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How Out-Of-Shape Were You When You Started Cycling?

83K views 368 replies 201 participants last post by  uberculture 
#1 · (Edited)
The thought: As I anticipated getting my first bicycle in several decades at age 49, I figured I'd start out slowly...like making an 11-mile circuit on the local country roads around my home, here in the rolling hills of Kentucky.

The reality: Riding the first time from my front gate to my rear fence (about 1200') with a good deal of it being a good up-hill grade, I had to stop after about 200' and was huffing and puffing like crazy. Had to stop 2 more times before I made it the entire 1200'. When I came in the house, I was huffing and puffing for an hour!

Fast-forward about 2 weeks of doing that routine....I still have to make two stops...but don't huff and puff nearly as bad, and am breathing normally when I get in the house.

My goal is to be able to do that ride without stopping to rest...then I will venture to ride a little on the street (Like the 3/10ths of a mile to the church just down the road). Maybe by spring I'll be able to do the 11 mile circuit?

I am pathetic! Wow! I wanted a bike largely so that I'd get some much needed aerobic exercise....I'd say I should have gotten it a few years ago. Was anyone else this pathetic? (Granted, if I were still in relatively flat Long Island and NYC, I'd probably be able to ride at least a few miles....)
 
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#2 ·
It comes down to common sense. Don't jump the gun, listen to your body and keep it fun.

To answer the original question, I was 110lbs and 13 when I started racing. For me the question should be "what's your weight when you start riding in the spring?" I'm 46 now so I put on weight between the end of cyclocross season in November and the start of road/MTB season in May. The last few seasons my 5' 11" frame is at 200 but I drop to 185 pretty fast if I get 200 mile weeks. This spring should be interesting since I broke my leg in September. I haven't weighed myself yet but I'll guess I'm about 210 right now. With 5 hour trainer sessions starting Sunday I should get my range of motion back in the leg and drop a few pounds. Will I have fun? Yes, even if it drives my wife batty. Will I go easy? Yes, I have next season as my goal, not this season.

One ride at a time.
 
#3 ·
Sept 2011, I was at 285lbs and did my first 5k run event in 34/min. That itself was an accomplishment for me. Same month I bought my first road bike ever as an alternative exercise, done about 11/mile routes and I was so tired and breathing hard from biking. Fast forward to now im at 240lb, doing 5 mile runs about 10:20/min pace and trainning to do my first half marathon in March. My bike rides is now a mininum of a 26/mile route with 1 stop and my current long rides are 40/miles with 2 stops, on my days off work.

Just gotta build up the endurance, takes time
 
#4 ·
I had to start doing something at 28. I was having ichial pains and the doc said I needed to do something that would do my back good: Swimming or cycling.
I vividly remember the first ride on that blue Daccordi where I managed over 50 km/h on a decline. I must have ridden 17 km that day. I was hooked and slow. I rode my back problems away. Quit smoking too.
 
#5 ·
I am Spokeisabroke, and I am a ...........

I was minimum 40 lbs overweight and sesile, but 55yo. No good exercise since I quit whitewater kayaking back in the last century. Like the OP, the first rides have been brutal. And like the OP it's all gentle and worse hills here. No flat ground. 5 miles after work when there is time, and trying to keep hitting the 11 mile ride around the lake on a bike path on the weekends. That ride kicks my Ahs but it feels so good. :thumbsup:

Solitary, how is that bike holding up ? Any adjustments, upgrades or repairs yet ?
 
#6 ·
At age 49, I rode my shiny new hybrid home from the LBS. I had to stop and rest halfway. I've since measured, and it's 0.67 miles or a smidge more than a kilometer. Dead flat too. So a dead flat half-km or a third of a mile and I had to stop and rest.

It was a month before I could ride the two miles to work without praying for a red light. At five months I rode my first 50-miler, essentially by stringing together five 10-mile rides.
 
#7 ·
Got back into cycling this January. I rode my old mountain bike about 5 kms before I had to stop. Spit out a whole bunch of spit and what I thought was a lung. Noticed within a week though I was breathing better and riding a little farther each day. Middle of January bought a hybrid with the express purpose of commuting back and forth to work, 23 kms each way. By the middle of April I was commuting 3 days a week and riding on the weekends. Started a search for a road bike in September and bought a CAAD 8. Now riding on the trainer 3 days a weekend and outdoor weekend rides if possible. Trainer rides are 30-35kms and weekend rides 45-55 kms each.

