Exercising at max gear rate
Discussion
It should read HEART not GEAR.
I'm puzzled.
I bought myself a Garmin Fenix watch a month ago and since then started analysing more of my health stats. All makes sense but one thing that confuses me is my heart rate.
I'm 40 so my max heart rate is around 180. My average resting HR is 59.
This is my heart rate from yesterday's 5k run:
I find it normal to exercise for prolonged periods of time at or around 170-180 bpm. I'm not particularly exhausted afterwards. I can talk throughout, I'm not short of breath etc. My pace is 5m30s per Km so also not too bad IMO.
And that's what confuses me: am I damaging my heart exercising at this intensity for my body? Even if I don't find it particularly exhausting? I could easily do another 5k afterwards at similar intensity.
Anyone with more experience on here?
I'm puzzled.
I bought myself a Garmin Fenix watch a month ago and since then started analysing more of my health stats. All makes sense but one thing that confuses me is my heart rate.
I'm 40 so my max heart rate is around 180. My average resting HR is 59.
This is my heart rate from yesterday's 5k run:
I find it normal to exercise for prolonged periods of time at or around 170-180 bpm. I'm not particularly exhausted afterwards. I can talk throughout, I'm not short of breath etc. My pace is 5m30s per Km so also not too bad IMO.
And that's what confuses me: am I damaging my heart exercising at this intensity for my body? Even if I don't find it particularly exhausting? I could easily do another 5k afterwards at similar intensity.
Anyone with more experience on here?
Edited by mudnomad on Sunday 27th December 12:18
I sought some advice regarding max heart rate as I always saw it (220-age) as a sort of redline or VNE for my heart. It seems I was wrong, and it is more of a guide. Just as resting heart rate will vary by individual so will max HR. I'm 42 and regularly hit 200+ when snatching kettlebells (203 last session), though for steady state training my normal 'maximum' is 190 ish. I was told this was not a problem as by definition you cannot go over your maximum HR. I am happy to be educated further though, IANAD etc.
CheesecakeRunner said:
If you were truly in zone 5 for 20 minute of your run, you’d know it. Your zones are wrong.
ThisAre you using a chest strap or a wrist sensor?
If wrist sensor then the only answer is use chest strap. I've got a Fenix and it seems to track resting HR and low level activity quite well but goes bananas once HR starts bouncing around 130+
If using a chest strap you can do some HR max tests to find our your true max HR. The 220 - age is much derided but captures a surprising proportion of us to a degree of accuracy which is adequate for amateur athletes - your 5k time puts you in this category
Threshold test is probably more useful (warm up then 20 mins as fast as you can sustain threshold HR is roughly average of last 10 mins) Lactate threshold is essentially your max output/speed for a given duration eg 20 mins 60 mins. Training plans tend to use interval structure based on your LT to boost your speed/output.
Edited by oddman on Sunday 27th December 16:26
Wrist sensor. I'm planning to buy chest HRM for boxing workouts, so I'll compare the result.
I'll try to measure my max HR, thank you for help.
One more question if I may - how accurate is recovery time reccomended by my Fenix? I'm guessing that's also connected to my personal zones so at the moment it wouldn't be too accurate, I'm just curious for the future.
I'll try to measure my max HR, thank you for help.
One more question if I may - how accurate is recovery time reccomended by my Fenix? I'm guessing that's also connected to my personal zones so at the moment it wouldn't be too accurate, I'm just curious for the future.
For me as a cyclist the Garmin recovery time is total fiction. Worth a laugh as I turn the unit off after a ride.
Re HR into the 190’s would be quite rare for a 40 year old tbh. But the 220 age thing is silly. I’m around 9-10 bpm higher than my 220 number, and I reckon have lost 1-2bpm on my max over last decade
Re HR into the 190’s would be quite rare for a 40 year old tbh. But the 220 age thing is silly. I’m around 9-10 bpm higher than my 220 number, and I reckon have lost 1-2bpm on my max over last decade
mudnomad said:
One more question if I may - how accurate is recovery time reccomended by my Fenix? I'm guessing that's also connected to my personal zones so at the moment it wouldn't be too accurate, I'm just curious for the future.
It depends how accurate your optical heart rate monitor is.keo said:
I have a Garmin watch I also don’t think the heart rate zones are very accurate.
I also wonder about the recovery times I get after a run. I don’t think they are right sometimes it might say rest for 40 hours or something!
I find the recovery time very useful. You don’t need to wait until it reaches zero...I also wonder about the recovery times I get after a run. I don’t think they are right sometimes it might say rest for 40 hours or something!
mudnomad said:
One more question if I may - how accurate is recovery time reccomended by my Fenix? I'm guessing that's also connected to my personal zones so at the moment it wouldn't be too accurate, I'm just curious for the future.
Will be completely pointless until you use the chest strap and measure an accurate HR max and LT HR. Recovery times are guidance for rest between hard sessions for endurance training (VO2 max or lactate threshold interval sessions or very long endurance sessions) I'm guessing that Garmin would give you 48 hours plus recovery time for the effort you posted when, if you were able to talk, sing or breath through your nose it during it then it wasn't much of an effort at all and could safely train again later in the same day.
