Low Heart Rate Important?

When I first started running, I could barely jog a block without running out of breath. Now about a year and a half later, I can run 7/7:30min miles for 4 miles or longer without huffing and puffing.

My problem is, even though I noticed my stamina getting stronger, my resting heart rate sucks. From the time I started taking it until now, it has remained at about 60-65. On an average day when I'm just doing my daily routine, my normal heart rate is about 70-90. Some guys who I do PT with, people who I can run circles around have a lower resting HR than me. What the fuck?

How important do you think a low heart rate is in determining cardiovascular fitness? Are there other factors that can effect how fast a low heart rate is developed (ie: workout intensity, VO2 max, lactate threshold, etc)? How long does it take to develop Athlete's Heart (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Athlete%27s_heart)?

When I run, I'm usually at about 70-80% max HR. I've never done much interval training. Does that make a difference?

it's because you're asian

You should look into doing interval training as well as what you already do. Rotate between the two.. one workout run a longer distance and slower speed, and the next do sprints

just an fyi

long slow
distance (LSD, defined as 60-120 minutes) running at approximately
70 percent of your running VO2 max does not improve either
your cardiovascular efficiency or your running VO2 max. From a
physiological point of view, all it results in is “improvement in stores
of oxidative energy substrates and associated enzymes; the athlete
can run longer but not faster.

Screw you Fuzzy.

this is why they have the mountain camps :D

in all seriousness though, interval training if you haven't done it will yield results.

You can also try running with even lower heartrate like 50-60% of your max and run for 60-100 minutes. It will not directly lower your heartrate but it will get you results in oxygen storage, which in turn might lead to lower heart rate when not running.

nevermind. read another thread.

do u drink coffee

A lot of people put way too much focus on their heart rate. Everyone's biology is different and on top of that there are a lot of factors that can change your heart rate such as sleep, eating habits, climate, etc.

One example I can give you is with your lactate threshold. It occurs at different %max heart rate for different people and is the smarter benchmark to train by as opposed to max or resting heart rate. Say runner A and runner B are of equal fitness level and have the same max heart rate. Runner A's threshold occurs at 170 while runner B's threshold is at 185. A lot of people think with heart rate training that your percentages should be based on your max. It shouldn't, if both runners are running at 180, runner A is extremely lactic whereas runner B will be pretty comfortable by comparison.

Cliffs:
- Heart rate is extremely subjective to genetics and other uncontrollable conditions
- Heart rate is not a measure of cardiovascular fitness across other people
- Start focusing more on your rate of perceived exertion (i.e. on a scale from 1-10) or read up on HR to make sure you don't become a slave to it
- If you do decide to keep using an HRM to train, don't train based on your max or resting heart rates

is there anyway to calculate your lactate threshold besides best guess?

yea

Do you consume a lot of caffeine? do you get enough sleep? stress? Do some deep breathing before taking your heart rate.

Any of these can increase resting heart rate. This is a good thing to bring up to your doctor at your earliest convenience.

The gist, I gather, is to do more interval training?

you need to do some of them karate moves

genetics are a pretty large factor in resting heart rate. Obviously it can be improved though.

Whoa whoa whoa, you're running?

is there anyway to calculate your lactate threshold besides best guess?

Everything you want to know about "aerobic" and "anaerobic" and "treshold" you need to use a heart rate monitor. Since your high intensity aerobic is usually around 80 to 85 percent of MHR (Max Heart Rate), you can figure that your Lactate threshold is around 85% MHR.
Untrained people have their treshold at around 80-85% MHR, which is obviously lower than a trained person.
Max Heart Rate = 220-age.
I'm 19 and somewhat active so ill assume my threshold starts at 85% of my MHR:

220-19=201(MHR)
201*.85= 170.85 BPM

It's also not so much a guess, but you can "feel" it when you hit your lactate threshold.
Good luck.

OP: You also need to look at muscle mass and pressure. If you have more muscle than person B, then your body will need to pump harder to provide the much needed oxygen.

One thing that you might not realise, is that it's not a "normal everyday" heart rate that matters. It's the RESTING HR. Meaning when you are asleep. That is how i came to understand it. That's what it means. It doesn't mean "ive been watching tv for 3 hours, my heart is probably resting".
NO. You take your resting heart rate right as you wake up after a good night's sleep. Meaning you wake up, blink or whatever and then within the next few minutes, take your heart rate (via a machine or whatever). This is what it is.
Athletes who have "better" hearts will always have a higher heart rate in daily activity than people who dont do anything.
The moment you begin any physical movement, your heart pumps harder to give your body "more" blood/oxygen.
This is good. This means that when a seasoned athlete starts jogging, within a few minutes his heart rate will have reached the appropriate "speed" (in bpm) and allows him to perform at max efficiency. A couch potato on the other hand can jog for 10-20 minutes and his heart can still not be quite at the proper "speed" that the muscles demand.
I've heard of triathletes who have their heart rate fly up the moment they start walking. You have nothing to worry about :)

I'd like to point out that the MHR = 220-age is not the most accurate. There might be a deviation of 7 bpm but it's good enough to work. Read this recently. Just a note.

awesome bd

i guess i need a heart rate monitor

my dad has like 3 maybe he'll send me one

I wrote more ^^ check again :p:

when i was swimming year round for years, my sleeping heart rate was around 30 bpm. I was setting off machines at the hospital lol. I could consciously slow it down to about 40bpm. Resting was a bit higher though.

You have a lower HR because you're healthy. Your heart does not have to work so hard to pump blood.

I have the same low heart rate. Even when training or running my heart rate is fairly low. My doctor told me it's because I have a healthy heart.