New runner, heartrate ?'s

I'm a new runner, but I think we need to focus on our breathing techniques to keep our heart at a healthy rate. I'm not sure if you are already mindful of that... And I'm only starting Week 2 this week.

If this is a "DUH" answer, I'm sorry, like I said, I'm new to running. And I'm going at a VERY slow pace. But Good Luck! :flowerforyou:

Everyone has a different max heart rate. I remember reading an article about this. Some people have high heart rates and others have low. The only way to really find your max is to sprint and really work and see where it tops out.. then you can take it from there.

I just found it again.. Here ya go. good stuff:

1: That's why if you're going to use MHR to determine training zones, you have to have an accurate number for your own MHR. This is from the NYT article I linked to in #7 above:

Dr. Fritz Hagerman, an exercise physiologist at Ohio University, said he had learned from more than three decades of studying world class rowers that the whole idea of a formula to predict an individual's maximumheart rate was ludicrous. Even sillier, he said, is the common notion that the heart rate is an indication of fitness.

Some people get blood to their muscles by pushing out large amounts every time their hearts contract, he said. Others accomplish the same thing by contracting their hearts at fast rates. As a result, Dr. Hagerman said, he has seen Olympic rowers in their 20's with maximum heart rates of 220. And he has seen others on the same team and with the same ability, but who get blood to their tissues by pumping hard, with maximum rates of just 160.

"The heart rate is probably the least important variable in comparing athletes," Dr. Hagerman said.


2: Here are a couple I came up with quickly, but if you do any reading on the subject, I'm sure this will be confirmed.

This is from Sally Edwards website:
Your maximum heart rate (Max HR) is a specific number, the maximum number of contractions per minute that your heart can make. There are a number of basic facts about Max HR that we need for reference:

. Max HR is genetically determined; in other words, you're born with it.
. Max HR is a biomarker, it's your individual number.
. Max HR does not reflect your level of fitness
. Max HR is a fixed number, unless you become unfit.
. Max HR cannot be increased by training.
. Max HRs that are high do not predict better athletic performance.
. Max HRs that are low do not predict worse athletic performance.


This is from a more scholarly source, an article about MHR in the Journal of Exercise Physiology:
Heart rate is arguably a very easy cardiovascular measurement, especially in comparison to the invasive or
noninvasive procedures used to estimate stroke volume and cardiac output. Consequently, measurement of
heart rate is routinely used to assess the response of the heart to exercise, or the recovery from exercise, as well
as to prescribe exercise intensities (3). Given that the increase in heart rate during incremental exercise mirrors
the increase in cardiac output, maximal heart rate is often interpreted as the upper ceiling for an increase in
central cardiovascular function. Indeed, research for the last 100 years has demonstrated that heart rate does in
fact have a maximal value (4); one that cannot be surpassed despite continued increases in exercise intensity or
training adaptations.

^^ That's pretty much what I was going to say but with loads of extra info. There are so many different formulae for calculating MHR that they can't all be right. Everyone is different. I use mine as a guide but if I feel ok running with a higher HR than my calculated training zone then I just go for it. I listen to my body rather than my HRM. I mainly wear my HRM to see my progress rather than for training purposes.