Low Heart rate.

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Hi Folks

I'm starting to take my running a bit more seriously so I bought a heart rate monitor to train a bit smarter, having got a few weeks of data to play with a few things have surprised me:

Firstly my max heart rate has never got past 160bpm. Hard uphill sprints till I want to vomit will put me at 153.

Most of the time I'm running in the 100/120bpm range (steady 5:30min/km on tarmac) and going over 130 feels like I'm unable to sustain for more than a few Km.

This all seems worryingly low based on a lot of the literature around heart rate zones. What do people reckon? Could this be a mental block and I am just being a wuss, is it something I should look to improve over time or is this just a quirk I need to adapt to? 

As a background I am 30 years of age, generally fairly fit and active. 

any thoughts appreciated.

 subtle 20 Dec 2022
In reply to paul_the_northerner:

Either you are not trying hard enough, the monitor is faulty or you have a low/healthy heart rate

Enjoy playing with your new toy.

Post edited at 11:38
4
 tlouth7 20 Dec 2022
In reply to paul_the_northerner:

What sort of heart rate monitor is it?

In reply to tlouth7:

Wrist based, I assumed it was reading wrong and borrowed a chest strap, got the same results. 

 Jon Greengrass 20 Dec 2022
In reply to paul_the_northerner:

Firstly max HR is a useless metric because hearts come in different sizes and beat at different speeds. Ignore any literature that tells you that you can calculate max HR based on your age. Your max HR is specific to you  the only thing that is certain is that it declines with age, to zero eventually.

Calculating training zones based on Max HR is also unwise, for example I can sustain almost 95% of my Max HR for 40+minutes, whereas you say that you could only sustain 81% for a few km. If we used the same formula for calculating zones based as a %MaxHR your legs would be on fire while I'd just be warming up.  HR zones are better calculated as a percentage of lactate threshold which is the HR at which your effort is creating more lactic acid in your muscles than can be cleared, average HR for a 20min flat out effort is an "easy" test.

If you feel like you want to vomit, then its possible you are going to hard on a full stomach, allow 2-4hrs after eating before doing very hard efforts.

Post edited at 12:07
 S Ramsay 20 Dec 2022
In reply to paul_the_northerner:

What's your resting heart rate? And how fast can you go when pushing your heart rate to near its max?

If your resting heart rate is also below average and you are running at a decent pace when your heart rate is maxed out, I dunno, say sub 18 minutes for 5 km, then I would be tempted to conclude that your heart is pretty healthy and your lungs or legs muscles are the limiting factor.

Your technique could also be limiting your speed which in turn limits your heart rate, can you drive your heart rate higher doing a different activity? Most people can probably get a higher max heart rate on a static bike or rowing machine than they can running as these work a greater amount of muscle than running and hence require a higher heart rate.

*I am not a medical person in any way

 deepsoup 20 Dec 2022
In reply to paul_the_northerner:

Disclaimer: I know nothing and I'm basically just butting in here just because I'm nosy..

There's a range of what is normal, and it's possible that you're just at the (admittedly fairly extreme) lower end of it. 

Out of curiosity what's your resting heart rate - is that low too? (As measured with your shiny new HRM)  Have you tried taking your pulse the old-fashioned way, and comparing the result with what your HRM is telling you?

Are you in a club and/or have you been working with a coach?  Might be worth doing if you're getting serious about your running, and it's possible that a bit of coaching might identify some relatively easy gains to be made through drills and wotnot and improvements to your form/technique.

 afx22 20 Dec 2022
In reply to paul_the_northerner:

I've seen this many times over the years.  And people with super high heart rates too.  And they can get different heart rates for different sports too.  While there may be more typical heart rates, there are plenty of of people who have numbers that might be classed as outliers.

Someone who can run for 30 mins at only 130 bpm isn't necessarily fitter, healthier or faster than someone who can do the same at 160 bpm.

I'd recommend focusing on running as your normally would and using the heart rate every time, to learn more about yourself.  Get to know your typical resting heart rate, what HR feels easy, what feels comfortable but a little faster, what feels like a threshold and so on.

Using HRMs to measure recovery, manage training at a planned level (e.g. keeping an 'easy run' as easy, or a 'threshold run' at threshold), and comparing what might change over periods of time is where the benefit in HRMs lies.

In reply to S Ramsay:

Resting heartrate measured manually comes in between 57-60 bpm.

running  flat out 1 min intervals on the flat my pace is around 3:20min/Km. Its fun but I don't think I'm a good fast runner. 

most of my max efforts is on inclines so far. 

In reply to deepsoup:

Never been with a coach or club, always been quite a solitary person when it comes to doing exercise. I do have a decent running club locally, I often see them out and about in the evenings. It may be time to participate.

It is genuinely interesting seeing what happens over certain distances inclines etc, but it really surprised me that the HRM was showing as low as it is for the amount of effort I felt like I was putting down. 

In reply to Jon Greengrass:

>  HR zones are better calculated as a percentage of lactate threshold which is the HR at which your effort is creating more lactic acid in your muscles than can be cleared, average HR for a 20min flat out effort is an "easy" test.

All sounded good until here - I thought that was a fairly well debunked understanding of what muscle fatigue and "lactate" threshold actually is?  Or have you just accidentally slipped acid into the sentence? 

No idea why my  internal pedantry circuit goes into overdrive whenever I see "lactic acid" mentioned... 

 cathsullivan 20 Dec 2022
In reply to all:

Regarding 'max HR', I think another relevant point is that garmin gives out metrics that can create confusion about 'max HR'. In relation to HR training, 'max HR' is the highest bpm that your heart can physically (or safely?) manage when your cardiovascular system is working at the max level. This HR can't be sustained for long obviously and I'd imagine most of us seldom reach this in training. That's why it is commonly estimated from other data.

