Resting heart rate question

danburke

Hey Guys,

I know this isn't a medical fourum but just thought I would ask anyways..

I have bought myself a HRM about a month ago and I reckon my resting heart rate is a little high.. i.e. 90 bpm

To put some information in I have been a gym goer for about 2 years and have started a little bit of cycling and running..

I can sustain 27Kmph at 160bpm for about two hours without killing myself and I can run 10Km in an hour at roughly 160bpm as well...

I have not tested my max heart rate yet..

Do ye think there is a need to goto the GP and get my heart checked out?

Caroline_ie

I am no expert, but I'd go see a doc if I have a 90bpm resting heart rate.

Article

RobFowl

Caroline_ie wrote: »

I am no expert, but I'd go see a doc if I have a 90bpm resting heart rate.

Article

Am a doc and agree completely

danburke

thanks guys

AstraMonti

By resting do we mean just sitting on the couch or sleeping?

MagicMarker

I'm a fat bastard and my RHR is under 80.

I'd take a trip to the doctor.

scottreynolds

AstraMonti wrote: »

By resting do we mean just sitting on the couch or sleeping?

Resting HR is best taken when you get out of bed in the morning -- preferably before you get up. Its a good indicator of training etc etc.


+1000 -- If you resting HR is 90 Go to the doctor.

Caroline_ie

It says on the table ( link ) That i am an athlete ... hahahaaha!!!

Lumen

My resting HR is about 80, down from about 90 when I was 20ish.

I wasn't worried until now.

I'm seeing my GP at 4.40pm today, also to ask why I've lost 10% of my body weight in the last year.

PDF here, for the other hypochondriacs.

concussion

What's the next one up from athlete - I'm not even on the chart :eek:

christeb

Actually took mine this wknd on Sat and Sunday. 40 and 42 respectively, even dipped to 38 once or twice.

Just call me Miguel, or Snr. Indurain

zzzzzzzz

concussion wrote: »

What's the next one up from athlete - I'm not even on the chart :eek:

me too. i feel like i might drop dead at any second...

Caroline_ie

concussion wrote: »

What's the next one up from athlete - I'm not even on the chart :eek:

You're a superhuman athlete, like LA who's RHR was (is) 32.

christeb wrote: »

Actually took mine this wknd on Sat and Sunday. 40 and 42 respectively, even dipped to 38 once or twice.

Just call me Miguel, or Snr. Indurain

Yeah ... Dopers ... ( erm )

concussion

Wow, wonder if it could bring it down if I actually went out and exercised. If I lose 6 beats off my RHR maybe I could win the TDF....

Caroline_ie

concussion wrote: »

Wow, wonder if it could bring it down if I actually went out and exercised. If I lose 6 beats off my RHR maybe I could win the TDF....

you mean you have 38RHR without excercising?

biker_joe

Hi all,

RHR should be taken as soon as you wake, and stay in bed while taking it, lying down very still for about 5 - 10 mins ....also you should take when starting a training plan take it for 5-7 days on the trot and take the average.

I am 36, my RHR is 38 - 42 ... depending on what I did the day before. RHR is also used and an indicator, if you are training /racing you should take it every day, if it goes up or down +/- 10/15% then it means rest up ( get more recovery ) or you could be the start of an illness ......
It should also tell you in a combination of other things like fatigue/ sleep / soreness of how much or little training you "should" do that given day ....

Biker Joe.

danburke

Has anybody tried sleeping with the chest strap on?

Lumen

danburke wrote: »

Has anybody tried sleeping with the chest strap on?

No, but it feels OK sitting at my desk. Here's my afternoon so far:

Caroline_ie

Lumen wrote: »

No, but it feels OK sitting at my desk. Here's my afternoon so far:

What's that 105 spike, did you have to run to the bathroom?

AstraMonti

Caroline_ie wrote: »

What's that 105 spike, did you have to run to the bathroom?

boss attack while you are watching youtube

Lumen

Caroline_ie wrote: »

What's that 105 spike, did you have to run to the bathroom?

Got it in one! :pac:

Caroline_ie

I can't stay still much even while sitting down ... but i just calculated my HR while sitting at my desk ... it was 64. ( meh ) It's lower in the morning before I get up. Lumen, I think you should do that when you're still in bed for a couple of minutes over a few days to have a better and more accurate idea??

Lumen

Caroline_ie wrote: »

I can't stay still much even while sitting down ... but i just calculated my HR while sitting at my desk ... it was 64. ( meh ) It's lower in the morning before I get up. Lumen, I think you should do that when you're still in bed for a couple of minutes over a few days to have a better and more accurate idea??

