low heart rate but cant run

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bufger
bufger Posts: 763 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
I have a bit of a training predicament.

I naturally have a very low heart rate. At resting its around 80 and with and with vigorous exercise the most its ever reached is 130. I'm 28 so I think I should be pushing to 140-160 to get it in the high category?

Basically the restriction on running is my knees and shins. I don't think I'm going to be able to properly run without doing some damage until I'm a great deal lighter. At the moment I'm walking 40 minutes at 6.4kph (which is the fastest I can go without running)

Does a higher heart rate = more work done = greater weight loss or is this just a basic equation made to be a guide for exercise in general.

My current schedule is:
3 gym days - 20 minutes strength, 40 minutes cardio
3 home exercise days - boxing and skipping
1 rest day

Should I leave the running for now and concentrate on the stationary bike/elliptical etc until i've lost more weight and can run? Should i be trying to push myself and run?

Replies

  • jppd47
    jppd47 Posts: 737 Member
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    If you can be injured by running, then stick with walking, biking, swimming till your comfortable running.
  • nicolabradley87
    nicolabradley87 Posts: 95 Member
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    Heart rate is an indicator of how hard you are working, but not a direct indicator of how many cals you are burning! As a general rule a higher heart rate = higher intensity exercise and therefore higher cals.

    But it's very individual, my resting HR is also low (usually below 50). And for example someone with a high level of fitness may have a lower heartrate during an activity (due to more effective cardiac muscles, higher cardiac output etc) but would use the same amount of energy (cals) to do an activity (not accounting for more efficient technique that is!)

    As the person above said stick to low impact exercises, interval training is good on a bike or cross trainer, and then when you feel you are able to run the cardio fitness will be there!
  • sma2125
    sma2125 Posts: 1
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    I'm sure you know this...but just in case...you also can raise your heart rate by raising your arms/hands above your heart. I too, have a low heart rate and bad knees. Sometimes, while on the stationary bike, I will do 1 minute intervals of punching my arms in front of me or up in the air. It probably looks weird, but it does raise my heart rate. Good luck!
  • katheern
    katheern Posts: 213 Member
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    Is a RHR of 80 considered low? That actually seems somewhat high. I thought a "normal" RHR is about 65. Mine is about 50.

    Anyway, as nicola says it's not an indicator of how hard you are working. For example, you could be lifting 100lb weights and your heart rate may barely change but you are definitely working HARD. If you don't feel like you can do it now, just do some lower impact things until you build your endurance up which is probably more what you are having a hard time with. I know it took me a while to get my endurance up to where I am now!
  • sarafil
    sarafil Posts: 506 Member
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    Heart rate is an indicator of how hard you are working, but not a direct indicator of how many cals you are burning! As a general rule a higher heart rate = higher intensity exercise and therefore higher cals.

    But it's very individual, my resting HR is also low (usually below 50). And for example someone with a high level of fitness may have a lower heartrate during an activity (due to more effective cardiac muscles, higher cardiac output etc) but would use the same amount of energy (cals) to do an activity (not accounting for more efficient technique that is!)

    As the person above said stick to low impact exercises, interval training is good on a bike or cross trainer, and then when you feel you are able to run the cardio fitness will be there!
    This.
  • shoneybabes
    shoneybabes Posts: 199 Member
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    My resting HR is apx 49-55

    If you are struggling to get a higher rate and you have buggered knees then I recommend swimming. It takes all weight off the joints and is excellent for cardio. The scary part is getting semi naked but just remember that everyone else feels the same way!

    usually the higher the heart rate the harder you are working but a good sign of fitness is the time it takes to go from high heart rate to a lower heart rate. The shorter the recovery time the fitter you are.

    I however find that my heart rate goes high very quickly which sucks when doing the beep test but recovery is just as quick. I used to stand at the back of the line for reading out the BPM on the watch. :happy:
  • Azdak
    Azdak Posts: 8,281 Member
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    I'm sure you know this...but just in case...you also can raise your heart rate by raising your arms/hands above your heart. I too, have a low heart rate and bad knees. Sometimes, while on the stationary bike, I will do 1 minute intervals of punching my arms in front of me or up in the air. It probably looks weird, but it does raise my heart rate. Good luck!

    Adding that type of arm work can increase the intensity of the activity and can augment the intensity of the workout (which is good). Just keep in mind that arm work (esp overhead movements) exaggerates the heart rate response so that the actual increase in intensity (and calories) is significantly less than the HR would indicate.

    So, it can be a good thing to do under the circumstances you described, those who are using HRMs should be aware that it will overestimate the HRM calorie burn estimate.
  • EugeneUK
    EugeneUK Posts: 23
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    Ever since I got shin splints, I've started spending way more time on other machines amd not just the treadmill. I find that spending about 20mins on the skiing machine gets my heart rate up to about 160, then down to 130-140 on exercise bike and other machines.

    So just wait till you can run again on the treadmill and do other exercises better, faster & stronger!
  • Azdak
    Azdak Posts: 8,281 Member
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    I have a bit of a training predicament.

    I naturally have a very low heart rate. At resting its around 80 and with and with vigorous exercise the most its ever reached is 130. I'm 28 so I think I should be pushing to 140-160 to get it in the high category?

    Basically the restriction on running is my knees and shins. I don't think I'm going to be able to properly run without doing some damage until I'm a great deal lighter. At the moment I'm walking 40 minutes at 6.4kph (which is the fastest I can go without running)

    Does a higher heart rate = more work done = greater weight loss or is this just a basic equation made to be a guide for exercise in general.

    My current schedule is:
    3 gym days - 20 minutes strength, 40 minutes cardio
    3 home exercise days - boxing and skipping
    1 rest day

    Should I leave the running for now and concentrate on the stationary bike/elliptical etc until i've lost more weight and can run? Should i be trying to push myself and run?

    If you have access to gym equipment, there is no reason to run, esp if the running will be hard on your joints right now. For example, incline walking on a treadmill is an excellent way to work hard and burn calories with little impact. Just set the speed at a pace you can maintain w/out holding on to the handrails.

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