Annoyingly, garmin gives info about your 'max HR' for each recorded activity. And I think people can easily confuse this with 'max HR' as defined above. E.g., I went for a very short, easy walk on Sunday and garmin says in the activity data 'Max heart rate 124bpm'.  Obviously it just means the highest my HR went during that particular activity and not my max HR as it might be used to set HR training zones or estimate fitness. 

In terms of the OPs question, after many years of training with HR I would just agree with what other posters have said that it is very individual. The thing that is most meaningful, I think, is your own patterns and changes in HR rather than comparison with other people's or with numbers given in general info about HR training. And obviously there are also different opinions about how useful different types of HR training are.

 Jon Greengrass 20 Dec 2022
In reply to Alasdair Fulton:

Sorry, it was a deliberate mistake.

 Wainers44 20 Dec 2022
In reply to paul_the_northerner:

Not a medical or even informed view... 

I find it difficult to push my HR past 160, ever. OMM day 1 this year, even ascending at (my) top speed, HR only just got to 160. That felt at the time like I was unable to breath, felt light headed etc.

Mind, my resting HR is about 42, rising to 45 when I've had a drinky pooh, or getting down just sub 40 if I am staying stress and beer free.

I find the main use of this info is comparison over the long term against yourself.  Trends or changes etc are useful to know (well I think they are) but may actually mean little! 

 wbo2 20 Dec 2022
In reply to paul_the_northerner:

Given that you've got a relatively normal resting HR , you have a very smalll range between min and max, and my suspicion is that as you get fitter you will find what you can achieve will start to rise.  

I wouldn't worry.

The issue with calibrating everything to lactate threshold is that it will change depending on the training you do, so some testing and experience is required to adjust training to get a progressive improvement/result.  Do a lot of base, and your ability to sit at 85% will improve, do a lot of short work and reduice base and threshold training and you'll be getting very tired after 15 minutes at a lower pace/HR

 wercat 20 Dec 2022
In reply to paul_the_northerner:

In my 50s I reached a stage where vigorous uphill walking made me  run out of steam inexplicably.

Pushing it up the steep last section of the Grains Gill path to the Sprinkling Tarn area pushing it as hard as I felt I could (which was considerably faster than the rest of the family but not going as hard as I felt was normal for me) resulted in a top heart rate of about 115-120bpm and I felt a bit off balance and seemed to be slow to recover.

This stage was the last straw and resulted in me finally being prescribed Levothyroxine for life as my Thyroid was failing to produce enough of the "right stuff".

ps my resting heartbeat can fall as low as 39 at the moment and has been down to 35.  I'm 66 and a year ago a doctor decided to "adjust" my long standing dose level after it had been steady for years as he didn't like my TSH, which had been steady for years.  All I want to do now is doze off when I'm at home.

Post edited at 14:32
 Tom Briggs 20 Dec 2022
In reply to paul_the_northerner:

Pretty surprised by some of the replies on here. I'd get checked out if I were you. It's unusual enough to warrant it, given your age and normal resting heart rate.

Post edited at 16:04
 S Ramsay 20 Dec 2022
In reply to paul_the_northerner:

Most sources state that 60-100 bpm is normal for an adult resting heart rate and that below that you're getting into athlete territory so it would appear that your cardiovascular health, based on this single metric, is pretty good. 3:20/km is quick but not exceptional, if you can do a couple of those then you're getting into semi-serious club runner territory. At that pace its quite believable that your leg muscles (more likely lack of fast twitch rather than size), or technique, are holding you back rather than your cardiovascular system. I.e, you're simply not capable of working your cardiovascular system hard enough while running to get up to the 200 bpm range, not that your heart rate can't get there if worked harder.

Don't not see a doctor because of what I've said though, better to see one than to try and hit 200 bpm on a static bike (if my above musings are correct you should be able to get a higher rate on a static bike) and collapse because there is something wrong with your heart!

 mountainbagger 20 Dec 2022
In reply to paul_the_northerner:

I'd get the HR monitor on and slump on the sofa for a few minutes, feeling really relaxed then measure your resting heart rate by looking at what your watch is saying. A good time is just after you wake up. You may find your manual method prone to error. Also, drinking, stress, illness etc. will have an impact.

Once you know your resting HR, the harder (and more painful) part is calculating your max. I find it easier to hit a higher heart rate on a treadmill than outside. You might even find it easier on a gym bike or elliptical trainer.

A lot of the time (due to high volume mileage) my legs are too tired to get that near my max, especially on hill reps so I wouldn't necessarily assume your max is 160.

Anyway, with a resting and max HR known you can then base your training zones on heart rate reserve rather than max, e.g.: https://runningversity.com/heart-rate-zone-calculator/#calculator

 wilkesley 22 Dec 2022
In reply to mountainbagger:

My HR is usually about 60 when I wake up in the morning. Sitting about in the house it's around 80. I determine my max rate (about 185) by cycling up the gradient on the road outside our house. The gradient is about a mile long and I just try and keep up my maximum effort for the whole "hill".

A few years ago my son was feeling ill. He had kept careful records of his heart rate when he woke up and at the gym. He had night sweats and his heart rate was a lot higher than normal for him, although not unusual for someone of his age. He eventually persuaded his GP to send him for an X-ray. One of his lungs was about half filled with fluid. After several attempts to diagnose his problem over a period of a year, he was found to have TB.

So keeping records of your heart rate over time and under various circumstances can be very useful.


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