends on what "level" you choose.

My brief encounter with a Stairmaster suggests to me that it should be
very easy to get into a high HR range. In fact, I had the opposite
problem: I could not get keep my HR down to the level I was targeting.
Part of the problem is certainly due to beginner's learning curve.
 >> Stay informed about: How do I elevate heart rate? 

On Thu, 5 Oct 2006 13:54:30 -0400, "Steve Freides"
<steve RemoveThis @fridayscomputer.com> wrote:

>"Jack" <windswept RemoveThis @home.net> wrote in message
>news:45252de0.18997875@news-60.giganews.com...
>> 62-year-old geezer who can no longer run/jog due to knee problem.
>> Resting heart rate in 40s and 50s.
>
>Please consult your doctor. Are you taking beta blockers or any other
>medication known to limit heart rate? I know of several people who
>thought their medications made no difference and therefore thought
>themselves fitter than they were as evidenced by their resting pulse
>and/or maximum pulse under exertion.

I'm not who you're directing this to, but it's a good point. I take
Ziac, which is a beta blocker and, yes, it lowers the heart rate. At
52, I also use the elliptical trainer like a madman, and what I do is
this: Since I work during the week, I take the Ziac. It's about 8:15
at night when I get to the gym. By then, about 13 hours of the day's
gone by, so my heart rate can be elevated to about 120 fairly quickly,
yet not as quick as I'd like sometimes.

However, the weekend (or any day I'm off work and know I'm going to go
workout), I wait until after I workout. Even if it means I take the
Ziac at 7 p.m. or so, it's worth it. My pulse elevates quicker, so I
get in the target zone quicker. I would think I would burn more
calories faster if that's true, but I'm not sure.

In any case, the one thing I've learned that's helped me the most is
that the cliche of working out smarter, not harder, applies. I shoot
for the middle of my target range. Once I get there, which can be in
15 minutes or 20 minutes, I find if I keep about the same intensity,
(which means not straining to go faster/harder), and keep that up for
20 minutes at that point, I'm doing well. If after, the 20 minutes,
I'm feeling ok and not fatigued, I go another 10. I've read that at
some point the length of time one's in the target heart range,
benefits diminish. I have a bad right ankle, so about that time it's
starting to get annoyed with me, so I have to back off.

It's a good thing, too, because I like to use some of the weights at
the gym, then stretch. The gym I go to is relatively new, so the
equipment is state-of-the-art. I just wish the awful stuff they have
blaring that passes for music was as well.
 >> Stay informed about: How do I elevate heart rate?