heart rates

[Llamageddon]

Just a curiosity really, and thought it would be better to talk to people rather than read off a site.

So my RHR is usually in the late 50s/early 60s (the lowest I've ever remembered it was 56). If I'm stressed or on caffeine or something it can reach the 70s.

Now when I'm doing cardio work in the gym it's not unusual for my heart rate to be consistently in the 170/80 area, and to achieve a drop in this I seem to have to go really slow. I've noticed that my heart rate is always higher when doing standing up cardio (on the cross trainer etc) as opposed to on bikes.

Basically when I'm doing my cardio I feel like I'm working, but I'm never straining for breath or feeling the pulse beating in my brain or anything, but when I use the heart rate monitors (the handles, not the one you strap to yourself) I always seem to get a heart rate that just doesn't seem to add up.

Is it just because those monitors are crap? Or is it something about me?

Will be interested to hear your replies!

edit: for info, various formulas put my HRmax at around 187/190. Hmm, so maybe that's normal? Or am I training too hard??

[SpikeD]

When i (used to) train in the gym i remember never being able to get my heart rate high enough for fat burning on the bike. It would only get to maybe 125 as opposed to the 180-200 when i ran or used the cross trainers. I put it down to 20 years of bike riding on the street as a kid, but perhaps there is a mechanical/physical reason. As for your heart rate being high whilst not feeling out of breath, Could be that you are fit and conditioned (i know, i know. You don't get fit couch potatoes :) )and can just run easily. I have a very poor running technique that means that i need to stop frequently for a rest and a pint of beer.

[Mitch]

My experience is very similar Llama. I don't feel like I'm really working unless my HR is up into the 160s and seem able to maintain that happily for at least an hour, but most recommendations seem to be that I should be working at the lower rate of around 150. At that rate I feel like I'm jogging along pretty slowly but could just keep going until my knees gave out, not my CV system. My RHR is similar or slightly lower than yours and I monitor mine with a Polar strap and wrist unit.

I am a fat 41 year old however so I'd just like to say,
http://img708.imageshack.us/img708/6053/simpsonsnelsonhaha2.jpg

As an experiment try intervals. I did sets of about 15 intervals where I sprinted 30 seconds then jogged for 90 (all hail the Gymboss timer, known in my TKD club as the Gadget Of Doom or GOD for short). I'd get my HR up to 180s in the sprint then let it fall down to 150s 160s in the recovery. This really left me feeling like I'd worked hard. I think there is something in the constant change of HR that hurts more. I did start feeling a little feint in the afternoons after those sessions on occasion, but what are you going to do?

Mitch

[Llamageddon]

As an experiment try intervals. I did sets of about 15 intervals where I sprinted 30 seconds then jogged for 90 (all hail the Gymboss timer, known in my TKD club as the Gadget Of Doom or GOD for short). I'd get my HR up to 180s in the sprint then let it fall down to 150s 160s in the recovery. This really left me feeling like I'd worked hard. I think there is something in the constant change of HR that hurts more. I did start feeling a little feint in the afternoons after those sessions on occasion, but what are you going to do?

Mitch

when it comes to cardio, all I do is intervals. I'll be honest and admit a slight fear of the treadmills and whether or not I'll slip off and die so i avoid those and use the elliptical and bike machines, as well as the rowers, but for the first 15 mins of an activity I'll have an interval setting where my easy one is in the middle, and my hard one is high resistance.

I'm thinking it might just be how my body works. My friend, who supposedly has worse cardio than me, will happily sit in the 150-160 range, where I would practically have to walk to get that! Then again thanks to the old anaerobic karate exercise I do have a very quick recovery time, so maybe it's just a by product of my body type and my training habits...

[Mitch]

when it comes to cardio, all I do is intervals. I'll be honest and admit a slight fear of the treadmills and whether or not I'll slip off and die so i avoid those and use the elliptical and bike machines, as well as the rowers, but for the first 15 mins of an activity I'll have an interval setting where my easy one is in the middle, and my hard one is high resistance.

I'm thinking it might just be how my body works. My friend, who supposedly has worse cardio than me, will happily sit in the 150-160 range, where I would practically have to walk to get that! Then again thanks to the old anaerobic karate exercise I do have a very quick recovery time, so maybe it's just a by product of my body type and my training habits...

I think there's a lot of truth in the idea that people's bodies just work differently.

Have you tried running outsdoors? Find yourself somewhere off road and run there: river banks and canal towpaths are good for timed intervals as they're flat. It's much more interesting as there's stuff to look at, kinder to your joints and better for your calves as the slightly uneven surface means they're working harder. I hate treadmills and find them harder on my ageing knees than my normal run by the Trent.

Mitch

[Kuma]

Those HR monitors on exercise machines are crap. Drop 50 bucks and get yourself a good one, or just check it yourself (count beats for 15 sec straight, multiply by 4).

[Llamageddon]

Those HR monitors on exercise machines are crap. Drop 50 bucks and get yourself a good one, or just check it yourself (count beats for 15 sec straight, multiply by 4).

Yeah, I did that once and my HR came out lower by a fair number of beats. I'm thinking of investing in a proper HR monitor when I get some loose cash though.

Mitch, yeah I'll start running outside when the weather behaves itself again! My problem with running outside is that once you're done, you've got to get back again ;)

[Kuma]

HR monitors are a worthwhile investment.

[Moosey]

Hey Llama, I'm exactly the same. My heart rate on the gym monitors can be 170 before I even feel like I'm pushing myself - I've always put that down to dodgy HR monitors. I guess the thing with the HR monitors in the gym is that they're just worth using to set yourself a goal to monitor, not to take as a real indication of your heart rate.

[jwt]

My resting heart rate is about 60 BPM which is so-so, but I've been getting very breathless recently and have just discovered that my heart isn't working properly and every 4th beat it is only pushing out 50% of what it should - with the rest staying in the chamber. As a result I can get uncomfortable just running up a flight of stairs, or walking very briskly for 100m, with my HR shooting up to about 180. I also get breathless just demonstrating techniques.

I have a wrist and chest HR monitor that I bought to measure students average HRs in different stages of training as part of my research in comparing what we are subjecting people to in the dojo with known effects of HR on performance. Interestingly I persuaded a senior pressure points instructor to make some suggestive comments about knocking out for a demo to one of my students, and we watched his HR go from 55 to 140 straight away with no physical activity.

[Mitch]

HR monitors are a worthwhile investment.

Absolutely, I find mine really useful. Plus, it's a gadget, and that in itself is cool :)

Mitch

[Vimtoforblood]

I have an (intermittent) irregular heart beat and when I wear a HR monitor while this is occuring it goes a bit mental.

[seiken steve]

HRs at my gym cant find my heart rate, everyone else has not bother.

so it could be worse, im dead!

on a serrious note running outside mayt help, ground isnt always even, hills and thrill etc, treadmill is very uniform if that makes sense to you

try hill running, sprint up, jog down.

[Mike Flanagan]

Those HR monitors on exercise machines are crap.

My experience is that gym heart monitors are crap, but they're not IME consistently low or consistently high. So if you try several different machines and they're all reading about 170/180, then that's probably about right.

Personally I don't know exactly what my RHR is but on the cross-trainer I feel I'm working pretty hard but sustainably at about 148-160. That's stayed about the same for some years even though my weight has varied somewhat over that time.

I tried rowing but for some reason just couldn't get my heart rate up that much no matter how fast I went or how high resistance I used.

I guess we're just all different.

Mike