39 years old 6'1" and 165lbs. Started at 175lbs. I was already in pretty good shaped because I was walking 5 kms 5 days a week.

Stephan
 
#8 · (Edited)
Well....I see I'm not alone!

I thought I was in at least reasonable shape, as I've been a walker all of my life; but walking hasn't helped take the extra 20 lbs. or so that I've accumulated lately, off.

I've been doing my 0.57 mile little ride on my property every night though, and I am seeing progress. My breathing has improved 1000% already, and I think if it were not for my upper legs getting fatigued on the up-hill parts, I'd be able to do my little route without stopping. I'm also increasing my distance a little...did a full mile yesterday.

May try hitting the road soon.... I'm dreading the long up-hill grades- but at least it might seem a little easier on asphalt than on the grass on which I've been riding.....

Sheesh! when I think of the mileage I used to put on bikes when I was a kid, without even thinking about it.....

Thanks for your stories, guys.....it gives me hope that I can do this, no matter how pathetic I may be now. I may be doing that 11 mile circuit before I know it (What is it with 11 miles? Seems to be a popular distance!)

There was an article in this months free electric-company magazine about a guy not too far from here who weighed over 400 lbs and started cycling.....and within a year and a half was down to what I currently weigh- 220 lbs. (two-hundred twenty local bicycle shops?) and is now an avid cyclist- if he can do that....my job should be easy! (Talk about a coincidence, that they should run such an article the very week that I bought my bike!)

One day I'm just going to set out on that 11 mile course and do it...even if I have to stop 80 times and it takes me four hours! (At least my seat is comfortable.... First couple'a times I rode, it felt like it was gonna hurt...but I just now realized that I've been riding for 2 weeks now...and no pain in the butt!! I think it's gonna be good!)
 
#10 ·
I started up this past June when I got my MTB fixed after a good 20+ years..LOL I still had H2Oin the water bottle. First ride was 3 miles..I feel for you with the lungs. I kept on the same 3 mile route ( good varied terrain with 1 good long hill) I would watch where I would get tired or where I would have to downshift..It wasn't long I was up to 10 miles. July and August I had 230+ miles each month.

My goal for September was a 300 mile month but I ended up with pnemonia so that didn't happen.

My longest ride was 30 miles with a bunch of 15 and 20 milers.

I did buy a CAAD 10 as well. Luvin' both my bikes. was out this morning for a 20 miler in 40 degrees.
 
#11 ·
Only been riding seriously for around 3 months and I can already do 30 mile rides as long as their is no hills, and I can also tackle all the hills in my city now which I could never do when I was young and would ride every few months or so. It also helped my running, I can run 2 miles non stop which is something I haven't done in years, and this is without running much, I just decided to go for a run one day and was shocked at my results.
 
#12 ·
It takes time to get used to riding and the cardio needed to maintain speed.
Hang in there and make sure to keep track of your rides, distances and times.
We were all in the same boat at one time or another.
 
#14 ·
I hadn't done any real riding since I packed up my old Motobecane touring bike when I went away to law school in the fall of 1981.

Fast forward to February, 2010. I'm 56 years old, 6'2" tall, 235 lbs, most of it gut. Nurse comes in with the lab results. Congratulations, you're a diabetic. I started walking 2-3 miles a day. I had a fairly decent hybrid that I rode casually, and started riding that casually once better weather came along. The walking had gotten me into good enough shape to make 14-15 miles not too uncomfortable. By the spring of 2011, walking just wasn't giving me too much of a benefit. I had progressed beyond it. I ran seriously, as well as biked, when I was in college--I have two marathons under 3 hours to my credit. But running now isn't in the cards. My knees probably wouldn't hold up. I started doing more biking, and then made it an everyday thing since June. Our money situation is tighter than tight right now, so a new bike wasn't something on the horizon. Finally, I was able to get an opened ended "loan" of an old Schwinn LeTour. Even an old heavy steel framed road bike, with downtube shifters, was a big step up over the hybrid. The miles started getting easier. Graduated from the bike paths to the roads. Yesterday, completed a metric century. 100 km/62 mi. And felt fine the whole way. Half of it into the teeth of a pretty stiff wind, over rolling hills.
 
#15 ·
WoW! This is all very encouraging guys!

