Heart rate question

I'm returning after 3 months off with yet another injury and am under strict instructions to control speed/distance and increases. My first couple of runs were 10 mins on the dreadmill and tonight I did 3k at 10km/h. According to the HRM on the dreadmill my HR was 164-166 during the last km.  My Max HR was 179 when I checked it about 6 months back before injury. My question is, if this is correct, thwhy how was I still able to breathe through my nose throughout ? Surely I should have been out of breath a little with that HR ?

 

Comments

  • I can breath perfectly well at 166 bpm, 179 after a few minutes I doubt it. I am 35 years old

  • Great thanks.  I wasnt sure if the reading was correct, especially when it kept flashing up 'HIGH HEART RATE' 

  • The monitors on the equipment are usually way off, mine states 180bpm but on my garmin its 156. Get a watch type one with the chest belt, far better and only £20-30 for a half decent one.

  • 1. Your MHR is wrong and its really higher

    2. The readout was wrong on the machine - did you have your strap on ? Are you sure it was your HR it was reading ?
  • Fairy sure the MHR is correct, I checked it during 2 different 10k's both of which I PB'ed. the reading was from the sensors on a dreadmill not from my own HRM.  I'm doing 4k tomorrow night at the same pace so I'll use a different machine and see. I'm working away from home and don't have my own HRM with me. 

     

  • Heart rate monitors are notoriously unreliable.  You can get on identical machines and have your heart rate different by up to 30% or more.  It depends on so many factors including the amount of sweat on the sensors, the amount of sweat on you, the temperature, static in the machine etc.

    I would recommend getting a chest strap for a start and also wearing cotton running tops (not as a rule as they soak up the sweat and rub but for the purposes of heart rates as the technical tops generate static which messes with the HR readings) to get a more consistent idea of your HR.  Try to wear the same t-shirt too as it can different with different tops.  

    It sounds mad but I have been experimenting with this for years after becoming concerned about the recorded profile of my heart rate when running.  I can also spike the HR on the watch by running past one particular electricity substation yet run past other identical looking one and nothing happens.  

  • Did 4k tonight, 150 bpm after 1k, 155 after 2, 160 after 3 and 161 at 4k. Same pace as previous sessions and still able to breathe through nose for duration. Still seems odd to me, I thought that the extra km would make breathing a bit more laboured at that heart rate ?

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