Heart Rate Q

[runningonempty2020]

I’ve just completed week 8 run 1 and feeling good. I’m 31, 235lbs, and have already lost about 6lbs since week 1. I also feel my stamina increasing and Am enjoying my runs. I’m looking forward to completing the program but will definitely carry on running.

According to my Apple Watch, my average heart rate is 170bpm and maxing at about 189bpm. This seems high to me but I’m presuming that because I’ve gone from relatively low level fitness to running nearly 30 mins in a short space of time then this might be about right and should come down over time...?

Any advice on heart rate for a relatively new runner would be much appreciated!

[John_W Graduate]

I'm very keen on heart rate stuff - can you post another photo but this showing the whole of the heart rate plot? You may need to make a separate post.

[runningonempty2020 Graduate in reply to John_W]

I don't want to have to make a new post but you can just about see the heart rate stuff at the bottom of the pic. In a nutshell...as I start my 5 minute warm up walk I'm at about 89 bpm, eventually rising to 189bpm towards end of the 28 minutes, before dropping down again during my 5 minute cool down.

In relation to what MarkyD said...I feel fine but I just find it an interesting way to measure fitness.

[John_W Graduate in reply to runningonempty2020]

It's something a lot of people are interested in. I'd echo MarkyD 's comment somewhat by saying that for a beginner it's irrelevant. But I'm 5 years in now and fascinated by it.

I had wanted to see your HR plot it's entirety because it's very common for optical based devices (like a Garmin, TomTom etc) to give very dodgy readings and for users to, understandably, believe them. It's only by looking at the whole plot that you can see if there are any obvious glitches - sorry!

[MarkyD Graduate]

Ignore heart-rate.

If you have a run, and feel dizzy, nauseous or black-out during or after the run, then your heart-rate went too high.

If you get back from a run without any of that happening, then your heart is OK.

If you really care about heart-rate, then book a physical health screen when we get back to normality & get a professional to measure your VO2max, lactate threshold and other metrics. This will help you set the 5 heart-rate zones on your watch and you can pay attention to your training effort (HR).

[IannodaTruffe Mentor]

Welcome to the forum and well done on your progress.

This guide to the plan is essential reading healthunlocked.com/couchto5...

and includes advice on minimising impact, stretching after every run, hydration and strengthening exercises, all of which will help.

Without knowing your actual maximum heart rate, as opposed to the averages in the zones on most devices, it is impossible to know whether you are pushing above a safe level.

I agree with MarkyD

Enjoy your journey.