using a heart rate monitor for the first time

[brent]

Hi
I got a heart rate monitor this week. It's neato. I wore it all day at the office even, just to be a geek. Anyway, I was wondering about my stats. My lowest resting heart rate was 60, and it was usually around 70. Is this good? it would vary a few BPM, I mean that for five seconds it might be 72, then next five seconds 74, then 71, then 76, then 73, etc. When I was riding it was usually 140 to 160, and once while I was sprinting it got over 190. How does all this sound to you guys? I know nothing about where my heart rate should be. Oh, and after getting it up to 180+ when i came back to the office and rested it would take quite a while to get it back to under 80, if that matters. Also note that i'm a slim 21 year old guy........
Brent

[MtnBikerChk]

Best book on the subject....

http://search.barnesandnoble.com/booksearch/isbnInquiry.asp?userid=153C366OI1&isbn=1884737803

[nathank]

Brent,

all sounds pretty normal...

your max heart rate is based on genetics and age. on average, the max is determined by the formula 220-age or 226-age for women - so in your case at 21 years, 220-21 is an expected max of 199. i have read that this estimate is within about 5 bpm for over 80% of the people. you don't train your max - it's pretty much set and then decreases an average of 1bpm per year. and a high max doesn't really mean much - for example, your max might be higher than many pro cyclists... maybe it says something about your sprinting ability but i don't really know (at 31 my expected in 189 but mine is about 195)

your true resting heart rate should be measured while lying down, not moving and best in the morning just after waking. my 'low activity HR' meaning sitting around pulse (which i think is what you were quoting around 70 for you) is usally something between 60 and 65 and my true resting HR is in the low 40s. if you watch, just standing up or talking will raise your pulse a few beats. my HRM beeps when it goes under 60bpm and during a long lunch break during a ride mine will often sit about 60 while sitting at a table eating. every time it starts to beep i wave my arms around and my HR goes up a little and the annoying beep stops. (i set this 60bpm a long time ago to something i thought i would never see during training b/c i didn't want it to beep and am too lazy to change it again)

the more fit you are the lower your resting pulse will be - although every person is different, so you can't say a person with 41 is more fit than someone with 50. there was a big disussion about resting pulse a few months ago here on the forum, so do a search - the 'average' including unfit people was something like 70-80bpm which surprised me, while most trained athletes are in the 40-50 range and some endurance pros in the low 30s.

that your heart rate takes a while to get back down after training is also normal - this is your 'quick-recovery' time while your system is still elevated due to the stress of activity. a better trained athlete recovers more quickly and the pulse drops faster... it varies, but after strong exercise mine will usually drop below 100 within a minute or so and pretty close to 'normal' (around 65) in less than 15 minutes...

when i ride my HR is usually between 130 and 170. with my max of 195 and LT of 164, anything under 130 is 'resting', 130-140 is basic spinning/riding, 140-150 is normal, 150-160 is riding hard, and 160-170 is major effort like hill-climbing or a push, and anything over 170 is a steep hill or a sprint. I usually see 180+ maybe 3-5 times on a hard ride (yesterday's ride my HRM recored a max of 194) -- on recovery day i try and keep my HR under 160.

but your resting pulse rate also really isn't very important. what is more important for training is your anaerobic threshold or lactacte threshold. it's complicated, but basically it's the HR above which your body can only sustain for a short period of time (usually 30 seconds to 20 minutes). it's called the Lactate Threshold (LT) because it is usually determined by 4mmol level of lactic acid in you bloodstream and above that level your body is not able to get rid of the acid and it floods the blood and hinders muscle activity, blah blah blah ... medical stuff. LT can vary quite a lot but i think is usually about 75-85% of your max (typically somewhere between 125 and 175 for most athletes). my Max is 195 and my LT is 164. i read a bunch of training books and estimated mine to 165 a few years ago and then had a scientific test where they take blood samples while you exercise at increasing levels of intensity about 2 months ago and found it to be the same (164 but 1 bpm is below measurement tolerance). so if you read a few books you can guess pretty close yourself without the test (costs upwards of $50).

