Interesting Article on Heart Rate During Exercise
I saw an article in the NY Times “The Flutter Over Heart Rate” that talks about some people’s obsession with measuring heart rates. I’ve always been (probably a bit too much) interested in measuring my heart rate since I was in a 7th grade science class and we were discussing pulse rates. I can remember measuring mine at 60 and thinking it was neat that my heart was beating almost exactly once a second.
I started getting really interested in measuring my HR again about two years ago when I started getting back on the exercise bandwagon. I like checking the stats from my Garmin 305 and seeing the pace per mile versus HR to get a feel of my level of running fitness. I often measure my pulse in the morning to detect if I have residual fatigue from workouts or races. If my pulse is elevated by more than 3-4 beats a minute, I’ll either cancel or substantially reduce any planned workout I have for the day.
April 11th, 2008 at 2:45 am
Really interesting article, thanks.
April 16th, 2008 at 2:56 am
3-4 bpm? Interesting. I do not do that, but I was under the impression the difference to watch out for was like 10 bpm difference.
Not that I am saying you don’t work out enough, you certainly do, I guess I am just amazed that you are usually within a few bpm on any given day.
April 16th, 2008 at 3:10 am
My resting heart rate in the morning typically fluctuates between 36-40. If I see it staying in the 40s and not really dipping down into the high 30s I know I am overtraining/fatigued/sick/whatever.