IamSimplyRed, you lost 55 lbs. in 5 months? I've been trying to lose 20 lbs. for the last three years....eat like a bird, and am just barely managing not to gain more! That is great.(And I'm into natural foods- for more than half my life- and practically a vegan!)

That's it though- I don't really like any sports (not even as a spectator)- cycling is the only thing that would give me a good work-out, and yet that offers enough "reward" to keep me doing it regularly (I like anything with wheels). And just the little I've started doing alrady, makes me feel good after the short rides- even if I puff a little.....I feel good, and I can see improvement in the short-term, and there are few pursuits that offer good exercise and yet offer those traits as well, which are enough for someone like myself who has become lazy, to overcome their inertia.

It's kind of daunting to hear of others on here regularly riding 50 or 60 miles, like it's nothing....when I can barely ride 1/2 a mile.....but to see that others have started from the point where I am, and progressed rapidly, leads me to believe that I can do it too- as I definitely believe in and practice
TWB8s's rule #5 (Velominati) [But I ain't shving my legs!! Nor my face!]
 
#17 ·
It's kind of daunting to hear of others on here regularly riding 50 or 60 miles, like it's nothing....when I can barely ride 1/2 a mile.....but to see that others have started from the point where I am, and progressed rapidly, leads me to believe that I can do it too
Keep pedaling. I got out of the hospital two years ago right before Thanksgiving and had to stop and rest going up the 3 stairs from the garage to the kitchen and I got a cramp in my leg bicep. I was riding some before that but got serious after that. I had lost 35 lbs in the hospital and am now back up to 175 wishing I could have kept it a 155-160. I think you might enjoy reading a post in my blog entitled Humble and Ready. It has been a great ride reaching goals that I have set for myself on the bike. Keep at it you are doing great.
 
#16 ·
It was about a year and a half ago. I weighed about 260 lbs and a 5 mile ride was a long one. I kept at it and 5 mile became 8 and 8 mile became 10 until I could ride for an hour. My first big ride was the Long Beach Marathon bike tour. I did 26.2 miles and was quite proud of my self.

Today I weigh about 200 lbs. I did a 50 mile ride last weekend a this weekend I am doing a 20 mile ride three days in a row. I am not ready for a century yet, but I will be.
 
G
#18 · (Edited)
When I started cycle-comuting, I was the fittest I'd ever been in my life. I was a distance runner at the collegiate level, though stopped after my second year. If those BMI charts are to believed, I was actually underweight at the time. I didn't see cycling as anything more than a way to save money/time compared to paying for parking or dealing with buses.

As I started working more hours and dealing with more life responsibilites, I found myself getting basically sedentary except for short cycle-commuting trips, which weren't really long enough to give me any aerobic benefit. When I did exercise (highly irregularly) I'd usually get overzealous and do something dumb like hammer a 10 mile run with no buildup then thrash my muscles so I had to limp down stairs for a week. I gained ten pounds putting me somewhere near the low end of the "healthy" weight bracket (even though my overall fitness and energy level were about the worst they'd ever been in my life)

My older brother recommended I stay physically active past college as I only have a few more years of "get away" with never gaining any weight despite being inactive and eating poorly. He recently purchased a fixie to ride around by the beach trails and help lose weight/get in better shape, himself.

So I figure my aim with cycling is to stay active so that I can avoid getting overweight in the first place, rather than falling out of shape and having to lose weight later.
 
#19 ·
im 35. after leaving the military 7 years ago, i just didnt have the kind of physical training that i used to (since it was mandated). i ran for a while. but my knees were weak from my 8 years in the military. plus, i almost instantly gained 25lbs after i got out. started working out again at the gym a few years back and lost about 20 of those lbs. but gained them right back again with a new relationship. fast forward to september 2011. im 175lbs. knew i didnt want to run anymore. tried out my friend's road bike. went shopping around. last place on my list of shops was where i found a great deal on a mediocre flat bar road bike. but it was just right for me to see if this was something that i wanted to start taking seriously.

my 3 mile commute to work took about 15 minutes. first day i was pretty exhausted when i got there but felt great that i got some good PT in before work like i used to. what i didnt realize was that the ride back was all uphill. took me 40 min. for THREE MILES. hahaha.

fast forward to today. november 2011. i can get to work in under 9 minutes. i can get home in 16min flat. a lot of it was from reading entries here and watching tips on youtube and on the sheldon brown site. but on top of that my legs are much stronger now than they used to be. and learning how to shift through the gears that im given made me much more efficient.