note that your LT can be changed with training, as well as the time your body can operate above LT (most untrained people can for only short periods before). i have always trained pretty regularly but i have heard of inactive people raising their LTs by as much as 20bpm after 6 months of training...

the 2 most important training uses of a HR monitor:
1) to gauge your level of exertion to train correctly to prevent overtraining as well as make sure you're training hard enough - also to 'pace' yourself in a race or long ride
2) to determine if you're sick, overtrained, dehydrated or somehow just not right ---- if your heart-rate is higher than normal when you're not doing anything then something is wrong - check it the day after a killer workout and it should be elevated. or if your heart-rate simply won't go up then you're dehydrated or bonked or something (when i bonk my HR won't go over about 130 no matter how hard i try i just don't have the energy)

there are lots of aspects to training, but one of the most effective types of training is just under your LT - for me with 164 LT that means in the 150-165 range. i set the upper and lower limits on my HRM to 140 and 165 and then count and track the time between as cardio training and the time above as strenuos training. For me in a hard workout i will total around 15 minutes above my LT (in say a 3 hour ride) and if i do more than about 18 i will have to rest/recover for 2 days or more because of the stress to my body.

also note that your LT varies for different sports: running is a little higher (mine about 167) and skating even hgigher (mine around 172). i think this is because you are using more muscles and thus need more circulation (cycling uses fewer but larger muscles than skating or running).

also note that a person having a high Max HR or a high LT is not necessarily better athlete - if you rasie YOUR LT then you are more fit than you were. but true fitness is determines mostly by how much power you can generate below your LT as well as how long you can operate above it and then recover aftewards. i read somewhere recently that Lance Armstrong's average HR while in the peloton is 129 -- for me 129 while cycling is super-light spinning that i could do all day. the point is to keep up my HR in the peleton would probably be nearing my max and almost certainly near or above my LT...

basically, just workout with the monitor and use it to help you learn your body and how it responds to training. even when i don't have mine on i now can guess within a few beats my HR about 90% of the time - except when i'm overtrained. there are some good books - one i have is titled something like 'time-saving training techniques for Multisport Atheltes' and is a few years old.

have fun. the HRM is a great training tool!

[RonH]

Originally posted by MtnBikerChk
Best book on the subject....

http://search.barnesandnoble.com/booksearch/isbnInquiry.asp?userid=153C366OI1&isbn=1884737803
Great book. I bought it when I got my Sports Instruments ECG5 (http://www.sportsinstruments.com/products/ecg5.html).

[nikos]

Whats a good heart rate monitor under 100 bucks. Is there one under this price - Ive seen a lot starting at 150.

[deliriou5]

can your max heart rate increase with training too? about a month ago I tried sprinting to determine my max heart rate and it peaked at 211.... then last week at the end of a 7 mile run, i was running at my normal pace with a 206 heart rate.... i was kinda shocked and a little worried... but my legs and lungs felt totally fine.

[nathank]

deliriou5,

i'm not a doctor, but from all i know your MAX is set by genetics and decreases approcimately 1 bpm with age... as far as i know training will not affect your max, but how long you can operate sub-maximal as well as how much work/power you can do at a given heart-rate.

now on a particular day you could very easily NOT be able to reach your max b/c of dehydration, lack of energy, etc...

i haven't really tried too hard to determine my max b/c it's not really so important, but i've also heard that most of the HRMs out there do some kind of time averaging (i.e. counting beats in last 4-10 seconds and averaging) so your actual instantaneous heart-rate can be much higher --- i've heard that there is another type (don't know the tech details) that does less averaging and fluctuates more rapidly. these type are more expensive, but my MTB-racing trainer had one and said your heart-rate changes more quickly than what you think using a 'normal' one. i would also expect the displayed max to almost always be lower than your actual max by a few beats b/c of the averaging (you have to sustain the max for virtually the whole averaging period to 'see' the max)

[nathank]

Whats a good heart rate monitor under 100 bucks. Is there one under this price - Ive seen a lot starting at 150.

