Heart Rates?

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psalmist

psalmist

Well-known member
Joined
Jul 4, 2007
Messages
162
Location
Springfield, MO
I have seen a lot of posts on here about heart rates. I am curious but do not know as much as I should. My doc told me that I have no limitations. Is there anything that I need to be concerned about? I am trying to increase my long distance speed so I know that I am getting my heart rate up there for extended periods of time. Especially when I push it. I do not have a monitor and don't keep count so I do not know where I get it to. I really want to shave time off and go for it but I have think I limit myself because I am afraid of hurting my valve or heart. Any thoughts??
 
Wish i could help Seth, I havent had surgery yet, 2 more weeks, but id be interested in hearing for after im able to. Good luck.
 
Seth,

When I was cleared by rehab and my cardiologist to exercise without limitations, they calculated my maximum heart rate by the simple well-known formula of: 220 minus one's age. Many others also prefer it higher or lower by 15-20 beat... I personally prefer it below by 15 beats.

Since you are 31 yrs young, your maximum heart rate should be between 132-161 beats per minute.

You also can ask your cardio for what he recommends.
 
My cardiologist never set any limits on me. He goes by the old standby of 220 - age as the max. For me that would be 149, which I exceed frequently when doing intervals and hills. The other method which I have used for years is 205 - 1/2(age). For me that is 169. That is a 20 BPM spread. I sometimes get it into the mid 160s without a problem but don't keep it there for very long. You can also complicate matters by including your resting HR when trying to workout at a certain percentage of maximum.
I don't guess this is much help but it's some basics. I would really recommend buying some kind of monitor to see where you are if it's all that important to you.
 
Heart Rates & Zones

Heart Rates & Zones

Opinions vary, but a lot of recent research concerning exercise and heart rates indicates that the old standard of 220 minus your age is outdated. I know it doesn't work for me. I'd be constantly over my maximum heart rate using the old formula. There are some more up to date resources available.

I use methods suggested by Sally Edwards, Sally Reed, Arnie Baker, and Joe Friel. There are others who have designed heart zone based exercise programs as well. Basically, you test yourself to determine you maximum heart rate and calculate your aerobic and anaerobic zones. It's probably an oversimplification, but training in aerobic zones builds strength and endurance while anaerobic work improves speed. There's probably some decent quality stuff available on the web.

A decent heart monitor is a good investment if you're really interested in improving conditioning and speed. Being able to track your progress is also pretty cool.

-Philip
 
Forget training by heart rate then. Train by feel. I have never used a HRM and I don't really know what my max HR is. Long ago I learned to run according to how the legs and lungs feel. They'll let you know if the pace is too hard.

Run timed intervals in a measured course, either on a track or mark off sections of a bike path in quarter and half miles. The speed of your intervals and the number of repeats you can do week by week will tell you how fast you can go and doing hard intervals once a week pays big dividends after a few months.

I had been running 5k races in the 30s for several years, then last year I started doing interval training and got it down to 29s. The times rose back to the 30s over the winter, but in the spring I got back to intervals again. The first couple 5Ks were 31s then after a couple months of hard track work I got down to 29, 28 and 27s where I am now.

At no time did I give heart rate any thought, only time over distance. So go out to a measured course and run 400 meters at the pace you want to do your race. Do it several times, then do a couple even faster. Try to do a session once a week. It takes about 12 weeks for significant results.

The real test is how can you erase the self-doubt. Doing short intervals allows you to take an incremental measured approach to your limits. You are going hard for just a short time and you get a rest period after each one to listen carefully to your body and how it responded to the stress. Doing it week after week teaches you how to monitor your response to hard running and just where the limits are.
 
To answer your question, NO, you should not be worried. You can check with your cardio, but most of us here that run have been given a green light to get back to training. If you are worried you can get a HR monitor, but don't use a formula, run with it on and see where you are. Your training is going good, your times are improvng, I wouldn't mess with it right now.
 
I am in agreement with SumoRunner and tprice54.

Do you trust yourself?

The formulas that go with monitoring machines are generalized, and aren't set to your personal body or your goals. You know how you feel. You know when you're slacking off, and you know when you're pushing it too hard. I believe you will do best by listening to your own body, rather than following the semi-English instructions that come with a Walmart heart monitor made in China.

Just my opinion.

Best wishes,
 
I have improved my time for three miles to below 24 minutes and feel good. I want to push because I think I can get below 23 but was a little scared to push that hard. Just afraid I my hurt the valve seat by blood flow or something.
 
After 3 -6 months, depending on whether the root was also altered, your valve seating is 100% you. It won't rip any faster than your aorta will rip out or your spleen would fall out in your sock. It is completely embedded in place.

The only exceptions to this are a very small percentage of people with advanced tissue disorders, who develop a myxomatous tissue in place of the scar tissue that normally anchors the valve. For them, the valve can slowly rip away from its moorings over time, which would show up immediately in echoes as regurgitation (insufficiency, leakage).

Ask your cardiologist, as this concerns you. However, the likelihood of an issue of that type is very small.

Best wishes,
 
Bob said it....your valve is your valve now. If you are concerned about really ramping up your training, then talk to your cardio. Might even want to check on that spleen thing Bob brought up!;)
 
Maximum heart rate really isn't relevant to anything and varies from individual to individual.

