resting heart rate as a measure of recovery??

ozzy1000_0

hi all,

someone suggested somthing to me about this... if you resting heart rate rate is higher than normal then its a good sign that you need more rest?? I had a few days off my bike the a week or so ago and my resting heart rate was about 53bpm, at the weekend I did 65miles over the windy moors which nearly killed me.... 48 hours later my resting heart rate is still over 60bpm but I'm tempted to train more (I have my first century at the end of june).

is this a reasonable measure of recovery and a useful tool to protect against overtraining? or should I push on anyway and rest later??

cheers, O

meanredspider

Push on. I think measures like this (I tried the iThelete iPhone heart rate variability app) are only indicators of long-term overtraining and then only as trends not point-to-point variables. Your resting HR can be affected by lots of things so individual points are unlikely to be good indicators.

DaveL

From Polar ProTrainer:


Interpretation of test results
The Polar OwnOptimizer test gives verbal feedback of the exertion state and advice on how to optimize your training. The feedback sentence verbally describes what the nine states mean in practice.

Good recovery or Recovered (1)

Your test heart rates are lower than average. This indicates that you have recovered very well. You can continue training, including intensive exercise sessions.

Normal Training State (2)

Your test heart rates are at a normal level. Go on with your training; include both light and intensive training sessions, and recovery days.

Training Effect (3)

Your test heart rates are higher than average. You may have exercised intensively in the previous days. You have two choices: 1) rest or light train for one or two days, or 2) continue intensive training for one or two days and then recover well.

Other sources of stress, the beginning of a fever or an attack of the flu can result in the same kind of response.

Steady Training State (4)

Your test heart rates have continuously been at a normal level for a long time now. Effective training requires both heavy training and good recovery, and this should cause variation in your test heart rates. Your OwnOptimizer Test indicates that you have not had very intensive training or good recovery for a while. Perform the test again after a rest or light training day. If the recovery is effective, you will get Recovered as a test result.

Stagnant Training State (5)

Your test heart rates are still at a normal level, and this has continued for a long time. Your test indicates that your training has not been intensive enough to develop optimally. To improve your condition most effectively, you should now include more intense or longer exercise sessions in your training.

Hard Training Effect (6)

Your test heart rates have been higher than average several times. You may have trained hard on purpose. Your test indicates overloading, and you should recover well now. To control your recovery, perform the test again after one or two resting or easy training days. If your next test result shows Recovered, it indicates successful training periodization and possible super-compensation. However, getting Normal Training State as a test result allows you to continue training.

Overreaching (7)

Your OwnOptimizer Test indicates that you have had a very intensive training period for several days or weeks. Your test heart rates have continuously stayed at a high level. This seriously indicates that you should have a complete recovery period. The longer you have trained intensively, the longer the recovery period required to recover. Perform the test again after at least two days of recovery. Before continuing intensive training, wait until you get Normal Training State or Recovered as a test result. When you can continue training, you should control your training state carefully with OwnOptimizer Test and your subjective feelings.

Sympathetic Overtraining (8)

Your OwnOptimizer Test indicates that you have had a very intensive training period for several days or weeks, and your recovery has not been sufficient. This has result in a state of overtraining. To get back to a normal training state, you have to rest for a carefully controlled recovery period. Control your recovery with OwnOptimizer Test by performing the test 2–3 times per week.

You should not exercise, and instead rest completely for most of the recovery period. You can possibly have a few days with some light aerobic training in short sessions. Consider some other sport than your main sport. However, it should be one you are familiar and feel comfortable with. Also check if you have other signs of overtraining. Before continuing intensive training, wait until you get Normal Training State or Recovered as a test result, preferably more than once.

Parasympathetic Overtraining (9)

Your heart rates have stayed at a low level, which is generally interpreted as a sign of a good recovery. However, other parameters indicate parasympathetic overtraining. You may have trained with high volumes for a long time and your recovery times may not have been long enough. You should check if you have other signs of overtraining. For example, overtraining is marked by decreased performance, increased fatigue, mood disturbances, sleeping problems, persistent muscle soreness and/or a feeling of being burnt out or stale. You may also have been subjected to other stresses.

