What's your resting heart rate?

[Recess]

In a thread on the Row-Pro sub-forum here, I brought up the subject of resting heart-rates. What's everyone else's? And how do you think this equates to your fitness goals?

I'm 27 when I wake up, then typically 33/34 when sitting at a desk. Right now, it's 36.

John

[Paul Victory]

Hi John

As I mentioned on the other thread, that's an incredibly low RHR. I think mine is around 60, but I'll measure it tomorrow when I wake up. I'm back about 10 minutes from walking the dog and my HR is currently 64.

[plummy]

Just pootling about it's usually about 60-odd. Whenever I have a checkup I usually get the question - "is this normal for you" as it can be around the mid 40's and when I wake up its around that too.
My max tops out at 173~174 - though.

[gregsmith01748]

first thing in the morning: 44
sitting around during the day: mid-50s
Max: 183

Side question: I am on a low dose ACE inhibitor (Lisiopril) for High Blood Pressure. Anyone have any idea if this has any effect on heart rate dynamics?

[strider77]

John, we are clearly freaks , I think Huw is around 35-37 too

Mine is typically 35-37, just took it and its 38, the lowest I have seen was when I was running 80 miles a week when a lot younger and a lot lighter it was 28-30.

I am not sure if its a good predictor of fitness, I think it indicates that your heart is efficient but there are all sorts of other parameters other than RHR involved in fitness such as speed of recovery etc etc.

[nervtoeter]

Around 55, sitting around 60-65. 37 sounds like death :D

[lovetherain]

Sitting quietly with monitor on, before an evening row: 51.

No idea what it is when not on the erg.

[BorisZ]

Side question: I am on a low dose ACE inhibitor (Lisinopril) for High Blood Pressure. Anyone have any idea if this has any effect on heart rate dynamics?

Should not do much at all. In diseased hearts Lisinopril allows for faster heart rate in exercise than without that ACEI , e.g. after a heart attack, but then that difference goes away as hearts recover. Also, patients with heart failure seem to show increased exercise tolerance on ACEI as compared to not having that medication. ACEI also increases cardiac output.
In healthy hearts - not sure about the validity of above towards heart rate and cardiac output, but my notion is there is no downside.

[Davedcm]

Mine is 48-49, although I have seen 46 when first getting up.
It certainly does seem to vary with my fitness as when I back off training for a while it goes up to 52.
Not bad though for an old geezer of 72.

[Stan]

42 when resting. 50-70 during the day depending on what I am doing. Max is 180

[Phil Lamb]

39 when I first wake up and low fifties during the day. These figures are both ten to fifteen BPM lower than they were prior to taking to rowing.

[Rodger]

This morning I took my resting HR and it was 54. In reality it should be a couple of beats lower, because I can only measure my HR sitting on the rower, not lying in bed right after waking up. According to this table I'm an athlete and various other posters are off the charts completely.

So, are these charts wildly incorrect or is this what rowing does to us?



Charts taken from: http://www.topendsports.com/testing/hea ... chart.htm#

[sander]

So I am, according to the table, an athlete. An 18 year old one! My resting HR is 48, waking up, grabbing HR belt and putting it on.

I am 42 in reality

[Rodger]

I am doing the Interactive 2k Programme (IP) from the ISS website, and to get the plan, I had to enter my resting HR and maximum HR. I estimated these as 65 and 190. Now it turns out both estimates were off by quite a margin.

I only purchased a HR belt in October, but the highest HR value in my C2 Utility log since then is 197, measured at the end of the October CTC, the adapted Rugby Test. Comparing this value to what other people report as their max HR, let alone the '220-minus-age formula' for the average person (this would be 177 for me), 197 seems very high.
What does this mean? Is that good, is it bad, or is it of no consequence? I suppose one thing it does mean is that I need to recalculate my HR training zones for the IP.

[dr3do]

What's everyone else's?

For the last two weeks my RHR in the morning was about 42-48. During daytime my RHR is about 48-55.

I'm 27 when I wake up.

This is extreme low. Have you done a lot (I mean really lot) of long/ultra distance stuff and/or special mental training for lowering the HR?

[Recess]

I'm 27 when I wake up.

This is extreme low. Have you done a lot (I mean really lot) of long/ultra distance stuff and/or special mental training for lowering the HR?

Not really, no. My sport history is kinda endurance based though. I played squash at a relatively good league level, which took a lot of fitness training to get to, as my skills sucked! And then when I got injured, I got into cycling instead, doing long, fast rides.

I just think for some reason (hopefully a good one!) I have a very efficient heart, so it doesn't need to pump as much.

To be honest, my current concern is my max HR. I don't seem to be able to get near it on the erg. I can on a bike, but not on the erg. My current attempt at this month's CTC maxed out at around 165 - whereas I can get up to 180 on two wheels. Ain't it's not for the want of trying, believe me!! I'm rolling around on the floor in search for recovery after a heavy CTC/2k attempt.

John

[dr3do]

I only purchased a HR belt in October, but the highest HR value in my C2 Utility log since then is 197, measured at the end of the October CTC, the adapted Rugby Test. Comparing this value to what other people report as their max HR, let alone the '220-minus-age formula' for the average person (this would be 177 for me), 197 seems very high.

These formulas are… well… forget them. The other thing is, under bad (what can happen quite often) circumstances, the HR belt can show too high… specially at the beginning of a workout. Some manufactures are well know for this behavior. If you would have a watch, where you could see the progress, you could see if it's a spike/peak or not.

If I would be you, I would try to figure out my max HR by a systematic test on your rower.

I suppose one thing it does mean is that I need to recalculate my HR training zones for the IP.

Yes, just recalculate your zones.

