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Heart rate

1 lurker | 301 watchers
Sep 2017
9:23am, 29 Sep 2017
2,865 posts
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larkim
Couple of posts by (arguably self interested) HRV detectors using finger sampling seem to suggest accuracy is OK despite the relatively slow FPS inherent detection of a smartphone camera (obviously this is an iPhone one, other makes / models may vary I suspect).

marcoaltini.com

hrv4training.com
Sep 2017
9:32am, 29 Sep 2017
17,239 posts
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flanker
This hrv4training.com gives details of using smartphone apps to measure HRV.

Also, if you use a recent Garmin watch (fenix 3, 920, and newer iirc) you can configure it to add HRV data gathered at the start of each activity to the FIT file so it can be imported with your run. This is how these watches provide the report of your condition during the first 10-12 minutes. It's probably not as precise as doing it first thing in the morning, but as long as you don't mix the two it should provide a consistent trend (which is all you need to know about).
J2R
Sep 2017
10:11am, 29 Sep 2017
721 posts
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J2R
Interesting comment from an article (https://www.strengthofscience.com/articles/getting-practical-heart-rate-variability-training/) by Marco Altini, developer of the iPhone app HRV4Training, who was mentioned by flanker above. "If you don’t have an iPhone, I’d suggest ithlete and Elite HRV as solid tools. No fuss." I've switched to Elite HRV now (from SelfLoops) and will be interested to see what it tells me over the next few weeks. It's a shame, though, that the overall figure it produces doesn't seem to be equivalent to the ones produced by SelfLoops, as it would be helpful to compare with figures gathered over the last couple of years.

My initial readings suggest a pretty low HRV (49 today, 45 yesterday), which doesn't really surprise me. I've been suffering from stress for a long time now, and have been sleeping badly, and have also had some low-level viral thing for the last couple of weeks. On top of that, I'm 57, which means a lower HRV to start with. I'm interested in HRV not just as a means of monitoring response to physiological stress from running training, but psychological stress as well - the body apparently doesn't really distinguish between sources of stress, it's all just stress as far as your system is concerned.

Here's a question for any HRV experts out there. On days when your HRV is lower than normal, what do you do in terms of training? Obviously you wouldn't train hard or long. But from what I've read about this whole area in the last couple of years, I believe it's perfectly OK to do a small amount of easy training, easy meaning all done well below first ventilatory threshold. That is, in a zone where you're not triggering fight-or-flight response. If this is true, the interesting question for me then is whether it's not so much that you can get away with this, but that it's actually beneficial, better than doing nothing?
Sep 2017
10:16am, 29 Sep 2017
17,243 posts
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flanker
it seems every device produces a different metric for HRV which is a shame. You'd have hoped there was a standard way to record it.

I tend to use low values to make me stop and properly assess how I/my body feel, and then either train easy or rest accordingly. Not very scientific I'm afraid, but it does mean that I won't do hard sessions while over-tired (unless that is the purpose of the session)
Sep 2017
10:22am, 29 Sep 2017
17,244 posts
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flanker
How to enable HRV recording on Garmin watches. It will make the FIT files a bit bigger and I've not found a way to turn it off (not that I've wanted to), so use at your own risk yada yada...

the5krunner.com

I think the Fenix 5 can now enable/disable HRV logging through one of the menus.
Sep 2017
12:10pm, 29 Sep 2017
1,964 posts
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steve45
Now I am worried!
J2R
Sep 2017
12:13pm, 29 Sep 2017
722 posts
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J2R
What are you worried about, Steve?
Sep 2017
12:16pm, 29 Sep 2017
1,965 posts
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steve45
Thanks for all the information folks which seems so useful and valid. It's going to take some time to decipher the ins and outs of the various tools for the job. At the moment it seems a trifle complex in respect of what I want to achieve (I don't race any more --last race was 2004...and have no intention of racing either!)..pb's are no longer on my agenda for obvious reasons and I'm not into the WAVA cos it just doesn't grab me! But I will explore all this further.
Sep 2017
1:14pm, 29 Sep 2017
1,966 posts
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steve45
Originally worried that it all seemed a bit "heavy" until I read the links which made it all clear. The information makes it very clear and there's the temptation to get the equipment and enjoy the findings. For what I want and do though it seems yet another "intrusion" into what for me is an enjoyable experience five days a week. A wise/healthy/safe intrusion I suppose but still an intrusion--when I began running wrist stop watches hadn't been invented--as soon as they were on the market I had one; same with personal HRM's..Garmins and the like too! All added to the idea that there might be some magic way to run better. They didn't! Still interested in the HRV idea though and there are evidently some serious "followers" out there.
J2R
Sep 2017
2:28pm, 29 Sep 2017
724 posts
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J2R
Steve, you may look at HRV monitoring as a way of ensuring that you continue to be able to run enjoyably five days a week. It should help you avoid injury, overtraining and illness.

About This Thread

Maintained by Elderberry
Everything you need to know about training with a heart rate monitor. Remember the motto "I can maintain a fast pace over the race distance because I am an Endurance God". Mind the trap door....

Gobi lurks here, but for his advice you must first speak his name. Ask and you shall receive.

A quote:

"The area between the top of the aerobic threshold and anaerobic threshold is somewhat of a no mans land of fitness. It is a mix of aerobic and anaerobic states. For the amount of effort the athlete puts forth, not a whole lot of fitness is produced. It does not train the aerobic or anaerobic energy system to a high degree. This area does have its place in training; it is just not in base season. Unfortunately this area is where I find a lot of athletes spending the majority of their seasons, which retards aerobic development. The athletes heart rate shoots up to this zone with little power or speed being produced when it gets there." Matt Russ, US International Coach
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