Shortly after I started training for triathlons, I was tested to determine my lactic threshhold heart rate (LTHR), which is the point where you go from aerobic to anaerobic. My coach then determined my heart rate training zones using the charts in Joe Friel's book The Triathlete's Training Bible.

In my case my LTHR was determined to be 159 BPM. For optimum endurance and weight loss training I target 85% of my LTHR which is 134-143 BPM for running and 127-140 BPM on the bike according to the charts. (Running HR is higher than biking because you have to support your own weight).

Mark
 
MarkU said:
Maximum heart rate really isn't relevant to anything and varies from individual to individual.

Shortly after I started training for triathlons, I was tested to determine my lactic threshhold heart rate (LTHR), which is the point where you go from aerobic to anaerobic. My coach then determined my heart rate training zones using the charts in Joe Friel's book The Triathlete's Training Bible.

In my case my LTHR was determined to be 159 BPM. For optimum endurance and weight loss training I target 85% of my LTHR which is 134-143 BPM for running and 127-140 BPM on the bike according to the charts. (Running HR is higher than biking because you have to support your own weight).

Mark
Click to expand...

Exactly...my preference is to use a HR monitor because I like the feedback. I think it helps to be able to see your conditioning progress as you are able to hold a higher HR longer. The only real limits we have are with lifting. Maxing aerobically but smartly and in a controlled deliberate manner, will increase your anerobic exercise capacity, which will give you that extra kick to accelerate and pass people at the finish. Low 20s is outstanding for a 5K a few months out of surgery. You keep training and you'll be under 20 at the 1 year mark. Oh, warning: if you do get a HR monitor, you probably will find it hard, psychologically to run without it.
 
Heart Rates & Training

Heart Rates & Training

Determing maximun heart rate during exercise has no relevance unless you are attempting to calculate your threshold rate and figure out where your different heart rate exercise zones are. Basically, most of the current, popular heart zone training authors like Friel and Edwards recommend testing which involves hitting one's maximum heart rate to calculate threshold rate.

Of course there's variability among individuals and for those engaged in serious training efforts, maximum heart rate and the corresponding threshold rate change as physical condition change.

Heart zone training isn't really anything new. Remember aerobic classes thirty years ago when participants would break from their exercise routines to get a pulse rate in order to determine how hard they were working? That was about trying to hit target heart rate zones.

There are certainly good points related to training by "feel" and using simple distances and times. I coached track very successfully for fifteen years without the use of a heart monitor; small, reasonably priced heart monitors weren't available back then. Workouts were based on distance and timed with a windup stopwatch. Of course, back in those days we communicated via letter and/or telephone and never imagined that we could be members of an electronic community which would be using computer technology to discuss the finer points of training to improve performance. Things do change, but changes don't necessarily mean old methods don't still work. Still, I don't think I'll give up my heart monitors and start using that old, windup stopwatch that's in my desk again.

-Philip
 
Philip B said:
... that old, windup stopwatch that's in my desk ...
Click to expand...


I've still got one in my desk here too. My grandchildren like to take it out and click the buttons, then listen to the tick tick tick. They have no idea what it might be used for or why the little pointer moves around. It's just one of grandpa's novelties.

And I always kept a slide rule in my desk at work, but that's another discussion.
 
Geez

Geez

Geez, Sumo, are we old or what?

Regardless of age, one constant is that there are benefits to pursuing a regular exercise program. Yeah, there's a wide variety of techy gear out there, but the Nike folks sum things up nicely with their logo, "Just Do It".

-Philip
 
JeffM said:
Oh, warning: if you do get a HR monitor, you probably will find it hard, psychologically to run without it.
Click to expand...

That's me. I couldn't think of either going for a run or ride without my heart rate monitor now. I'm a techy at heart (no pun intended). I log and chart all of my workouts: time, distance, ambient temperature, humidity, time of day, average HR, max HR, time in target HR zone, etc.

Mark
 
From cardiac rehab, they gave me a maximum HR of 170. I use a heart rate monitor always. I'm pretty sure that I shouldn't have gone above 170 prior to surgery ... I just never paid attention like I do now. The monitor sure is addictive. It boggles my mind how different my HR is from one day to another. I keep trying to nail down what is changing it. No luck so far.
 
Hi Seth,
This is a link to Karvonen's Formula for determining HR Ranges. You will need to take your resting HR first thing every morning before you get out of bed for a few days and then average it. Then enter all of the information as requested on the site. Enter the percentages in the intensity box, and you can get your corresponding heart rates for varying percentages. If you use a HR monitor like a Polar, set the HR view to beats, not percentage. The Karvonen formaula is more accurate for individual differences rather than just assigning age as a factor. After heart surgery, many things affect HR such as medication etc, and your resting heart rate may change over time.
Here is the link:
http://www.activelife.us/calculator_FK.php
Allan
 
I also understand your concern about heart rate and "limitations". I was also told that I had no limitations, so a heart rate monitor is a great way to assess what level you are working at, and what your max effort really is. It is also a cool way to keep track of your exercises and progress.
 
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