Another thing is the Garmin will base recovery time on average heart rate x duration of effort taking no account of structure of session. A one hour session with 10 x 3 minute intervals at VO2 max power on a bike might result in quite a low recovery recommendation as the average heart rate including warm up and cool down might be quite low and the HR will not match the effort during the interval as it lags the power delivery. A 2 hour zone 2 ride would yield a greater recovery recommendation even though it isn't very demanding. If your sessions are mixed aerobic/boxing/crossfit then I would expect the recovery data to be useless. Your heart probably isn't the limiter for when you next push yourself - more likely musculoskeletal system.
How you feel; your resting heart rate; how your heart rate responds during warm up and, if you really want to go down a rabbit hole, resting heart rate variability is more useful as a recovery indicator.
How you use HR depends on your fitness goals. All my training is geared towards endurance activities - hard ski touring, Alpine climbing and longer distance triathlon. I use my watch to keep my HR in z1 and 2 for 80% + of my training which means very slow. The 20% I spend doing hard efforts, I'm judging intervals on perceived exertion (running) or power (bike).
Before you ask - fitness trackers of any kind are not particularly useful at tracking calories. If your goal is weight loss and you are measuring calories, I would not recommend eating back more than half your exercise calories unless you are dropping more than a kilo a week.
mcelliott said:
Comparing individual heart rates is pointless, well done on the PBs though.
The point I take from this and I believe the one he is trying to make is that, although at least 15 years younger and pushing max effort, he produced a similar HR profile, thus casting doubt on the accuracy of the OPs data.oddman said:
Will be completely pointless until you use the chest strap and measure an accurate HR max and LT HR.
Recovery times are guidance for rest between hard sessions for endurance training (VO2 max or lactate threshold interval sessions or very long endurance sessions) I'm guessing that Garmin would give you 48 hours plus recovery time for the effort you posted when, if you were able to talk, sing or breath through your nose it during it then it wasn't much of an effort at all and could safely train again later in the same day.
Another thing is the Garmin will base recovery time on average heart rate x duration of effort taking no account of structure of session. A one hour session with 10 x 3 minute intervals at VO2 max power on a bike might result in quite a low recovery recommendation as the average heart rate including warm up and cool down might be quite low and the HR will not match the effort during the interval as it lags the power delivery. A 2 hour zone 2 ride would yield a greater recovery recommendation even though it isn't very demanding. If your sessions are mixed aerobic/boxing/crossfit then I would expect the recovery data to be useless. Your heart probably isn't the limiter for when you next push yourself - more likely musculoskeletal system.
How you feel; your resting heart rate; how your heart rate responds during warm up and, if you really want to go down a rabbit hole, resting heart rate variability is more useful as a recovery indicator.
How you use HR depends on your fitness goals. All my training is geared towards endurance activities - hard ski touring, Alpine climbing and longer distance triathlon. I use my watch to keep my HR in z1 and 2 for 80% + of my training which means very slow. The 20% I spend doing hard efforts, I'm judging intervals on perceived exertion (running) or power (bike).
Before you ask - fitness trackers of any kind are not particularly useful at tracking calories. If your goal is weight loss and you are measuring calories, I would not recommend eating back more than half your exercise calories unless you are dropping more than a kilo a week.
Thank you! Very informativeRecovery times are guidance for rest between hard sessions for endurance training (VO2 max or lactate threshold interval sessions or very long endurance sessions) I'm guessing that Garmin would give you 48 hours plus recovery time for the effort you posted when, if you were able to talk, sing or breath through your nose it during it then it wasn't much of an effort at all and could safely train again later in the same day.
Another thing is the Garmin will base recovery time on average heart rate x duration of effort taking no account of structure of session. A one hour session with 10 x 3 minute intervals at VO2 max power on a bike might result in quite a low recovery recommendation as the average heart rate including warm up and cool down might be quite low and the HR will not match the effort during the interval as it lags the power delivery. A 2 hour zone 2 ride would yield a greater recovery recommendation even though it isn't very demanding. If your sessions are mixed aerobic/boxing/crossfit then I would expect the recovery data to be useless. Your heart probably isn't the limiter for when you next push yourself - more likely musculoskeletal system.
How you feel; your resting heart rate; how your heart rate responds during warm up and, if you really want to go down a rabbit hole, resting heart rate variability is more useful as a recovery indicator.
How you use HR depends on your fitness goals. All my training is geared towards endurance activities - hard ski touring, Alpine climbing and longer distance triathlon. I use my watch to keep my HR in z1 and 2 for 80% + of my training which means very slow. The 20% I spend doing hard efforts, I'm judging intervals on perceived exertion (running) or power (bike).
Before you ask - fitness trackers of any kind are not particularly useful at tracking calories. If your goal is weight loss and you are measuring calories, I would not recommend eating back more than half your exercise calories unless you are dropping more than a kilo a week.
JackP1 said:
It's been noted, but try not to trust wrist monitors, try a chest strap.
By around 20mins of Max HR you'd be in a pile of s
t on the floor, but you get people like the ingebrigtsen brothers who are able to exercise exponentially well in this area.
I've ordered a Garmin TRI strap, looking forward to using it! By around 20mins of Max HR you'd be in a pile of s
t on the floor, but you get people like the ingebrigtsen brothers who are able to exercise exponentially well in this area.mudnomad said:
I've ordered a Garmin TRI strap, looking forward to using it!
With straps, sometimes they can read a little high at the start of an activity. Applying a bit of gel on the two contacts can avoid this, I use: https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00CI3PONK/ref...Gassing Station | Health Matters | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff