Training & Nutrition - Is high resting heart rate an indication of over training?
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sammy5001
09-23-09, 04:32 PM
My typical resting heart rate is 53 but in the past few days it has been around 58. And in the past few days my performance have noticeably worsen. In particular I find it really really hard to sustain my heart rate at 170 like I did on my Sunday ride and in the past. As a result I only did light weight training and light cardio work out in the last few days (roughly 30-50 TSS/day as opposed to 100-150 like before). Is this high resting heart rate a sign of too much stress? Is this something that can be fixed just by resting?
Carbonfiberboy
09-23-09, 05:48 PM
Yup and yup. 5 beats up isn't too bad, nor is not being able to reach a high HR. However, a real performance drop, meaning grabbing a lower gear than usual on a familiar hill, is not good. But since you just noticed this and are are taking measures, it shouldn't turn into overtraining. Right now it's just overreaching.
I'd quit the weights for a few days and just do a few easy spins, 1/2 hour to 45 minutes. After 2-3 days, go out to a familiar hill and let 'er rip. When your HR comes up normally and you have a fun climb, you're ready to go again. If it doesn't, quit the hill and go home at an easy pace. Continue to monitor your MRHR. You should see it gradually drop back down, maybe lower than normal, which would be good.
Get plenty of protein and plenty of sleep.
This is totally normal and happens to everyone if they go hard enough. So it's a good sign: you've found a limit. This may or may not be something you'll want to repeat. If you bounce right back in a few days, you should be stronger than ever. If you have to have a more prolonged rest, you'll lose fitness and will not want to repeat the experience.
JPradun
09-23-09, 06:52 PM
Stress is not the same thing as over training. You should do a scholar.google.com search on over training.
ironhorse3
09-23-09, 08:42 PM
Other factors could be at play, like hours of sleep, your diet, external stress causes. One example I could immediately think of is excessive sugar in diet, or alcohol or caffeine. Assuming you're on a high performance diet, you'll probably bounce back quickly if you rest more on the average. Have you posted more details of your training schedule elsewhere before?