i haven't looked into buying one in a while so i don't have a definite recommendation, but the way i see it there are 4 basic types:

1) basic HR monitor - cheap - my girlfriend got one for like $40
2) 'fitness' HR monitor - has 'training zones' and calories burned and other basic info - still pretty cheap
3) training monitors - allow you to set zones and tracks time in each zone which i like --- i track the time above my LT which is a very good gauge of my total workout intensity ---- these tend to be more expensive in the $120-200 range i think (not current on this)
4) computer-compatible - these allow you to download your info to a computer and graph or do other analysis. never had one, but i suppose might be cool although i think they are pricey - like $200+

some manufacturers claim there are major differences (polar) but i really don't see much difference in the basic measurement function which is the most important.

maybe also waterproofness although cheap ones can be good too.

any some are 'coded' much like cordless phones so you won't get interference, but only important if you use it around lots of other people like in a spinning or aerobics class...

i used to have a cheap one, lost it and bought a polar and it actually has more measuring problems than the old off-brand... but it's still quite fine

i'd say buy a cheap one and then later if you like it, get a training or computer one... it's like most products(e.g. computers, VCRs, etc.), you pay 40% for the first 90% of functionality and then a lot for each additional "function" (although some of the functions are really good)

[lotek]

I picked up a Polar XT cycle for about a hundred bucks.
I figured it would be good for starters. It also functions
as my backup computer (hey I'm a diver, I have backups
for everything).
I can see wanting a better model, I'm looking at the
Polar 210 or 510 as my next upgrade.
Wife has the A5 (also about $100) nice monitor but
NO cycle functions.
Check some of the bigger sports outlets like
Sports Authority or Galyans.

Marty

[oxologic]

Take a look at this :

http://a520.g.akamai.net/3/520/5136/7561a85c853487/www.reebok.com/Reebok/US/Products/Catalog/Large/12231.jpg

Do I have to say more? It's a watch from Reebok, the best in their series. They only have 3 heart rate monitors though.

They do say this : Key Press Heart Rate, user can monitor resting heart rate without chest strap. What does it really mean? Anyone can give an explanation please?

By the way, 70 bpm is not bad, it is for the average individual. Start working from there for a healthier lifestyle, it is never too late. Having a lower heart rate, no matter by how much, would be a great achievement since not all of us are athletes.

[Dirtgrinder]

Originally posted by oxologic

They do say this : Key Press Heart Rate, user can monitor resting heart rate without chest strap. What does it really mean? Anyone can give an explanation please?



I just looked it up. You press a button in sequence with your pulse. Your owners manual should give specifics.

[Dirtgrinder]

Originally posted by nikos
Whats a good heart rate monitor under 100 bucks. Is there one under this price - Ive seen a lot starting at 150.

I bought a computer with HRM from Supergo for about 35 bucks. I've been using it for about a year now and it's worked great so far.
I also noticed when browsing the sporting goods at Wal-Mart the other day that they have two Polar models. Both sub-$100.

[catfish]

polar A-1 can be had for 45 bucks
A-5 for 78
if your a real whuistle and bells person get the S-710 man this thing does it all and connects tothe computer for tracking and printouts but not cheep retail 299-309 you can get one for about 210-215 though

[Cadd]

Where is the best place to purchase a HRM? I'm sure it's gonna be on the internet, but does anyone know a reputable site? I'm looking for a bargain for a Polar S-210. How much would you guys think is a relatively fair price to pay?

[roadbuzz]

If the Polar Protrainer XT Cycle (http://www.performancebike.com/shop/Profile.html?SKU=3788) would fit the bill, Performance has them on sale for $110 ($100 if you're a Team Performance member) right now (10/3/02). (I have no experience with that model. And, no I don't work for Performance, just a happy customer.)

[usnagent007]

nathank, thanks for the comprehensive HR info!:beer:

[Cadd]

I looked at the XT, but don't like the way it looks....I think I should goto a store and see it in person.

The last thing I want to do is to buy it online and have to deal with returns or exchanges.