Elevated pulse and blood pressure in morning

Headhuunter

Posted this in "Road Beginners" but wonder if it would have been better here....


I'm wondering if I am showing symptoms of overtraining. I generally cycle 12 miles per day in and out of work. I tend to push it fairly hard. I also often do a 50-70 mile club rides at the weekend. Last night I went for a run with my running club - about 10-12k in fairly quick time (about 45 mins).

Last night and this morning my heart rate was faster than usual. Up at about 65-70bpm whereas usually it's 50-60. My blood pressure was higher than usual as well, usually about 125-130/65-75, whereas today it was more like 135/70. My heart rate at the moment sat at my desk seems to be about 65bpm, which is fairly high for me, although not excessively so I suppose....

I have experienced this after hard club rides and fast runs before. Is it normal? Anything to worry about? Is this a symptom of overtraining? What can be done to prevent it - anything I should eat or do? Anyone else experienced it?

Bronzie

Very unlikely to be overtraining on that volume of riding. Overtraining is a chronic condition brought about by weeks or months of seriously heavy training with insufficient recovery leaving you permanently fatigued and with reducing fitness.

What you describe sounds like the body's normal reaction to a fairly hard session the day before (sometimes referred to as over-reaching). Over-reaching is an essential part of training, pushing your body hard so that it adapts to the training stimulus and your fitness improves. Doubt there's anything to worry about and you'll probably be back to normal tomorrow.

ut_och_cykla

Take an easy day and see if all returns to normal. If it does it was just a response to hard training and you might need to take a bit more rest after really hard days/weeks. If things don't calm down it could be a stress response due to other things in your life or perhaps a slight infection - a cold or tummy bug.
but if you're worried - see a doctor. Especially if you have other medical issues ( I'm wondering why you check your Blood pressure every day for example)

Headhuunter

Thanks. As you say, I don't do enough to result in overtraining but I probably "overstretched"... BP was pretty much back to normal this morning, 125/70ish. HR slowed during the day yesterday.

I'm taking my BP because doc asked me to. My systolic seems to slip over 140 during the day, even when I'm sitting at my desk doing little (it goes to 140-150ish). Doc asked to take it in the mornings literally just after I've rolled out of bed, which results in a low reading. Higher readings come later in the day...