For those short of time (I know I am terribly long winded): two questions:
1. anyone here use heartrate as a major training aid or guide?
2. how do you monitor it if you do.
2a. if you use an electronic monitor, which one do you like?
The reason I ask this is because I am attempting to go scientific on my training. Since I have started with "race pace" training, where nearly 25 to 30 % of my training time is dedicated to swimming fast, I have become progressively more interested/ concerned about how hard I am actually pushing myself. The crux of the matter came one day when I actually had to back off due to an impending loss of consciousness (at least I assume that is what it was: black spots in front of my eyes and an overall foggy thought pattern that centered on "STOP" and not much else).
I have looked into heart monitors. I actually have one of the wrist-watch-only modules. It works poorly and unpredictably (and not at all right now with a presumably dead battery). My problem is that I have an abnormally slow heart rate at the best of times (bradycardia is what my insurance company likes to call it: 36 to 40 sitting still and I have no idea what it might be first thing in the morning). My blood preassure is borderline rediculously low most of the time (another issue with my insurance company). On the other hand, when I exercise my pulse can easily go to 200 or more, which is not likely to be too healthy at my 48 years of age. I don't worry too much about that; it drops practically instantaneously once I stop moving. Unfortunately that drop occurs so quickly that my wrist watch monitor never actually catches the real post repetition pulse; it takes 20 seconds to equilibrate and by that time my pulse is back down to 100 to 120. The other issue is that when I am really busting my gut I have trouble focussing my eyes so the reading on the pulsimeter is just a blur. I have used the old fashioned fingers and pace clock system, but when I am fighting for every breath, counting pulses is often more than I can manage.
BTW: my huge variance in heart rates is more of a symptom of how inefficent a swimmer I really am rather than my fitness level.
I would really like to get a top quality pulsimeter and see if I could use it for training. Any comments on how those units with the chest strap work? Is the chest strap hopelessly irritating, especially if you are really giving it your maximum effort?
If I could get a really good pulsimeter at a reasonable price (cheap enough that my wife would not need a complimentary piece of jewelry to keep her happy) my coach has all sorts of drills based on heart rate and rest times I would love to try for a while. Or I could just manage not to blow a valve out of my heart by training more intelligently.
my huge variance in heart rates is more of a symptom of how inefficent a swimmer I really am rather than my fitness level.
The simple answer: I track my heart rate very closely - first thing in the morning, and regularly as I swim. The device that I like best is a Mio strapless monitor that looks like a wrist watch (you press two fingers on two buttons, and it gives you a reading). The monitors with chest straps don't work for me in the pool - the "chest" strap tends to be, after one lap, a waist band.
But, there's another issue. This post talks about what the insurance company says. Frankly, insurance companies' perspectives are a bit one-dimensional, and shaped by a view of statistical economic risks of a pool of people with similar traits. As individuals, shouldn't our goal be to out-perform the pool of those with similar actuarial traits?
So, more to the point: What does your cardiologist say? Because anything else seems to be secondary. Put more directly: It seems to me that a variation in heart rates might indicate the health and condition of the heart, and not the efficiency of the stroke. I know that's not exactly a fun answer, but what am I missing?
I have occasionally worn a chest-strap style heart rate monitor in the water. Frequently in the swim portion of a triathlon, and infrequently to get HR data during a pool workout.
It doesn't work at all with a bare chest: no matter how tight you cinch the chest strap, it will roll down your chest at swimming speed. So you'd need to wear a tight-fitting top while swimming in order to use it.
Mine is a Polar 600something. Any of their chest-strap-based units should work equivalently, though.
I thought it might just roll down. I noticed one of the age-group teams using a small hand held unit built like a bow that they pressed against their chest as soon as they finished a rep. I wonder where they bought that.
Isaw a "Polar" unit on a woman today. She actually joked that I could try wearing a ladies suit to hold the chest strap in place. With my grey hair and my handlebar mustache I doubt I could pull that look off.
I might just get myself a piece of plexiglass and a grease pencil for record keeping and stick to fingers and pace clocks. Still difficult to focus on counting while gasping for air.
I hoped the Polar unit would do the trick; I believe those units have a built in event memory. Yes??
I noticed one of the age-group teams using a small hand held unit built like a bow that they pressed against their chest as soon as they finished a rep.
Could be a regular chest strap unit with the elastic portion of the strap unfastened and left off.
In the past I have used a Polar HR monitor while swimming when I was swimming slower than usual and wanted some validation that I was at least giving it a good effort. Rather than wearing the wristwatch display, I set it on the deck at the end of my lane, where it was stolen.
Ladies suits or sports bras both hold the chest strap in place. I have heard that mens triathlon singlets also work.
I also tried a wristwatch-only HRM. While it said in big letters that it was water-resistant, in the fine print it said it was not designed for use in the pool. It did not give a good reading if the wrist was underwater and it was tricky to get good contact.
I hoped the Polar unit would do the trick; I believe those units have a built in event memory. Yes??
Yes, most have plenty of memory. In addition to displaying your heart rate on the watch, they'll record hours' worth of data and let you save it and/or analyze it on your computer.
Could be a regular chest strap unit with the elastic portion of the strap unfastened and left off.
I think they only work when fastened (which closes the circuit).
I monitor my HR manually but only do so sporadically, counting my pulse for 10 secs immediately after I finish a repeat or a set and multiplying by 6. I use HR to assess whether my perceived level of effort is accurate and also to verify that I am swimming within the correct training zone.
If I am at or near my max HR (which for me should be 169, but I am able to approach 180 consistently), I know that I am at En3. My HR is usually in the 150s when I am at my En2 or anaerobic threshold pace.
On days when I seem to be struggling to go faster than En2, I usually find that my HR is in the 150s, so I don't get frustrated. When I am tapering and doing race pace sets with more rest, I know that I am ready if I am able to maintain my HR in that range.
I just got myself a heart rate monitor. It has a chest strap and it transmits to the watch. Since I just got it, I have only worn it to a spin class so far, but I thought it worked well. It is a Timex Ironman type. It is waterproof although the book says it will not transmit in the water. I plan to try it anyway, perhaps I can get a reading between sets when I stand up in shallow water? May try it out tomorrow, will post how things go if I do.
I think they only work when fastened (which closes the circuit).
Nope. Without going into the science - my Timex HRM works just fine when the sensor is just held in place across the chest (without the elastic strap attached).
Nope. Without going into the science - my Timex HRM works just fine when the sensor is just held in place across the chest (without the elastic strap attached).
I stand corrected. I guess it's your body that closes the circuit. That would be harder to do with a Polar, though, where the conductive parts are on opposite ends of the elastic strap.
