HR effected by using gel?

dabber

I used some Spectra 360 Electrode Gel for the first time today. I've recently been in France for a few weeks but kept either losing the connection or getting spikes (especially on downhill sections) in the high (low humidity) environment. Hence the decision to try some electrode gell rather than relying on spit and saliver.
The gell seems to have worked well, constant readings, no spikes. However, my average HR for what was a fairly leisurely ride today was around 10bpm above the averages I've previously been recording. I'm now wondering whether the previous readings were inaccurate and if the "odd beat" was getting missed pulling down the averages?

btw, Holux GPSort 260 Pro with Holux HR monitor.

Any thoughts?

bigpikle

it wont affect your heart rate - its designed to help transmission of the signal to the electrodes

dabber

Bigpikle wrote:

it wont affect your heart rate - its designed to help transmission of the signal to the electrodes

Sorry, perhaps I wasn't clear. I realise the gel won't have effected my HR but was wondering whether the previous readings (without gel) had been reading low due to "missed beats" due to poor signal transmission.

doyler78

Discard the rubbish you were getting before from your mind. If it's contaminated then there is no point in trying to draw any conclusions on it therefore just start afresh and you will soon find out whether this is typcial or not.

shockedsoshocked

Heart rate is massively variable anyway. A couple of days off and you'll see your HR be above what's typical.

alihisgreat

Can't caffeine affect HR? If the gel has caffeine in it that might be your answer?

twotyred

Can't caffeine affect HR? If the gel has caffeine in it that might be your answer?

Er its electrode gel to ensure good conductivity between the HRM strap and his skin not the eating kind.

To the OP. Did you do a lot of cycling when in France. If so it could be you're just tired.

dabber

Thanks for the comments...
I guess I need to do a few more rides using the gel before coming to too many conclusions.
I've been back from France for just over a week. Whilst over there I did quite a bit of riding but since I've been back I haven't done any until today.... I've had trouble getting motivated to tackle the traffic, poor road surfaces, weather (especially the cold) back here and have been a couch potato for a week. Bad I know

rjgr

I should bet the problem are the spikes being due to static electricity from polyester kit rubbing on the HR strap, not the troughs being caused by missed readings due to poor conductivity. That was my problem, cured by a quick spray of anti-stat bought on Amazon.

dabber

Well, I've been using the gel for a few weeks now have have got in a few rides since first posting.
My conclusions so far.... the gel is ensuring a good consistent contact, I don't seem to be getting any spikes, my HR average seems about 5 bpm higher than before I started using it (excluding the 3 weeks of poor connectivity when I was in France).

An interesting suggestion re: the anti-stat.