your average heart rate?

Does anyone monitor their HR while swimming? I just started. I'm wondering if anyone else is also working out at 90% of their max HR during an 'easy' swim... Absolutely (regarding your first question), and absolutely NOT (regarding working out at 90% of my max HR during an "easy" swim.

Maybe it's oxygen deprivation too? Do you breathe every stroke and keep an even exchange of air while you are swimming? This would help a lot! Make sure to exhale AND get good breaths of air while you swim!

I've been swimming only for 3 years, so don't have a lot of overall swim experience. I would say my heart rate during the past 2 'easy' swims have been the following: - 500yd warmup ~ 140-150 bpm. - 200yd kick ~ 130bpm - 1000-1500yd Intervals ~ 160-170bpm with 15-20 sec rest - Pulls ~ 130bpm It's the interval training that really gets my heart rate up, but it does drop back to the 140s-150s by the time I push off again. In comparison, some of the 'hard' swims that I have done, with a tighter rest interval, totally feel like I'm going to pass out. My heart rate must be higher than 170 at that point. Maybe it's oxygen deprivation too?

I used to breathe every two for freestyle, until a coach pointed out it was affecting the balance of my stroke. He was right, when I went back to breathing every three my stroke became a lot more symmetrical. I’ll alternate between breathing every 2 and 3 depending how I feel. Now that I think about it, I have a feeling the real culprit is ‘drag’ because realistically speaking I’m not the slimmest person for a sport like this and I swim like I’m trying to make the Olympic team haha... I meant every stroke CYCLE, but I'm sure you knew that! I train in a 25-yard pool, so I breathe to the right going down the pool, and to the left coming back. That is one way to balance out your stroke AND get enough air. Breathing any less than that doesn't work for me as a 55-year old. Back in high school, I was perfectly comfortable breathing every 4 strokes, but things sure have changed! :agree:

I used to breathe every two for freestyle, until a coach pointed out it was affecting the balance of my stroke. He was right, when I went back to breathing every three my stroke became a lot more symmetrical. I’ll alternate between breathing every 2 and 3 depending how I feel. Now that I think about it, I have a feeling the real culprit is ‘drag’ because realistically speaking I’m not the slimmest person for a sport like this and I swim like I’m trying to make the Olympic team haha...

BUT, if you ARE just starting out, you might find that your heart rate maxes out really easily. It could also take a long time to return to a normal resting rate. It's one of the measures of increasing fitness that our HRs start to not increase as easily when we work out, and that once we finish, they more quickly go back down. Sorry, I am also a beginner but as yet don't track my own HR. I DO make sure and take my time between my laps, because I know that my own cardio endurance is not terrific. I'm working on it by continuing to do the dryland exercises I was doing before - mostly, free weight strength training and some yoga - but also gradually, speeding up the walks I am taking. I haven't yet got to the point where I would say I have a real "easy swim." I don't feel winded when I swim sidestroke laps, but anything else pretty much is a working lap, for me.

In backstroke, though, technically I don’t have restricted access to oxygen unless it’s the timed, shallow breathing that comes from exhaling as the recovering arm lands in the water to avoid inhaling splashing water.... and my HR is every bit as high when I do freestyle/breaststroke/butterfly. Unless there’s a better breathing pattern for backstroke? I feel like I’m hyperventilating.