HR

I don't think so, seeing as my HR is at at least 185 if I try really hard on something like hills or mile repeats. Knowing your HR may be good for longer distance runs so as not to burn out, but I don't think he's right when he decides to substitute it for an actual pace.

it's a good gauge of how hard you are working aerobically, but it's not a perfect measure by any means. so what if some girl has a lower HR than you on easy runs? if you have a highly developed LT, more raw speed, better vo2 max, and maybe most importantly if you run closer to the edge than she does, you can beat her. although if you run the same pace on an easy run and her HR is really 20 bpm slower, this suggests she has more aerobic power than you.

The method of heart rate training is a very good idea; however for most people, especially high schoolers, it is quite inconvenient. Heart rate, like it's been said, is used to guage the intensity of training. Unfortunately your camp coach seems to be taking the wrong attitude towards it.

Some athletes use their "wake-up" heart rate to measure fitness, but keep in mind that resting heart rates can vary a great deal, even among highly trained runners. A world record holder I tested upon many occasions never had a heart rate below 60; for others, resting heart rates drop down well into the 30s. Monitored on a regular basis, a slower morning HR than usual can indicate improving fitness. Conversely, a consistent increase in wake-up HR can indicate overtraining, dehydration, or poor nutritional status. In any case, you can easily measure resting Hr by placing a finger on a pulse point and looking at a watch or clock with a second hand. Be sure to do this while you're still lying down in bed, before sitting up.

Daniels, Jack. Daniels Running Formula. Champaign: Human Kinetics, 2005.

FinishingKick wrote:

Some athletes use their "wake-up" heart rate to measure fitness, but keep in mind that resting heart rates can vary a great deal, even among highly trained runners. A world record holder I tested upon many occasions never had a heart rate below 60; for others, resting heart rates drop down well into the 30s. Monitored on a regular basis, a slower morning HR than usual can indicate improving fitness. Conversely, a consistent increase in wake-up HR can indicate overtraining, dehydration, or poor nutritional status. In any case, you can easily measure resting Hr by placing a finger on a pulse point and looking at a watch or clock with a second hand. Be sure to do this while you're still lying down in bed, before sitting up.

Daniels, Jack. Daniels Running Formula. Champaign: Human Kinetics, 2005.

i just put my hand on my chest. is that a bad way to take heart rate? if I hit a stoplight during a run I put my hand on my chest for 10 seconds, looking at my watch, and usually count 22-26 beats.

i just put my hand on my chest. is that a bad way to take heart rate?
if I hit a stoplight during a run I put my hand on my chest for 10
seconds, looking at my watch, and usually count 22-26 beats.

Yes, because when you stop running your hr goes up about 10 b/m.

Your chest is fine. It's not like your heart beats differently where you put your hand (unless it's one certain spot lol). I use my chest too, though it looks kind of weird at a stoplight. =/

I find 6 seconds to be more effective because then I can just add a zero on and get my bpm. If I did my math correctly, your beats are 132 to 156, which is right about perfect.

6 seconds way more efficent.

ask HXC, he's a sucker for HR...

AudienceOfOne wrote:ask HXC, he's a sucker for HR...

But yeah, it sounds like he's overdoing it.

I only use HR during my runs, and sometimes I'll just go a couple days without it if it's been normal for a while.

It's usually used to make sure you're going slow enough on easy days or fast enough during intervals, not to see what it is at every moment. Some people just have a naturally high heart rate. In the beginning of the summer I'd go out for an easy run and it would be at 170-180. I went to the doctor and she said everything was fine....I was hydrated, my pH levels were fine, everything. It's gotten down to about 165, but that's still pretty high for an easy run.

So heart rate isn't supposed to tell you who's better than you, it's just supposed to be a useful training tool*

*your coach sounds like one

Finishing-Kick wrote:

Some athletes use their "wake-up" heart rate to measure fitness, but keep in mind that resting heart rates can vary a great deal, even among highly trained runners. A world record holder I tested upon many occasions never had a heart rate below 60; for others, resting heart rates drop down well into the 30s. Monitored on a regular basis, a slower morning HR than usual can indicate improving fitness. Conversely, a consistent increase in wake-up HR can indicate overtraining, dehydration, or poor nutritional status. In any case, you can easily measure resting Hr by placing a finger on a pulse point and looking at a watch or clock with a second hand. Be sure to do this while you're still lying down in bed, before sitting up.

