I just started working out last weekend. Since I previously led a sedentary lifestyle, I started out slow, only doing the warmup and stretch portion of the workout every morning. Today I did the full workload for the first time. I plan to work out 5-6 days a week, with three times a week being my standard workout (it has a weight-bearing component), and the other days being an off-day workout (all aerobic, no weights). I have a few questions that I hope you more experienced exercisers can help me out with.

1. How the heck do I figure my target heart rate? There are tons of calculators out there. Some take your resting heart rate into account; some don't. Some take your gender into account; some don't. I used a few and got wildly different numbers. I am female, 32, sedentary (up till now) lifestyle, RHR of 60 to 65. Today I don't think I got over 130, but I was definitely huffing and puffing, though not so much that I couldn't have talked to someone a bit.

2. Do I have to sweat to get a good workout? It's not that I mind sweating; I don't. I just can't seem to "work up a good sweat." I never have been able to, unless I'm outside when it's very hot. (And my armpits sweat when I'm nervous.) When I was taking gym in school, lo these many years ago, and I had to work practically to the end of my endurance (getting lightheaded, etc.), I would get really, REALLY red in the face and stay that way for quite some time, but I just didn't sweat much. I don't know why I don't sweat. Can I still have an effective workout without perspiring?

Hi Freck!

I don't bother too much with THR. I just make sure it's challenging enough to my system that I couldn't do it much longer than I go (for instance, for my 60 min. workouts I make sure I couldn't possibly do more than 90 min. at that intensity without serious repercussions).

Sweating isn't the end all and be all of working out. Some people, like you, just don't sweat a lot in workout situations. The measure of your workout should be perceved exertion: how hard are you working? Are you breathing hard (challenging your lungs), is your heart pounding (challenging your heart)? That sort of thing. Sweating is a nice way for many people to gauge their workouts because it means the body is heating, but my home is pretty warm, so I sweat more than I would at a gym, probably, but still not as much as other people. I can tell I've worked hard when my face is red after a workout, but many people never get a red face even when they're working hard.

Figure out (possibly over the course of a few workouts at different intensities) what shows you that you've had a good workout and use that as your guide. That's my advice, anyway.

I actually think heart rates are important, especially if you intend to make a cardio-exercise a part of your life. A general guideline ought to be your age (33?) subtracted from 220, to get your approximate maximum heart rate. This would put that at 187. Then look at it in multiples of 10, so your approximate levels would be:
Max- 187
90%- 168
80%- 149
70%- 130
etc, etc, etc.... this is a pretty good place to start heart-rate oriented cardio work.

What you will find is that this is approximate because first off, we are all different, and second, your max will increase as your level of cardio fitness improves. If you have a heart rate monitor you can try testing yourself to find your current max by throwing a short, no-holds-barred effort out there and seeing where your heart rate hits. The first time I did this I threw myself at the biggest hill I could find in my area and didn't look at my monitor until I simply could push myself no more. I learned my max was about 7 beats higher than the approximate formula gives me, but it has also changed upward since then. For pure fat loss from cardio most experts and coaches have told me to stick to 70 and 80% rides of no less then an hour and a half (I'm a cyclist) and longer if I can. Also, I've always been told your resting heart rate is only a sign of either your level of fitness or, in rarer cases, the size of your heart. I know runners, cyclists, etc, have bragging rights on who has the lowest resting heart rate. Hope that info helps you with your efforts

Also, on the subject of no sweating, I completely get what you have said because never in my life had I previously sweated. In fact, even as a child on hot days I was prone to something approaching a heat stroke instead of sweating. When I got into cycling this limited me incredibly, living in the south as I do, and I despaired of ever being able to do the long summer rides with all my friends. Then I read an article in a British publication I subscribe to that specifically dealt with this problem because that is what it is when your body cannot cool itself as a normal system which includes sweat would do. This article strongly recommended several weeks (12, if I recall) of cardio work, at as close as one could maintain to 70% of max heart rate. If I remember correctly, it specifically mentioned blood volume, too.

I gave it a try, all last winter. I only did flat, predictable, boring rides of length but never more than 74-5% of max and never less than 68%. When summer came around, sure enough, voila! I sweat! I do all the time now when I ride, and I am here to tell you that for some reason I am the only one that appreciates this, LOLOLOL!

Best of Luck to you-

Yes, that was my main concern about sweating, even more than getting a good workout. I remember in gym I would get SO sick, and I know it was because I couldn't cool down.

I don't know why I have a slow RHR; it MAY be that my heart is naturally fit, but if so it's not because I've been working at it. The heart size thing is interesting; I'll have to look into that. I do know that my blood pressure is also quite low, though still healthy ... at this point, it's about 95/60 most of the time. (It was 120/70 before I started Atkins.)

I think I will try a combo of the advice from both of you. I will try to work at my THR as you suggested, senrides, and I will then see what my "perceived level of exertion is," as alopex suggested, and adjust from there. I'm a little afraid of pushing my heart to the max so early in my workout routine, so I may try that later.