however... im still at about 173lbs now. and i dont count weight loss unless it exceeds 5lbs on average, due to my ability to eat that much haha. but i do feel much better inside, have much more energy, and just feel stronger. if i were at the gym, i would have dropped a good 10lbs by now for sure. but i wouldnt be having half as much fun doing it.

the entry level bike is going to my brother now who has expressed some interest in riding. i am now on my way to getting my first "real" road bike. a felt z85. cant wait for black friday to come around!

its midnight right now. i swear if it wasnt cold and raining, id be out there riding my last few miles out of my fuji before she goes away. haha. longer rides more often will be coming with the new bike as well. im expecting to be back down to 165 by the end of the year.
 
#20 ·
I am pathetic!
Most definitely NOT! Pathetic would be giving up...

Congrats, keep at it and before long you'll be surprised how far you'll be riding. :thumbsup:

I was 60lbs heavier and a smoker a few years ago. Decided that wasn't the best way to live and started walking as much as I could (mid-winter in northern IL) and got the old bike out when the snow and ice melted. A very short ride around the block with no hills was enough for me, but by the end of that summer I was riding 20-30 miles. Really, it's the time spent on the bike that'll help you more than specifically the miles - but they're fun to watch as they increase on your rides.
 
#21 ·
I started in September this year at 178lbs. Started with a paleo diet that took my weight down to 166 in late october, and that's when I started my bike commute. First week was basically torture as my butt get used to the saddle. I am now at the end of my third week, and last week I did about 100 miles. Weight is down to 159lbs, and I am noticeably stronger in basically everything I do. I have not felt this good since college. It will take some time to get a body that had been in neglect for 12 years back into shape, but the progress so far had been nothing short of amazing.
 
#25 · (Edited)
I'm only 23 now, and have not yet let myself go.
THAT is IT! You hit the nail on the head.

It is so easy to let yourself go. You think it will "never happen to me", but it does if you're not diligent.

I'v e always been in better shape than most of the people I know....but I guess that isn't saying much, since they're all sedentary lard-asses.

Just these last few years that I haven't been walking much, took their toll on me. And the thing is, as you get older, it takes more effort to keep yourself up; it's harder to lose or maintain weight; and the littlest things that wouldn't have had any negative effect on you before, will now be extremely detrimental.

My point is: Avoid ever letting yourself go! We all probably say "I'll never let myself go", but when you get older, the fact that you're busy concentrating on other things (Like toys that you couldn't afford when you were younger) coupled with the fact that the negative effects of anything detrimental increase exponentially with the years, tends to let the neglect creep up on you without even realizing it, until one day you're huffing and puffing from doing a simple activity that never bothered you before, and wondering why.

Plus there's denial. I mean, I've been eating a very healthy diet since I was 23 (1985)- I was even a strict vegetarian for 15 years. I was always in decent shape, and never really had to do anything special to maintain that shape. I thought it was cool, when 9 years ago, at 40, I raced my niece's 10 year-old kid up a big steep hill...and beat him, and wasn't even breathing hard, while the kid was huffing and puffing like an old geezer....

Stuff like that makes ya say "I'm in great shape". And then seeing that I've always been healthy (Haven't been to a doctor since 1978) while half the people around me have high blood pressure and clogged arteries and various ailments, just let me settle into a comfort zone where I figured I was fit and healthy...not realizing that as the years tick by, it takes more effort to maintain fitness, and that you have to really try, whereas before, just having good habits and diet was enough.

Before, I just stayed in shape without doing anything special or really trying- and the fact that I was in shape (as opposed to being weak and fat and sickly) made me just think that that was the way it'd always be- I figgered[sic] "I must be doing it right, so I'll just keep doing what I'm doing and be fine".

Then next thing you know, you're 10 or 20 lbs. overweight, and you think "That's not so bad, I just need to lose 10 lbs. piece of cake!" -and so the deterioration begins.....

My point being: If you can avoid ever letting yourself go....you will be far ahead. The trouble is: It's often hard to realize that you may be letting yourself go...until your halfway gone.

If you keep at something like bicycling, you stand a much better chance of not ever letting yourself go. When I think of the mileage I used to put on a single speed bike when I was a kid...or on a ten-speed when I was a teen, without even giving it a thought- if I had kept cycling all these years, I could only imagine the condition I'd be in now.
 
