I've started doing BFL this week with 20 minutes on the elliptical for my cardio, and I'm having kind of a hard time determining the proper intensity levels and how they relate to heart rate. When I just picked what was comfortable, I started out at about 45 RPMs for my level 5, going up to 78-80 at my level 10. This seems like the right degree of workout difficulty to me -- I'm sweating and breathing hard, but can speak in short sentences (except at level 10, when I'm sprinting as hard as I can).

However, my heart rate, as measured by the elliptical's sensors, is *very* high -- 135-140 within 30 seconds of stepping on it, even though I don't really feel like I'm working hard at that level. Levels 6 through 9 range from 170-190, bumping 200 at level 10. I know I should feel like I'm about to stroke out at that rate, but I feel fine -- I'm not faint or dizzy, and I could probably do an extra level 6-9 if I wanted.

My fiance saw the heart rate number and got kind of freaked out, and he wanted me to try and step back a bit. For Friday's cardio, I tried to do just that, so I just did 20 easy minutes to try and figure out where my heart rate needed to be. I was at a level 2 setting on the machine, no more than 50 RPMs, and wasn't even breathing hard or sweating. I actually carried on quite a long conversation about the war, in fact. I could have gone on like that for another hour, and actually did 10 extra minutes just because I didn't feel like I'd actually done any work. The whole time, my heart rate was 170-180 . By what I've read, that should be very close to my absolute max rate, but it felt like a leisurely stroll. I shouldn't be working at more than 145 based on my age (26), but even poking along at warmup level takes me higher than that.

My resting heart rate is about 96-100 bpm, and while I wouldn't call myself in great cardio shape, I have been doing 25-minute Tae Bo for the last two months without too much difficulty. I do smoke, and I assume that's affecting me some. Other than that, the only thing unusual about me is that I have a huge lung capacity (always won swim team underwater-lap contests and stuff by a pretty substantial margin). I don't know if that could explain why I'm not at all winded at high heart rates?

Given that even a pathetically low level of exercise seems to raise my heart rate well beyond acceptable levels, what should I be doing about the cardio? I don't see how a workout like Friday's could possibly have done me any good in terms of burning calories or getting me in shape. I'm not kidding about the pace being slow, felt like an after-dinner ramble rather than a workout, and my heart rate was still way high. I don't want to keel over with a heart attack, either, though. Can anyone offer any helpful advice?