I take a beta blocker (Inderal 20mg) prn for an essential tremor. When I do, I can’t get my heart rate up past 130 no matter how hard I try. My max is around 190 and when I am cycling or running at what would normally be around a 150-155 bpm effort, my heart rate is stuck down around 115-120, even though the RPE is the same and I am sweating the same. Does anyone know if I am getting any cardio benefit from this at all? Is it worth the effort? I try not to take the inderal except when I need it for work or social situations because of this. It’s frustrating.
Welcome to the club. When I first went on Beta Blockers (Bisoprolol), I had the same reaction. From a MaxHR of about 180 I dropped to 130. I seemed to tire easier and not be able to produce as much power. Over the next year, in discussions with my Family doc, we reduced my dosage from a full tab to a 1/4 tab. I could then get to a max HR into the mid 160s. Then, another visit to my Cardilologist who said the whole idea WASA. Lower HR and 135 would be fine. Furthermore he said that my body would adapt (almost immediately) and my heart would pump more volume. So, I went back I a full tab a month ago.
I now find that I’ve been able to get my HR up to a max of 155 (during an FTP test) but that is unusual. More importantly, I’m not experiencing negative physiological symptoms. Sure, my power sucks but the meds aren’t the reason. Being 63 is more of an issue than the meds. Last night I did a slow (5 mph) run for 45 minutes with a max HR of 135, average 126 which for me is just sneaking into Z3 for the average and just getting into Z4 for max. Where my coach wanted my to be.
The question I’m curious about is why, when I first went on my max was 135 and now it is 155 (same dosage). I’m thinking that, in my case, the 135 wasn’t really a max (although it likely would have been close to 140). And I suppose, it’s a year later, things change.
So, don’t dispair. You are getting a workout. As far as a “cardio” benefit, I can’t really answer that. I think the real indicator is whether you are getting any stronger / faster.
Thanks for the reply. It sounds like the body does eventually adapt to the medicine, to a certain extent, after a while? I guess that’s the tradeoff for me. Since I take it intermittently, maybe my heart does have an opportunity to adapt, so when I do exercise after taking it the effects are more profound. I guess I will just try to continue to minimize the times that I do take the inderal and try to schedule my workouts after the medicine has worn off. Not ideal, but doable. Thanks again for the feedback.
I’m not a doc nor do I know your circumstances. But I would focus on the workouts regardless of the meds. In other words, ignore the meds and just go about your workout plan. IF you are training by HR, then you’ll need to know what the meds do but if you are training by RPE or power, focus on those components.
At the start I used my meds as an excuse but when I think back, I just needed a bit of HTFU. Now, they may limit my MaxHR and I watch it to make sure it doesn’t get excessive but other than that I don’t worry about whether I can or cannot do things.