I'm not sure. I can understand why clinically you'd ask for a "when you wake up" measurement, because it's idiot-proof and requires almost no equipment.

But if you're talking about long-term heart health, surely realistic sedentary measurements are relevant too, as long as they're fairly repeatable? I'll see what the GP says.

Not sure an HR chest strap will go down well in the bedroom to be honest. My wife already thinks I'm obsessed.

Hungrycol

Low RHR stay with you a long time too. Like ex-marathon runners can have a low RHR for many years since giving it up.

IMO fitness is ALL about recovery, i.e. how quickly you can get your HR back to a reasonable resting level. The fitter you are the faster it returns to normal. Although I have a 50 RHR it increases rapidly when exercising so I see a low HR as no be a true indicator of fitness level. What I do find interesting is the fitter I get is how much harder it I find to reach my Max HR*.

*I use the old Max HR of 220 minus age but I'd love to see my ture max HR. Oh and my VO2 Max.

danburke

Hungrycol wrote: »

Low RHR stay with you a long time too. Like ex-marathon runners can have a low RHR for many years since giving it up.

IMO fitness is ALL about recovery, i.e. how quickly you can get your HR back to a reasonable resting level. The fitter you are the faster it returns to normal. Although I have a 50 RHR it increases rapidly when exercising so I see a low HR as no be a true indicator of fitness level. What I do find interesting is the fitter I get is how much harder it I find to reach my Max HR*.

*I use the old Max HR of 220 minus age but I'd love to see my ture max HR. Oh and my VO2 Max.

Thats one of the reasons why im confused about my high RHR.. after an hour or so on the rollors at 160bpm my HR will be back down to 90 in less than five minutes..

I think ill map my RHR in the mornings over a week and then go to the doc

biker_joe

Hey Dan,

Did you not read my earlier post ? you are not measuring your RHR !!! that's why you are confused, so don't be getting worried !! what you are measuring is your standing HR... you can only measure you're RESTING HR once a day 1st thing in the morning .........

Biker Joe.

alcyst

I read somewhere that the way to measure is;
- wake up early
- take a pee (to ease bladder pressure)
- go back to bed.

I did all that one day and fell asleep for an hour; but that's ok, it was real research, part of the program! The rate I got while sleeping varied between 40 and 63 and 40 occurred about 25mins into sleep. So if you get a high number...you need more time in bed.

rubadub

danburke wrote: »

Do ye think there is a need to goto the GP and get my heart checked out?

First things first, measure your own pulse with your hand and a watch and check that the monitor is working correctly.

I am at 58 right this minute so in the "excellent range", in the morning I am less and would probably be in the athlete range. But I drink ~30pints a week & smoke! I do about 40-45mins commute per day in total. 90 sounds very high.

I did sleep with the strap on once, not monitoring my sleep but it meant in the morning I could attach the reader with very little movement in bed.

blorg

As Joe says, resting heart rate is first thing in the morning before you get out of bed, it will be significantly higher during the day even just sitting on the sofa etc.

danburke

I reckon ill try and sleep with my HRM strap on..

As far as I'm aware my Garmin Forerunner 50 can record 7 hours of continous data so i mite record my heart over night

Caroline_ie

No Need to sleep with it !!! Just keep it beside your bed, and when you wake up put it on for a couple minutes.

Chips Lovell

Lumen wrote: »

My wife already thinks I'm obsessed.

Everyone's wife thinks they are obsessed. Indeed, if your wife doesn't think you're obsessed, you're doing it wrong.

roadmanmad

Maximum HR for a male 220 - your age. Assuming you are over 20

This make mine 177.

Baseline is a function of heart size. My baseline is as follows

58 at desk with any serious activity.

48 sitting/lying down for 20 minutes

38 when asleep.

Enlarged heart is common among cyclist particularly those who did serious distances when they were young.

Funkyzeit

Will be a while before any of us get to Indurain's RHR during his peak


.... 28 bpm....:eek::eek::eek:

zzzzzzzz

roadmanmad wrote: »

Maximum HR for a male 220 - your age. Assuming you are over 20

This make mine 177.

That formula works alright for me - my max is 196 (not under lab conditions but after a few hill repeats) and I'm 25 but really is only a very general guide.

It can differ greatly depending on the individual and the value shouldn't be relied upon.

Tawfee

Funkyzeit wrote: »

Will be a while before any of us get to Indurain's RHR during his peak


.... 28 bpm....:eek::eek::eek:

His heart must have been absolutely huge so.