#23 ·
Hey, guys,

I won't respond to you all individually, but ALL of these stories are great and inspiring! (And MinuteMaidMan, great blog! You're a very good writer.)

Back when I lived on Long Island and in NYC, I used to really walk a LOT. Since moving to KY 10 years ago, I walk much less, but I thought that the stuff I do around the farm would keep me in shape....but I guess not, since I tend to work smart instead of hard :)

The good news is....that I WANT to ride! I look forward to my [very]little rides every day....and I'm dying to get out on the road, and will likely give it a try this week.

I could never stand exercise for exercise's sake. In order for me to exercise, I have to get something pleasurable out of it and enjoy what I'm doing, and cycling is one of the few activities, IMO, that offers both good exercise as well as enjoyment. I'm not a runner; and while do have a pool, I get bored swimming laps, and end up just flopping around in the water and not really getting any exercise, despite the fact that I'm in the pool virtually every from May through early October.

I know the bicycling will be easier after I lose just a few pounds. It's funny the difference just 10 lbs. can make. At times when I had temporarily dropped 10 lbs. and was down to 210, everything was so much easier- I felt fit and spry, and had more energy and could walk up hills effortlessly.....but when I'd get the extra 10 lbs. back, it would slow me down and zap my energy. I really don't know how truly obese people do it! I'm seeing prgress already (as little as it may be) on the bike, as far as stamina and breathing and all...and I know that as soon as I drop a few pounds, I should see a significant increase.

Like I said earlier, one day I'm just going to head out on that 11 mile course, and just DO IT!
 
#24 ·
Hi everyone I'm 39 about to turn 40 next week, 5'11" 235 pounds, I just started cycling after many years of not doing sod all, in just two weeks I have lost 5 lbs and that's only riding on weekends as my job as a truck driver keeps me away from home for a week at a time, I have started to eat better meals and ride 15-20 miles each day on sat and sun, I feel very positive about this whole new experience and i know that it will take time but eventually I will end up in better shape that when I started, I'm doing this for me and as well as for my little 16 months old son as I would like to be fit and be a good roll model for him growing up....
 
#26 ·
Sounds like you're doing great!

I'm noticing one common thread in most of these posts here as well as my own experience, and that is: One seems to experience fast and readily observable gains with bicycling- which is great, because seeing results gives us confidence and makes us want to do more, and those results make us able to do more.

I think bicycling is pretty unique, that way. There are few other activities that offer such quick results AND which are enjoyable to participate in. I have a feeling that buying a bicycle will turn out to be one of the best things I ever did!
 
#27 ·
Our Kind

There was a very inspirational post on here .. .. it has faded to the back pages. Not sure exactly which section.... I guy wrote that his spine was nicked during surgery and he became wheelchair bound and was told he would never walk again. After quite some time wheeling about, gaining weight, he felt a tingle one day. He started flexing and soon enough he got out of the chair. He started riding and lost a lot of weight. His weight was way up there. Anyway, he got a collective yawn from Board here. I wish I could find that post or he would see this and get back to us.

Sol, if it's Ok with you as the OP, myself and maybe some others can use this as a sort of old beefy dude self help thread type thing :thumbsup: We can check in and share horror or success stories.
 
#29 ·
Sol, if it's Ok with you as the OP, myself and maybe some others can use this as a sort of old beefy dude self help thread type thing :thumbsup: We can check in and share horror or success stories.
That would be absolutely, positively FINE with me!! I couldn't imagine a scenario that would be better.

Thanks for looking for and posting that guy's story! I have to run, but will get back and read it in a few hours.

I'm both surprised and pleased that this thread has received so many great replies and so quickly I'm pretty tenacious by nature...but I am even more encouraged by all I have read here thus far- and it is a big help.

Thank you, everyone.

Oh...and just for the record: I'm currently 49 years old. 5'10" (I used to be 6'!!! Wha' hoppin'?!) and weigh 220. I'd like to get down to 195...I'd even be happy with 200. Let's see how long it takes! (The wind is blowing about 40MPH today..but I still may hit the road later and do my first round trip to the church about 3/10ths of a mile down the road)- with mild hills.
 
