If you have a slow heart beat, and you use heart rate monitor while working out

[Anonymous]

I have a slow heart beat. While I'm resting, it's in the 40s and when I'm walking around being physically active, it's in the low 50s. While I sleep, its generally in the mid- to upper-30s.

I find it incredibly difficult to get into the orange zone while working out. I can do it, but usually can't sustain it for more than a couple minutes. Out of a 30 minute workout, maybe I'll get 3-5 minutes in the orange. Red, or beyond 84%, is usually just a few seconds unless I've been sick recently. Objectively, I am faster and fitter than most. I do races so I know this is the objective reality.

I've read that people like me should find it very easy to get into the orange zone because we have more efficient hearts so we can go up and down more readily. What am I missing? Anyone else like this? I ask because I get scores for my heart rate and even though my times are fast and my outputs are good, my heart rate score says I'm a slacker.

[Anonymous]

That seems very weird. What does your doctor say?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:That seems very weird. What does your doctor say?

They say as long as I don't feel faint, the low heart beat isn't a problem. They don't really have an answer for me about the working out part. My real question is, am I slacking off and don't know it? When people work out, they sometimes underperform bc they think they are going close to max but really aren't.

For reference, my brother is the same way and he's a daily orangetheory person. He is also stumped and hasn't gotten clear answers.

[Anonymous]

I don’t know how OTF calculates heart rate zones, but your resting heart rate is very low, so I’m guessing your max heart rate is also low. Have you tried using the Karvonen method to calculate your heart rate zones? https://www.topendsports.com/fitness/karvonen-formula-calculator.htm

[Anonymous]

Are you really fit? As you get more fit your HR should be lower for the same level effort as when you were less fit.

[Anonymous]

I think what your heart rate is while working out doesn’t really matter. Stop focusing on the number. Focus on how much effort you are exerting. Example: do a 45 min workout giving 80% max for at least 30 min

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I don’t know how OTF calculates heart rate zones, but your resting heart rate is very low, so I’m guessing your max heart rate is also low. Have you tried using the Karvonen method to calculate your heart rate zones? https://www.topendsports.com/fitness/karvonen-formula-calculator.htm

OP here. Thank you, this is extremely helpful. Using these parameters, I'm definitely working out in the right heart rate zones.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I think what your heart rate is while working out doesn’t really matter. Stop focusing on the number. Focus on how much effort you are exerting. Example: do a 45 min workout giving 80% max for at least 30 min

Yeah, it's the percent of max that I've been having issues with. Giving 80% of max with the default parameters takes extreme effort (I'm female and need to run a sustained 8.5mph+ to get to that heart rate, and it's hard to sustain that pace for 30 minutes).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Are you really fit? As you get more fit your HR should be lower for the same level effort as when you were less fit.

I've always been quite fit so I don't have much for comparison.

That method that the other pp posted is helpful and if this is accurate for lower heart rate people, then it sounds like I'm doing fine and not slacking.

Thanks for all the responses!

[Anonymous]

My DH is the same as you (and his resting HR is generally about 45). When he asked his doctor about it, the doctor just said "It's because you are an athlete. It's fine." DH isn't a professional athlete or anything, but he is naturally athletic, and always has been in great shape. He's 65 now and his only real exercise is running several times a week.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My DH is the same as you (and his resting HR is generally about 45). When he asked his doctor about it, the doctor just said "It's because you are an athlete. It's fine." DH isn't a professional athlete or anything, but he is naturally athletic, and always has been in great shape. He's 65 now and his only real exercise is running several times a week.

Thanks. Yeah, that's the same response I've gotten. It's been harder to understand how to interpret metrics during workouts, though. I'm aware that your body will often send you signals that you're not doing well when you're actually just training hard. I really struggle in workouts at the 84% range, but I wonder if I'm just exaggerating and could actually be running or cycling much harder. Based on that calculator that the pp provided for lower heart rate people, though, I'm right on track. That's what I wanted to know.

[Anonymous]

OP - my heart rate tends to also be low as well. It was before I even got back into being an athlete after many years of working and horrible law firm life. I am a 42M endurance athlete (now). I have a ton of range now.

Part of that comes from getting more comfortable being uncomfortable, and tons and tons of investment time in cycling and running, of course. My "max" is probably around 186-190, which I have seen on my Garmin strap a few times. My true resting heart rate is probably around 42.

To get a real sense of any zones, you really would have to do some sort of bike or run test as mentioned above. Like a flat out run for 30 minutes or a 20 minute FTP test on a bike. I do both of those somewhat frequently to get a sense of where I am in my fitness. But, not that often. My coach and I can find the zones pretty easily based on data.

So, that was a long read, but I wouldn't stress out. Sounds like you are very fit and right on track!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My DH is the same as you (and his resting HR is generally about 45). When he asked his doctor about it, the doctor just said "It's because you are an athlete. It's fine." DH isn't a professional athlete or anything, but he is naturally athletic, and always has been in great shape. He's 65 now and his only real exercise is running several times a week.

Thanks. Yeah, that's the same response I've gotten. It's been harder to understand how to interpret metrics during workouts, though. I'm aware that your body will often send you signals that you're not doing well when you're actually just training hard. I really struggle in workouts at the 84% range, but I wonder if I'm just exaggerating and could actually be running or cycling much harder. Based on that calculator that the pp provided for lower heart rate people, though, I'm right on track. That's what I wanted to know.

You are being way too literal with this. Why are you focusing on treadmill generating default numbers? Who cares. Do you feel like you are working hard? If you do, keep it up.

[Anonymous]

Your orange zone is going to be lower than the charts indicate for somebody of your age/gender. Work hard, but don't worry about the numbers and/or "zones"!!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My DH is the same as you (and his resting HR is generally about 45). When he asked his doctor about it, the doctor just said "It's because you are an athlete. It's fine." DH isn't a professional athlete or anything, but he is naturally athletic, and always has been in great shape. He's 65 now and his only real exercise is running several times a week.

Gee he only runs several times a week, that’s like not exercising at all.