I haven't used my HR monitor for several months. Last week I started wearing it again and was amazed. I guess because I haven't been doing much running and I've gained some weight my HR max has changed. On a hard run field test last year my max was 174. That was the highest I was ever able to go. Last week on an easy run I had a max of 180. I have no idea what it would have been if I ran hard. Hopefully as I start getting in more miles and drop a few pounds my HR will get back to where it was. I've also been tracking my HR on every run in the past 2 weeks. Amazingly, on the runs I've done at the fastest average pace, my average HR is lower. On the easy runs it has been higher. Not sure what to make of it at this point but this is completely different than my training last year showed. I always thought a person's HR max didn't change much. I know it generally goes down as we age, but going up?
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Re: HR max changing? [Tri2HaveFun]
[ In reply to ]
Yeah, you're right, that's weird. It doesn;t jive with what I've read and experienced. My max was 202 when I was 24. Now I'm 42 and my max is still 202, I just don't get as much speed from that 202 BPM. My AT is the same at about 182. I can sustain an average of 173 for about 2 hours. Those numbers haven;t changed too much, but my recovery from a hard day takes longer and I am not as fast as quickly as I was 20 years ago. In other words, it takes more time to get in shape.
Something seems unusual about your numbers. Maybe it is the weight. My weight has come down some over the past 6 months but remained with 15 pounds of my "normal" 165 pounds.
Your weight may be the factor that is changing.
Tom Demerly
The Tri Shop.com
Something seems unusual about your numbers. Maybe it is the weight. My weight has come down some over the past 6 months but remained with 15 pounds of my "normal" 165 pounds.
Your weight may be the factor that is changing.
Tom Demerly
The Tri Shop.com
Re: HR max changing? [Tri2HaveFun]
[ In reply to ]
Sounds like an out of shape issue. It sounds more like perhaps you have been doing less working out than you admit in your post.
I had the same problem nearly stopped working out for 6 months. When I went back to it I was 15# overweight and I would get super high HR. It has taken 6 months and HRs are now in line with previous levels...
I have found that a really long warmup helps prevent too high HR in the beginning of resuming my workout program.
Now, my weight has gone down almost to a good level. NOW, if my watts could just go up again...... After 2 yrs off the mtn bike I rode again for 1.5 hours singletrack, at least the skills come back quickly.
1) As I understand not all persons MAX HR goes down w/ age. Perhaps in reality none do.
2) The highest HR you see on your HR monitor is not likely to be the MAX HR you will use to calculate you workout zones. Your previous MAX HR estimate was probably too low.
I had the same problem nearly stopped working out for 6 months. When I went back to it I was 15# overweight and I would get super high HR. It has taken 6 months and HRs are now in line with previous levels...
I have found that a really long warmup helps prevent too high HR in the beginning of resuming my workout program.
Now, my weight has gone down almost to a good level. NOW, if my watts could just go up again...... After 2 yrs off the mtn bike I rode again for 1.5 hours singletrack, at least the skills come back quickly.
1) As I understand not all persons MAX HR goes down w/ age. Perhaps in reality none do.
2) The highest HR you see on your HR monitor is not likely to be the MAX HR you will use to calculate you workout zones. Your previous MAX HR estimate was probably too low.
Hi Tri2HaveFun
training will increase your total blood volume. This happens because of hormonal responses; anti-diuretic hormone (ADH) and mineralcorticoids (aldosterone) release. To keep it simple, those two hormones increase your total blood volume.
When you perform aerobic work, muscle tissue depends on the oxygen and nutrients which are delivered by the circulation of blood. The amount of blood your heart pumps per minute (cardiac output, CO) depends on two factors. 1) the amount of blood in the heart (stroke volume, SV) related to total blood volume and 2) the amount of muscle contractions per minute (hear rate, HR).
Now, after in the lazy off-season in which you didn't train as much, you're brain didn't release as much ADH and aldosterone. Consequently your total blood volume decreased and so did the SV. Let's say you perform some aerobic work in which your body requests "x-amount" of blood. To compensate for the reduced SV, your heart has to contract at an increased rate in order to maintain the CO constant (look at the equation).
Of course SV (and consequently CO and HR) can change for several reasons: dehydration, consumption of alcohol (inhibits ADH release, increase in urination and therfore reduction in blood volume). Blood volume can change pretty quickly. You can experiment with it. Do a training ride on Saturday, then do some drinking that night. The next day, at same intensity, you will have an increased HR. Or you can also ride longer for a couple of days, of course consume plenty of sports drink along the way. You will notice a reduction in HR as a result of the above mentioned alterations in variables.
Another thing. With aerobic training over several years, you're cardiac muscle tends to increase in size. This increases your SV and therefore reduces HR at same intensity.
this is one reason. Of course there are plenty of others like CNS stimulants such as caffeine, etc.
daniel
�The greater danger for most of us is not that our aim is too high and we miss it, but that it is too low and we reach it.� -Michelangelo
MoodBoost Drink : Mood Support + Energy.
training will increase your total blood volume. This happens because of hormonal responses; anti-diuretic hormone (ADH) and mineralcorticoids (aldosterone) release. To keep it simple, those two hormones increase your total blood volume.
When you perform aerobic work, muscle tissue depends on the oxygen and nutrients which are delivered by the circulation of blood. The amount of blood your heart pumps per minute (cardiac output, CO) depends on two factors. 1) the amount of blood in the heart (stroke volume, SV) related to total blood volume and 2) the amount of muscle contractions per minute (hear rate, HR).
- CO = SV x HR
Now, after in the lazy off-season in which you didn't train as much, you're brain didn't release as much ADH and aldosterone. Consequently your total blood volume decreased and so did the SV. Let's say you perform some aerobic work in which your body requests "x-amount" of blood. To compensate for the reduced SV, your heart has to contract at an increased rate in order to maintain the CO constant (look at the equation).
Of course SV (and consequently CO and HR) can change for several reasons: dehydration, consumption of alcohol (inhibits ADH release, increase in urination and therfore reduction in blood volume). Blood volume can change pretty quickly. You can experiment with it. Do a training ride on Saturday, then do some drinking that night. The next day, at same intensity, you will have an increased HR. Or you can also ride longer for a couple of days, of course consume plenty of sports drink along the way. You will notice a reduction in HR as a result of the above mentioned alterations in variables.
Another thing. With aerobic training over several years, you're cardiac muscle tends to increase in size. This increases your SV and therefore reduces HR at same intensity.
this is one reason. Of course there are plenty of others like CNS stimulants such as caffeine, etc.
daniel
�The greater danger for most of us is not that our aim is too high and we miss it, but that it is too low and we reach it.� -Michelangelo
MoodBoost Drink : Mood Support + Energy.