Problems Normally Caused By Optical Wrist
Most of the problems I see in this area stem from people using the optical heart rate monitor on their sports watch without setting the watch up correctly.
There is a sensor inside the watch with strong LED lights either side of it. The sensor looks at changes in the reflected light level caused by the blood pulsing past it. For this to work properly, the watch needs to be set up correctly on the arm. If its not, it can start measuring your cadence instead!
Can I Lower My Heart Rate Through Training
First find your true maximum heart rate through a variety of tools
Question: How do I train to lower my pulse? I run 4 times per week, one of them is a long run . I wear Polar FT1 watch and my pulse is never under 130 when jogging. Even if I take walking breaks it goes down to 126 minimum. When I then start jogging, very carefully and slowly, it pumps up again. I want to be able to run faster with this pulse. Thank you in advance.
-Ketlin;
From Keitlin: I know my max pulse and the zones as I have visited a sports doctor and did the test a year ago. I am “in trouble” while doing my workout between the correct zone. I am not questioning the zones, but how to stay in the aerobic zone. My aerobic zones pulse is 130-155 bpm. When I run I never get below 140 bpm.
Thank you in advance!Keitlin;
Response: I’m sorry that I can’t provide something more useful than to say that if you want a lower HR, just slow down. If you are convinced that you have the right THR zones, then your pace has to vary. As pace slows down or speeds up, your perception of effort also varies from hard to easy. ;;As you will find out, everyone in the world always thinks that real easy efforts at 60-65% on recovery days is TOO SLOW. In fact, most runners complain that it “hurts” their legs to go so slowly.;If it is important enough for you to train correctly and to listen to your HRM, then you will get used to it.;Coach Benson;
If Youre Out For A Training Run
Sure, you may get competitive with your training buddies or internet friends on Strava, but ultimately, workouts arent made to be won or lost. Thats what race day is for.
So, if you find yourself running with an elevated heart rate for too long, you should absolutely slow down, ease up, walk for a bit, or take a few moments to regain your composure and your breath.
While it may seem counterintuitive, working harder isnt always better.
From a health perspective, in the short term, Im not too concerned that an athlete will work so hard that there are any dangers to an overly elevated heart rate, says exercise physiologist and City Coach Multisport owner Jonathan Cane. But long, high-intensity work may increase that risk.
Im a big believer in working hard on hard days, but also that the counterpoint of really easy days is important, says Cane. Ideally, each workout should have a purpose. If its a recovery day, by all means, take it easy. If its a day where your goal is to increase your threshold, then push your heart rate to that area. If its a VO2 max kind of day, by all means work;really;hard and dont be deterred by a high heart rate.
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What Is Low Heart Rate Training
Low heart rate training, also commonly referred to as Maximum Aerobic Function training, is when you focus all of your training on lower intensity workouts.
Which sounds overly simple, but thats sort of the point.
The basic premise is that you use a maximum heart rate as a threshold for all of your workouts; all you have to do is keep your heart rate lower than that maximum BPM, and youre set.
Now, we know what you might be thinking
If keeping your heart rate low means running at lower intensity, how is that supposed to help you get better at running? After all, if you wanted to improve your performance, why would you slow down in order to get faster?
And thats a totally valid response. Fortunately, though, theres actually quite a bit of research to back up the seemingly counterintuitive training methodology.
Heres How Running Affects Your Heart
Itâs no secret that running is a great way to stay in shape. Pounding the pavement, trail or treadmill provides many bodily benefits, including keeping your heart in tip-top condition. We took a deeper look at what running does for your heart and the risks it can pose, too.
A Healthier Heart
Runningâs impact on the heart has long been studied. In 1985, one;study concluded that âRegular runners have slow resting pulse rates and a high maximal oxygen consumption.â Echocardiographic studies have also shown that distance runners have âlarger, thicker left ventricles and their hearts are more efficient than those of sedentary people, pumping a larger volume per beat.â This phenomenon is called âAthleteâs Heart,â and is a result of intense cardiovascular workouts. No matter the number of miles you log each week, it all adds up to a lower resting heart rate, lower bad cholesterol in your blood and lower blood pressure.
How Running Keeps Your Heart Strong
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Ideal Heart Rate For Jogging
As with any aerobic workout, jogging accelerates respiration and heart rate. Ideally, you’ll want to keep your heart rate within a safe and healthy target zone. Jogging at this rate of moderate intensity increases lung capacity, strengthens the cardiovascular system and burns off excess calories.
So Should I Stop Using My Heart Rate Monitor As A Runner
My recommendation is to use heart rate training for the first month or two of you running schedule.