[Paul Victory]

To be honest, my current concern is my max HR. I don't seem to be able to get near it on the erg. I can on a bike, but not on the erg. My current attempt at this month's CTC maxed out at around 165 - whereas I can get up to 180 on two wheels. Ain't it's not for the want of trying, believe me!! I'm rolling around on the floor in search for recovery after a heavy CTC/2k attempt.

John

Have you tried lowering the drag factor?

[dr3do]

Not really, no. My sport history is kinda endurance based though. I played squash at a relatively good league level, which took a lot of fitness training to get to, as my skills sucked! And then when I got injured, I got into cycling instead, doing long, fast rides.

I just think for some reason (hopefully a good one!) I have a very efficient heart, so it doesn't need to pump as much.

Wow, maybe well gifted by nature.

To be honest, my current concern is my max HR. I don't seem to be able to get near it on the erg. I can on a bike, but not on the erg. My current attempt at this month's CTC maxed out at around 165 - whereas I can get up to 180 on two wheels. Ain't it's not for the want of trying, believe me!! I'm rolling around on the floor in search for recovery after a heavy CTC/2k attempt.

I believe you. Me too, can't max out my HR on the rower. There's always a sport specific HR. With lower DF (I normally row at 160) it works a little better, but not worth the other disadvantages. For me it's a posture thing – to much compression on my (short) torso.

[Rodger]

I only purchased a HR belt in October, but the highest HR value in my C2 Utility log since then is 197, measured at the end of the October CTC, the adapted Rugby Test. Comparing this value to what other people report as their max HR, let alone the '220-minus-age formula' for the average person (this would be 177 for me), 197 seems very high.

These formulas are… well… forget them. The other thing is, under bad (what can happen quite often) circumstances, the HR belt can show too high… specially at the beginning of a workout. Some manufactures are well know for this behavior. If you would have a watch, where you could see the progress, you could see if it's a spike/peak or not.

If I would be you, I would try to figure out my max HR by a systematic test on your rower.

I suppose one thing it does mean is that I need to recalculate my HR training zones for the IP.

Yes, just recalculate your zones.

Thanks for the reply, Boris. I wasn't questioning the validity of the 197 HR, I think it's genuine. I only meant to inquire if this is a normal value for a 43 year old.

[dr3do]

Thanks for the reply, Boris. I wasn't questioning the validity of the 197 HR, I think it's genuine.

To be honest… I don't think so. It's within the typical "range of spike".

I only meant to inquire if this is a normal value for a 43 year old.

What I know about heart rate theres it looks like too high for your age. I really recommend to max out your HR by a structured test (which is simple to be done) and watch by your self (or let watch by someone else) you HR.

But of course… it's up to you, what you do.

[Rodger]

Boris, this was my Rugby Test CTC in October. That last HR value of 197 doesn't look like a spike to me, given that I really emptied the tank in that last 750m interval.



I had only a short training session today (12' AT), so afterwards I decided to do the max HR test that's on the ISS website:
"With the main display set to 500m split time, row for 1m 30secs at a heart rate that does not exceed 140 b.p.m
Increase the power by 25 watts and continue for another 1m 30secs. Continue increasing the power by 25 watts each 1m 30secs until you blow."

I lost the will to continue in the 8th 1:30 split. The highest HR I saw was 193. Not 197 then, but not far off either. I'm pretty sure that for a greater cause I could have pushed on for another minute or so.

Surely, this maximum HR is not as freakishly weird as John's low resting HR. I'm still interested to learn if there are any benefits or drawbacks having a high max HR.

[Recess]

The old inter-web doesn't really throw much up for max heart rate (220-age) much more than to say it's like the BMI - a good average indicator, but by no means something to go by if you're serious about training hard.

This is a good read though:

http://www.slowtwitch.com/mainheadings/ ... n/max.html

I like the Max test you've got though, sounds fun! Out of interest has anyone tried the 'Rowing Fitness Test' iphone app? I'm not willing to pay £4 just to see if it's any good...

Oh, and Paul, I didn't think about the DF thing. I'll give that a go and see what happens.

John

[rhr]

Boris, this was my Rugby Test CTC in October. That last HR value of 197 doesn't look like a spike to me, given that I really emptied the tank in that last 750m interval.



I had only a short training session today (12' AT), so afterwards I decided to do the max HR test that's on the ISS website:
"With the main display set to 500m split time, row for 1m 30secs at a heart rate that does not exceed 140 b.p.m
Increase the power by 25 watts and continue for another 1m 30secs. Continue increasing the power by 25 watts each 1m 30secs until you blow."

I lost the will to continue in the 8th 1:30 split. The highest HR I saw was 193. Not 197 then, but not far off either. I'm pretty sure that for a greater cause I could have pushed on for another minute or so.

Surely, this maximum HR is not as freakishly weird as John's low resting HR. I'm still interested to learn if there are any benefits or drawbacks having a high max HR.

There aren't any drawbacks. Max HR is related to genetics, not fitness levels. Resting HR is related to fitness. This should fall as you get fitter.

John - Boris mentioned his max HR on the rower was a lot lower than other sports due to a short torso and compression during the stroke. Sorry - see he posted it earlier. That may be your issue.

[dr3do]

I lost the will to continue in the 8th 1:30 split. The highest HR I saw was 193. Not 197 then, but not far off either. I'm pretty sure that for a greater cause I could have pushed on for another minute or so.

Then the 197 sounds fine.

I'm still interested to learn if there are any benefits or drawbacks having a high max HR.

It's good to have a low HRrest[1], combined with a high HRmax. The higher HRreserve, the bigger your working capacity.


[1] E.g. for @Recess HRrest it's 34/34. For me it's 44/45 and for you it's 54.