Around 50 and has been pretty steadily there for a year or so. Swimming helps, and so does losing weight. Considering it used to be in the low 80s, I think 50 is a good improvement, given that I am over 50 (in age). :)
I'd like it to go a little lower, and I also run and bike. I am wondering if my age vs. continued exercise will play a role in that.
Looks like a symmetrical spread around 50 :D. We got 1 person under 35. Would be interested to know how he/she reached that level...
I just took the poll and posted a 35 reading. My RHR has been in the 35-37 range all of my adult life, since I first heard about it and took my own reading when I was about 24. The 35-37 was achieved initially from just swimming around 30,000 yds/week, but I have added in biking and running over the years. However, swimming is still about 1/2 of my annual workout load. I am definitely more of a slow-twitch kind of guy in that I rarely swim anything shorter than 200s in Masters' meets, since I just don't sprint very well.
Highest HR = 171 on all out run and on all out bike effort on trainer. Never could get an accurate reading in the pool on the HRM, and can't count accurately at that fast of an HR. That is the one big thing I learned from using an HRM, i.e. that I can't accurately count my HR at much over 120.
While 171 is low compared to the predictions, since RHR is pretty low I still have a pretty big range, i.e if we take my absolute max = 175, then 175/35 = 5.0. This would be same as 200/40 = 5.0, or at least that's the way I've always thought about it.
For whatever it's worth, I'm 57 now and first started monitoring my RHR in 1979 at age 24, and got the HRM in 1992. My RHR and Max HR have not changed at all over the years, although I am a tad slower in the pool and on the road:)
I've been swimming Masters since 1980 but only rarely log onto these forums. I've been biking and running and doing tri's since 1986.
Average is 45 now; when I was running 40-50 miles/week I would come in under 40 consistently. That was a few years ago; I think I've seen mostly 40s since then. I can tell when I'm worn out because the resting heart rate spikes up to 48-52.
I'm an endurance junkie, admittedly, so I like to do exercise in the aerobic zone, which means much of my swimming would be considered garbagio or fitness swimming. I have a harder time keeping my HR up in the pool than I do on the road or trail... it seems like running I could maintain 150-160 for a while, I rarely get over 120 in the pool; I should start checking more often.
Last summer I was checking my heart rate at the pool a lot more often because I was concerned that I was getting a "good" workout in. I could swim at an effort that I perceived as hard and still only log 144 immediately after. I know part of that is the slow down after stopping exercise... which can be considerable (you can start checking your HR while you're still running on land, but without a HR monitor I can't do this in the pool).
Resting pulse upon waking up is a very good indicator on how hard you can workout the following session without overtraining.
Can you expand on this a bit? What type of increase would be considered a sign of being overtrained?
Can you expand on this a bit? What type of increase would be considered a sign of being overtrained?
My understanding, from what I have read, is anything over 5 beats per minute more than your normal resting morning heart rate.
... it seems like running I could maintain 150-160 for a while, I rarely get over 120 in the pool; I should start checking more often.
I read in a medical physiology book that hearts rates do not rise to the same peak in swimming that they do in other activities. Dramatically so.
The book was from last century and they were not sure why there was this discrepancy.
The authors believed even though HR was much lower, a person would still get the cardiovascular benefit from exercise intensity. (They were meticulous at stating that this was not proved, though.)
One of the authors was Arthur Guyton - most of the cardiac physiology we deal with is known in some circles as "Guytonian physiology," so I tend to trust his word.
My understanding, from what I have read, is anything over 5 beats per minute more than your normal resting morning heart rate.
My understanding too. Any sudden spike in resting heart rate is a sign to back off; sometimes that means just take a rest day. When I'm checking regularly I can even tell when I'm about to come down with a cold because my resting heart rate will will be 5-10 beats higher.