During this time, you will be able to start correlating your heart rate to a specific pace and effort. When you feel comfortable knowing what pace per mile correlates to running easy, hard, threshold or speed workout, I suggest you transition into monitoring your effort and workouts using times.
This will help you practice pacing for your target race and eliminate the fluctuations sleep, caffeine, heat, and stress can have on your training efforts.
The nice thing about heart rate training is that you can always come back to it to see just how far youve progressed. Every few weeks you can strap on the heart rate monitor and see how much faster you are able to run at a given heart rate.
This is a great way to monitor your progress.
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How Is Heart Rate Calculated
Heart rate measures the number of times the heart beats in a minute, generally expressed as beats per minute . Your bpm is calculated by observing the carotid pulse for 15 seconds and then multiplying by 4. A stadiometer can be also used to measure your heart rate.
For most people, a normal resting heart rate is between 60-100 bpm. In highly active people like athletes, a normal resting heart rate may be as low as 40 bpm. Your average resting heart rate can be measured in the morning after a nights sleep while youre still in bed and before youve had anything to eat or drink.
Concentrate On Your Form
Beginners or non-professional athletes tend to disregard their form when running. This is because running is almost as simple as walking. People tend to think its just a mechanical movement that doesnt need technique.
Well, such a misconception can lead to added exhaustion and increased beats in your heart. When running, always maintain a proper form. A good form includes your feet being set shoulder-width apart. Also, your hands and arms must be not higher than your abdomen.
If you tend to see people run with their hands near their chest, consider it as a bad form. Having your arms and hands that high only adds exertion since youre battling gravity.
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Resting Vs Maximum Heart Rate
Your heart beats at its slowest, or resting, rate when you are totally relaxed and not exerting yourself physically. Measure your resting heart rate before you get out of bed in the morning — it should be between 60 to 80 beats per minute, but could be lower if you exercise a lot, or higher if you’re an older adult. During a high-intensity workout, your heart beats from 85 to 100 percent of its maximum rate. Steady-state jogging should never require this level of exertion. Theres an easy, age-adjusted formula for figuring your maximum heart rate: 220 minus your age for men, or 226 minus your age for women. Other factors could impact your hearts maximum beats per minute. For example, blood pressure medication is intended to lower your heart rate. If you have any kind of heart condition, you should consult with your doctor to determine your individualized rate.
How To Find The Correct Heart Rate Training Zones
In order to establish proper training zones, an athlete must first determine their maximum heart rate .
Unfortunately, a majority of runners use simple heart rate formulas:
Does 220 minus age ring a bell?
Unfortunately, this has a;high degree of error.
To get an accurate measure of your maximum heart rate, you should partake in a graded exercise test, but locating a facility that can accommodate this type of testing isnt easily found.
It gets worse:
Graded exercise test isnt going to be appropriate for a beginner runner who cant handle such a stressful workout.
Therefore, many runners who control their effort by heart rate may be doomed from the start by using faulty max heart rates.
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Reasons Your Heart Rate Does Not Match Running Effort
Perhaps the biggest limitation to heart rate training is that many changes in your heart rate do not correlate to your fitness level.
Sleep, stress, and dehydration can all raise or lower heart rate on any given day.
As normal people with jobs, families, and otherwise busy lives, these outside variables;are common and can have a drastic affect on your heart rate readings meaning that your heart rate does not fit within the training zones.
Running Slower To Get Faster
I discovered low heart rate training a few years ago. One of my friends bought a heart rate monitor and I tried it out on one of my daily training runs. I was shocked to find my heart rate was around 180 on even my easy runs. I felt no strain while running but on reflection I realised I would often feel tired during the day and would regularly get colds and flu-like symptoms.
Around this time I discovered Phil Maffetone, a running coach who had trained the famous triathlete Mark Allen and was one of the pioneers of low heart rate training. Triathletes often overtrain because of the volume of training they have to do.
Maffetone had discovered that many athletes were very fit but at the same time unhealthy owing to overtraining. So after much research he came up with a form of low heart rate training which improved aerobic function without overtraining.
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How To Lower Your Heart Rate While Running
Running is one of the best ways to lose weight and to be fit overall. Theres a lot of benefits that you can gain from it compared to other exercises. However, running isnt an easy task to do.
Sometimes, you might be faced with a problem of keeping up a good pace. Thats why its important to know your preference before incorporating running as an exercise. Furthermore, it is vital for you to understand your body and its needs first to avoid any unwanted injury or accident. As simple as it sounds, theres a lot of imminent threats such as stroke or heart attack.
Among these health concerns, having a high heart rate can be a problem. However, you should be aware that an increased heart rate is inevitable when youre running. Heart rate can increase substantially when youre body is getting uncomfortable or tired.
What To Do When Your Running Heart Rate Gets Too High
Youre out for a run and its going great. Youre on mile four of a five-mile tempo run, and youre in that sweet spot where your perfect pace feels comfortably hard. But soon, your heart rate begins to climb. Within a few minutes, comfortably hard feels uncomfortable.
If youre not paying attention, the feeling of dizziness, or feeling close to hyperventilating, may creep up on you. That means your heart rate has been too high for too long and you need to get it down to be able to continue running. Heres;how to lower your heart rate while running, and what to do when you find yourself in a scary situation on the run.
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Resting Heart Rate And Health
A relatively low resting heart rate is considered healthy, while a high resting heart rate may increase the risk of various conditions.
A lower heart rate allows the heart to maintain a healthful rhythm and respond to routine stressors efficiently. These may include exercise, illness, and day-to-day activities.
Having a relatively low heart rate is a significant contribution to overall health. An abnormally high heart rate can lead to a variety of health risks and conditions.
Complications associated with a high heart rate include:
- low energy levels
Stress may cause a high heart rate.
Each heartbeat arises from specialized muscle cells called myocytes.
When these cells need more oxygen, as during exercise, the brain sends messages to the heart, causing myocytes to make stronger, more frequent pulses.
Everyone experiences sudden, temporary changes in their heart rate. They may be caused by:
Having a chronically high or abnormal heart rate is often a sign of an unhealthy lifestyle or an underlying medical condition.
Common long-term causes of a high heart rate include:
- lack of exercise
Determine Lactate Threshold From Race Pace
We have a recent finish time for the half marathon, so lets use that to work out your pace for the half marathon. We can use a pace conversion chart to do this.
Half Marathon Pace7:19 min/km
Now we need to know what pace zone you were in during the half marathon. To work that out we can put your half marathon finish time into the 80/20 zone calculator.
We can see that your half marathon pace falls near the bottom of zone 3 . This makes sense, half marathon pace should be below the lactate threshold pace, which should be at the top of zone 3. Thats why the top of zone 3 is called Threshold Pace.
Threshold Pace6:51 min/km
Using a pace conversion app we can work out your threshold speed, which was 8.8kph. Your half marathon speed was 8.2kph. Making your half marathon speed 93.2% of your threshold speed.
We know your average heart rate during the half marathon was 174bpm and we now know you were running at 93.2% of your threshold. If 174bpm is 93.2%, then 100% is 187bpm .
Threshold Heart Rate187bpm
This is an unusually high threshold heart rate . However, if the heart rate data we have at hand is correct, it should be a fairly accurate estimate.
Now we know the threshold heart rate, we can plug that into any heart rate zone calculator to get the heart rate training zones.
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Running Benefits Your Heart
Those who love running, will reap the numerous benefits of this activity. These effects protect our body against todays so-called impacts of civilization while strengthening the entire body, says Sascha. The positive consequences of our favorite activity even show in our blood:
- Blood fat level drops while HDL cholesterol rises
- Regular running;reduces the risk of arteriosclerosis
- Reduced production of stress hormones adrenalin & cortisol
- Improved blood circulation
- Lower risk of thrombosis
- Increased blood volume in your body
Those who are already active know how the heart starts pumping faster when under strain. Endurance sports like running are extremely effective when it comes to strengthening the heart. Sascha Wingenfeld knows the benefits for your most vital organ:
Why Is My Heart Rate So High While Running
This question crops up all the time! You are out for an easy run, but when you get home and check the heart rate data from your sports watch, it looks very high. How can this be? Am I ill? Do I need to see a doctor? Why is my heart rate so high while running? Or more specifically, why is my heart rate high on easy runs? How is it possible for my heart rate to be that high when it seemed like I was going for a really slow run with low effort?
For example, at an easy, conversational pace, youd expect the average forty year old runners heart rate to be around 140-150bpm . At this effort level, youd be able to say a sentence of about this length without having to gasp for breath in the middle. But when you look at the data, it says 170-190bpm, which would be more appropriate to a Zone5, max effort 5K or interval session! Weird right?
Firstly, lets state that if the data is correct, and your heart rate really is very high while running at an easy effort, you should definitely get yourself checked out out by a doctor. Perhaps your brain cant regulate your heart rate properly, leading to Tachycardia Arrhythmia. Its rare, but possible.
However, before you get too excited and rush to get an appointment at the clinic, do a few sanity checks on the data first and understand how easy it is for the data to be completely wrong!
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