Training & Nutrition - Average heart rate

ugh.... another HR thread :p

actually I was going through my milage log (www.crosstrak.com) and I noticed that since February my average heart rate has decreased about 10 bpm, from 153ish to 143ish on similar intensity rides.... For one I'm not totally convinced that my HRM is super accurate (I think it gets interference from my bike computer) but this is a pretty consistance occurance.

some info about me

resting HR 65ish (haven't done a real morning wake up test in a while)
Max 196
limits on my HRM
Limit 1: 98-133
Limit 2: 134-166
Limit 3: 167-198
weight: 145 lbs (featherlight :p)
age: 20

I generally spend most of my time in Limit 2, and only go into 3 when climbing or doing a max aerobic effort. I tend to go anaerobic (redline) when I near 184 or higher

so anyhow I am just curious is it normal for average HR to decrease (or increase) during the season? keep in mind I've only been cycling about 1.5 years now, and also remember that there is no off season in the winter (it's great riding weather).... so what do you think :)

My resting heart rate has dropped dramatically since I got back inot it this season. I would gues if resting drops, then there would be a corresponding drop in the heart rate for exercising!!

Funny you should mention heart rate. Last night, my darling 18 year old daughter made chocolate moose dessert for my wife's birthday. I ate three cups. I woke up this morning early (2 a.m.) with a pounding heart -- 72 beats per minute. My normal rate is 42. It's 3 a.m. now, and I'm still wired. Stay off the moose!

chocolate

Chocolate = caffeine

If it's been happening for so long, it could either be that you're overtraining consistently, or you've gotten fitter, so you can do more at lower heart rates, which means you need to be tested (again, if you've been tested for those values before) to see what your new numbers will be.

If you can't get to the performance lab in your area for a test, I always recommend doing the anaerobic threshold 2 x 20 test. I've posted it before here on the forum- do a search under my name in the training and nutrition section. Once you've done the test, you can plug and chug the new numbers and continue with your training as before, but with more accurate numbers.

Koffee

Originally posted by Koffee Brown
If it's been happening for so long, it could either be that you're overtraining consistently, or you've gotten fitter, so you can do more at lower heart rates, which means you need to be tested (again, if you've been tested for those values before) to see what your new numbers will be.

If you can't get to the performance lab in your area for a test, I always recommend doing the anaerobic threshold 2 x 20 test. I've posted it before here on the forum- do a search under my name in the training and nutrition section. Once you've done the test, you can plug and chug the new numbers and continue with your training as before, but with more accurate numbers.

Koffee

yeah I think I'll do that, and redo my limits... I guess I could be overtrained, but I don't think I am showing the other symptoms (sleeplessness, high resting hr) in general I feel stronger than before and it seems like my average speed has also increased on my tempo rides. :) I'll do some more testing and see

Average heart rate decreases over time and consistent exercise. That's a great thing! Try this: take your max heart rate after warming up for like 15 minutes, then time how long it takes to get down to about 50-65%. The more in shape your heart is, the more in shape you're becoming and the quicker that time will be. From what I've heard, a lower average heart rate means that you have to push yourself a little harder to get the rates up again. But isn't that what it's all about? Increasing your limits? If I'm wrong about any of this, feel free to correct me. It's been a while. But go you! :)