In general, the development of parasympathetic overtraining requires a long history of heavy training volumes. If you get this result, you should analyze your training. Drawing the right conclusions about your training requires comprehensive consideration.

To recover from a state of parasympathetic overtraining, you have to recover your body balance completely. Recovering may take several weeks. You should not exercise, and instead rest completely for most of the recovery period. You can possibly have a few days with some light aerobic training in short sessions, and only occasionally include short, high intensity sessions. You can also consider some other sport than your main sport. However, it should be one you are familiar and feel comfortable with. Control your recovery with OwnOptimizer Test by performing the test 2–3 times per week. If you feel that you have recovered your body balance and you get Normal Training State or Recovered as a test result, preferably more than once, you can consider continuing your training. When you can start training again, you should start a new testing period with new baseline measurements.

Hope this helps

Dave

ozzy1000

ok great, thanks for the replies... so variation is good?! it indicates that the training i'm doing is hard enough, i just need to allow it to settle again in between somtimes to ensure that i'm recovered enough.??

doyler78

Your baseline resting heart rate was conducted under unrealistic cirucmstances ie during an off period therefore it is not relevant to your normal volume/intensity week. Retest by averaging results over several days which includes your normal training volume/intensity.

My experience is that variation is very small ie a few bpm in normal circumstances and your variance is way beyond what I would expect to see in my own tests. Having said that I no longer use heart rate however I did for years and monitored my resting heart rate religiously as I overtrained twice in the past and once so badly that I took months to even start to get back to training again (that is rare I believe).

The problem is that a higher resting heart rate only tells that you might have a problem but then again it could be just that you didn't sleep well the night before so it was only by monitoring over a few days could a trend be established however in the meantime the doubt remained as to whether to train or not. For that you will have to go on feel. Go out and try and if you feel good then you are good.

It's a big commitment as daily monitoring is really required and that becomes very cumbersome after a while.

Alex_Simmons/RST

DaveL wrote:

From Polar ProTrainer:

Interpretation of test results
The Polar OwnOptimizer test gives verbal feedback of the exertion state and advice on how to optimize your training. The feedback sentence verbally describes what the nine states mean in practice.

Talk about reading the HR tea leaves.

Actual performance is a far far better indication of training/recovery status than HR.

ozzy1000_0

doyler78 wrote:

Your baseline resting heart rate was conducted under unrealistic cirucmstances ie during an off period therefore it is not relevant to your normal volume/intensity week. Retest by averaging results over several days which includes your normal training volume/intensity.

My experience is that variation is very small ie a few bpm in normal circumstances and your variance is way beyond what I would expect to see in my own tests. Having said that I no longer use heart rate however I did for years and monitored my resting heart rate religiously as I overtrained twice in the past and once so badly that I took months to even start to get back to training again (that is rare I believe).

The problem is that a higher resting heart rate only tells that you might have a problem but then again it could be just that you didn't sleep well the night before so it was only by monitoring over a few days could a trend be established however in the meantime the doubt remained as to whether to train or not. For that you will have to go on feel. Go out and try and if you feel good then you are good.

It's a big commitment as daily monitoring is really required and that becomes very cumbersome after a while.

i find it really interesting monitoring my heart rate, if i was to keep a diary, what is the best time to take my measurements?? at the moment I've tried just before bed lyingreading as magazine, and first thing am...

DaveL

When you first wake, have a pee, go back to bed, give it a couple of mins and do it then. As said above do it over a few days and get an average

Dave

Garz

Agree with Dave, pick a habitual time to do it and take an average. If you really go for it you can rig the results and get it much lower than where it normally lies.

doyler78

I'd stick to first thing in the morning before getting up if possible however if you have to go to the toilet don't run

I wouldn't really do it any other time as you are more likely to just introduce many more variables than need be. Doing it first thing tries to minimise as many outside influences as possible.