#28 ·
Found it October 2009

Post #60

http://forums.roadbikereview.com/motobecane-mercier/hoping-right-place-ask-about-windsor-knight-126180-3.html#post2447211

This guy kicked major Ass. :thumbsup:

Hey guys, new member here:

I wanted to share my experience(s) with body pain during riding. I am 53 years old and just recently had back surgery. However, the surgeon mucked things up when he nicked my spinal cord with his scalpel. As a result, I developed what's called "Adhesive Arachnoiditis." What this is, is scarring along the arachnoid lining covering the spinal cord. Believe me, it's a terrible thing to have to happen, and is permanently disabling. As a result, I lost all control of my legs, and was confined to a wheelchair. The doc said to get used to it, that I would most likely never walk again.

Well, about 16 months later, I started feeling weird twitches in my legs. Then both legs began to cramp at the same time so bad, I thought I was going to die. This lasted for several months, after which, it began to ease up. No one was more surprised than I was when, one day, I tried to stand up. It took me a couple of weeks, but one day, there I stood on my own two feet. It took me another six months or so, to re-teach myself and my legs how to walk again. But I got my ass out of that wheelchair!

To me, I was gifted a huge second chance in life, and took the bulls by both horns. I actually started riding bike! I started around the block (I live in the country near a lake where "the block" is actually one mile around.) I stayed at it until I could go three times around. Then five times. Then ten times, and finally, 18 miles around the entire lake! But this seemed to be my limit because of, not back pain as you might suspect, but neck, shoulder, and tailbone pain. My hands would even go numb.

At this time I was riding (and still am) an older 12-speed Fuji Del Rey. The bike is nice and light, coming in on my doctor-style scale at just 22 lbs., but forces you into what I would call a cramped tuck position. My limit wound up being 25 miles before the pain forced me to stop. As it is, I live in very hilly country that is ALWAYS windy. Some days, it's a real battle just to make it back home.

Anyway, I took the bike to a Trek dealer, and explained to him my problems. It was learned that all I needed was a $35.00 low angle riser that brought the ram horn style bars up just a bit, and a bit closer. My new seat has a wedge look at the rear in order to create more "room" for my junk. Anyway, to make a long story short, these two items solved all my problems, and have now worked up to 50 miles runs. I would go further, but there's no fix for being out of shape; except for to push it to the limit every time I go out.

For what it's worth, there it is. Thanks for hearing me out.
 
#30 · (Edited)
I just started cycling about 5 weeks ago, unfortunately due to work, family, weather and now the amount of daylight I'm struggling having consistent workouts. I just got back from my 5th ride, as much as I'd like to say I'm in decent shape I don't think I'm where I want to be at this stage in my life...lol. I've done P90X a few times so I think I'm in ok shape but my wind is horrific, no, I don't even smoke. :D

Even though it's only been my 5th ride (3wks since my last), I managed to squeeze out 16miles today on 9W, my first time on that route. But I'll be damned if my HR monitor wasn't giving me alerts at the upper end every other mile. Is this normal or a bad thing and where can I read more about it??? Looking at my graph, I was hovering in between 145-160 for pretty much the entire ride.


My first 4 rides were mostly flat roads, twice I managed to hit a decent size hill (cat5) on two different rides but this last route (9W) was a little tougher, for me, cuz it has somewhat rolling hills the entire time. I must say it was pretty darn cool seeing all those cyclists out there today, I think I'm definitely catching the bug.
 
#35 ·
... I'll be damned if my HR monitor wasn't giving me alerts at the upper end every other mile. Is this normal or a bad thing and where can I read more about it??? Looking at my graph, I was hovering in between 145-160 for pretty much the entire ride.
Without having knowledge of your HRM or more about you, no one can offer specifics, but most HRM's have the ability to set high/ low thresholds (or zones) and if you go above/ below them an alarm sounds and/ or a graphic (arrow?) is displayed.

Is this 'normal' or 'bad' depends on a variety of factors, like the zone you want to be in (or should be in), your age, fitness, goals (among others).

For almost every document/ article/ book on the topic, there's a contradictory calculation for determining your maximum heart rate, but IMO/E a more realistic gauge of improved fitness would be recovery rate - the quicker your heart rate returns to your 'normal' range after a high intensity effort.

If you do an internet search on heart rate zones, you'll get some hits - most of which describe the 5 training zones, which (along with calculating your max HR) are the basics. From there, you can determine which zone(s) will yield the desired benefits or results.
 
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