On Fridays, I will start to answer frequently asked questions I receive from various athletes and coaches. Heart rate seems to be an issue that many athletes don’t understand a lot about. I’m always being asked if I use heart monitors, if an athlete is pushing himself too hard, or how to understand a heart rate.
The answer is it really depends upon a specific athlete’s goal/objective. Different athletes need different prescriptions. A NHL athlete that I work with, is going to be different from an endurance perspective as an Ironman athlete. So the answer is it depends…..
Heart rate is useful for endurance athletes in the absence of other, truly objective measurements like power. Heart rate is tricky and one can’t use it intelligently without a large base of experience with the specific athlete being trained. Heart rate isn’t useful in the gym for a variety of reasons; however, the main being that whole-body muscular tension followed by a period of relaxation causes HR fluctuations that are not tied to a specific level of effort.
Waking HR is useful to monitor recovery status and, to follow as a trend to determine whether the day’s training should be modified due to poor recovery. Measuring how long it takes to return to “resting” HR post-effort is a good indicator of overall fitness. The resting number we like to use is 120/min. If cranking in the high 170-180’s a recovery speed of 2-3min indicates a high level of fitness, though some elite athletes we have at the gym may be faster. The recovery speed also depends on how long of a period was spent at high value. Slower recovery speed shows a lower level of fitness.
Most people don’t have the issue of pushing too much. However, one must understand that a very solid foundation, which can take 6-12 months to build is needed to train at the intensity and volume some of our athletes train at in the gym. Patience is required, and a long-term view with goals helps as well.
So, the advice to you is begin to monitor your heart rate. See what your maximum heart rate when you’re very active, and see how long it takes to recover. Learn what is your maximum rate, and what is your resting rate. The more you learn about your specific heart rate will help you become a better and more efficient athlete.
