Question

Bill is 60 years old and in reasonable shape. Working out on an elliptical machine, Bill sees that his heart rate is 135 bpm. Can you determine his approximate exercise intensity without hooking him to a metabolic cart? What is he primarily burning for energy?

Answer 1

The elliptical machine combines the movements of a stair stepper, a bicycle and a cross-country ski machine. Due to lack of time, people now-a-days use this machine for their regular exercises which include cardiac care as well. Some of the benefits of this machine include:

it exercises both upper and lower part of the body;

it helps to burn calories for weight loss;

since our feet never leaves the pedals, it's like walking in the mid-air;

it provides a weight bearing exercise having no reverse action; thus it inhibits the onset of osteoporosis;

it utilizes hamstrings,chest,biceps,triceps,back etc;

it burns more calories in less time.

Bill is 60 years old. While working on the machine his heart rate is 135 bpm. The maximum heart rate as per calculation is given by 220 minus age=220-60 which is 160.

Now, 135 bpm is 130/160 = 81.25%, this is vigorous exercise intensity of his maximum heart rate.

Since Bill appears to be in reasonable shape thus he is burning glycogen which is stored in his liver. During exercise, glycogen gets converted to glucose and aerobically oxidise to carbon dioxide, water and 38 moles of ATP which mainly gives him the required energy.