Sean02

It makes good sense particuarly for over 40's to have thier own cardiologist. The cost of about €130 every year or two is great value considering the level of the check-out and the peace of mind you get. Racing vets won't get too much encouragment from them but don't mind that, if you get the ticker checked out o'k. you can realy enjoy your sport.

stopped_clock

I got a Garmin 405 for Christmas. On a few runs in January, my HR was touching 200, even on light jogs (about 190 on the bike). I got a bit worried by it but it dropped to 180ish after 2 weeks or so. And after I dropped the coffee down to 2 cups a day...

danburke

So got up this morning took a pee put on my monitor and went back to sleep.. turns out my RHR is 54.. still not great but not bad

Tau

I've been wondering about this myself - is it cheating to take your RHR with a monitor, and take the RHR to be the lowest score recorded by the monitor?

Or should you really take the lowest average over 1 minute?

I mean, you're always going to get a lower score if you take an instantaneous result...

danburke

From a statistical view point the avergae value of HR over say an hour would be a better gauge of your resting heart rate i reckon..

In that case my RHR is 60bpm

roadmanmad

I recommend everyone over 40 have a ECG trace done.

I had done won 3 years ago. I felt a few chest pains and I did not want the next hill to be my last.

If you are healthy. You do not need one every year, say every 5 - 10, but a thorough check-up every year with blood analysis for basic indicators such as cholestorel are useful.

My cholesterol is currently 3.0 and I do not use and bio drinks or medication to get to this level.

But it is a good idea to know how the internal system is performing even if I am not.

Ryaner

roadmanmad wrote: »

I recommend everyone over 40 have a ECG trace done.

How long did you get the trace done for? One of those wear for 48 hours jobs?

alcyst

The 220-age, or 85% of age, or some other formula is pretty universally quoted, but see this article;

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


"Know your heart"

by Mark Montgomery (www.slowtwitch.com)

biker_joe

Any of you guys ever to Trinity and get your V02 max testing done ?
They also will do a full MOT on ya aswell...... bloods, urine the lot .....

I have n't gone since Feb 2007 .... am back racing now so I must go back ....
Althought I hate the V02 test, wearing that poxy mask !!

Biker Joe.

Ghost Rider

How much is that? And where do you get it done exactly?

biker_joe wrote: »

Any of you guys ever to Trinity and get your V02 max testing done ?
They also will do a full MOT on ya aswell...... bloods, urine the lot .....

I have n't gone since Feb 2007 .... am back racing now so I must go back ....
Althought I hate the V02 test, wearing that poxy mask !!

Biker Joe.

biker_joe

I think it was 60 or 80 euros ... it depends if they are doing some research along with the testing. I will try and find the details at home some where ... it's been a while .....

Biker Joe

FrankGrimes

I knew that Trinity had the machines to do the VO2 testing but didn't know it was available to Joe Bloggs - is it always available or only when they are doing a trial of some sort?

The guys in IrishFit.eu mentioned to me that they are getting in a VO2 machine in the next few weeks and will be offering those tests in addition to gait analysis and dietary reviews to offer a full suite of services. Sounds more focused to runners but am sure a VO2 test would be helpful for cyclists....though I imagine you'd need to be a few notches up the ladder from me for it to be worthwhile but there are plenty of serious cyclists on here that might benefit. Would be curious to hear about anyones experience with these tests and if it gave insight that helped improve performance.

zzzzzzzz

You can go in whenever - think BA did one in trinity last month or so

They also do it in UCD

I'd be interested in going in for a VO2 max test alright and also getting some advice and feedback on a good training plan.

I haven't gotten around to it yet though and probably won't for a while.

Try email:
sports.institute [at] ucd.ie

I'm sure BA can pass on details for trinity

Thank you for your e-mail. I'm in charge of the testing/service provision at the Institute for Sport and Health. You were asking about our services and prices for VO2 max test. We do single VO2 max test, including heart rate zones and threshold analysis for €70. If you want to add Lactate concentration measurements to determine Lactate turnpoint and threshold, the price is €90.

zzzzzzzz

biker_joe wrote: »

I think it was 60 or 80 euros ... it depends if they are doing some research along with the testing. I will try and find the details at home some where ... it's been a while .....

Biker Joe

I always thought it was free if you were going in as their lab rat. Think there was someone on this site last year looking for volunteers...

roadmanmad

Ryaner wrote: »

How long did you get the trace done for? One of those wear for 48 hours jobs?

YOu run on a ever increasing gradient threadmill until you reach maximum BPM for your age. You are connected to about 10 different sensors each checking a specific element in your heart performance. A friend (mid forties)went in two months earlier hand had a tripple bypass the next morning.

Private Hospital - cost me 600 euro or so. I hate spending BIG money on health when I could be buying very good components for the money.