Daniels, Jack. Daniels Running Formula. Champaign: Human Kinetics, 2005.

thanks for posting this. when I wake up, I can't feel any pulse. It takes me 5-10 minutes and I have to stand to finally get one. Is this bad?

xotrackkgirl wrote:

Finishing-Kick wrote:

Some athletes use their "wake-up" heart rate to measure fitness, but keep in mind that resting heart rates can vary a great deal, even among highly trained runners. A world record holder I tested upon many occasions never had a heart rate below 60; for others, resting heart rates drop down well into the 30s. Monitored on a regular basis, a slower morning HR than usual can indicate improving fitness. Conversely, a consistent increase in wake-up HR can indicate overtraining, dehydration, or poor nutritional status. In any case, you can easily measure resting Hr by placing a finger on a pulse point and looking at a watch or clock with a second hand. Be sure to do this while you're still lying down in bed, before sitting up.

Daniels, Jack. Daniels Running Formula. Champaign: Human Kinetics, 2005.

thanks for posting this. when I wake up, I can't feel any pulse. It takes me 5-10 minutes and I have to stand to finally get one. Is this bad?

Where are you getting your pulse (or in other words, what is your pulse point?)?

xotrackkgirl wrote:

Finishing-Kick wrote:

Some athletes use their "wake-up" heart rate to measure fitness, but keep in mind that resting heart rates can vary a great deal, even among highly trained runners. A world record holder I tested upon many occasions never had a heart rate below 60; for others, resting heart rates drop down well into the 30s. Monitored on a regular basis, a slower morning HR than usual can indicate improving fitness. Conversely, a consistent increase in wake-up HR can indicate overtraining, dehydration, or poor nutritional status. In any case, you can easily measure resting Hr by placing a finger on a pulse point and looking at a watch or clock with a second hand. Be sure to do this while you're still lying down in bed, before sitting up.

Daniels, Jack. Daniels Running Formula. Champaign: Human Kinetics, 2005.

thanks for posting this. when I wake up, I can't feel any pulse. It takes me 5-10 minutes and I have to stand to finally get one. Is this bad?

yes, not having any pulse is bad. it means you're dead.

:O xotrackgirl is a zombie!!!

It's just that you're HR isn't as high and blood isn't rushing through the veins as fast so you can't really feel it. Try going with the wrist when it is at rest. The best position is usually on the outside tangent with the thumb. Another spot is the temple right in front of the ear.

so today he gave me a monitor. so i strapped it around my stomach and i could get my HR through my watch at any moment. nice, eh?

xotrackkgirl wrote:so today he gave me a monitor. so i strapped it around my stomach and i could get my HR through my watch at any moment. nice, eh?

I'm sure that feels good.

speaking of heartrate...today i was at the doctors and they had to run a test to make sure i didn't have irregular heartbeat becuase it runs in my mom's side of the family and appparantly a lot of people die from it if they don't get on on meds. quickly.
however, they called back on the test results and my heart is healthy!! aww, so relieved i was soo scared that it might effect my running. but its all okay now


anyway on heartrate, i sometimes take my heart rate just out of curiosity or to see how hard i'm working. normally counting to 6 and adding a 0 but sometimes counting to 10 and x6 but sometimes that math is hard for me to do in my head

HR is an overated piece of shit. Anyone who uses an HR monitor as anything more than a novelty is putting serious limitations on their training.

ProtestTheZero wrote:HR is an overated piece of shit. Anyone who uses an HR monitor as anything more than a novelty is putting serious limitations on their training.

Ignorance FTL

HXC_Runner2012 wrote:

ProtestTheZero wrote:HR is an overated piece of shit. Anyone who uses an HR monitor as anything more than a novelty is putting serious limitations on their training.

Ignorance FTL

I know, you need to learn about this stuff.

I have stopped using heart rate monitors on easy runs because i know when i need to slow down and go faster and stuff now..i just used it at the beginning because i had no idea. I still use it on workouts though.

ProtestTheZero wrote:HR is an overated piece of shit. Anyone who uses an HR monitor as anything more than a novelty is putting serious limitations on their training.

It's okay to put limitations on your training. It's when you're racing that you need to shed away any self-imposed limitations. I sure as hell never trained like a sub 17 guy or a sub-4:45 guy, but I got out there and let it all loose.