Training styles

[Alex Burden]

Originally Posted by Dare Vodusek

No idea, I got it for my birthday ages ago, a very old device and a simple one. No Bluetooth or smart phone connection, just straight on chest strap and a wrist watch.

I am very interested to see the heart rate zones people are in during WODs, so cant wait your results.

Nothing is better than an old school HR monitor. I hate all the fancy stuff too. Mine is quite simple too, it does the job so why change. I can still connect it to the internet afterwards and download the information.

I normally will do anything between 80-90%. Now I am 46 but my resting HR when I wake up is around 48bpm and I should have a max hr of 176 or something but I can hit this and keep going for ages. I max out at about 190bpm and can keep that up for about 1 1/2 minutes and then it gets tough.

[Dare Vodusek]

Whoever is interested in HRV will find this interesting, so I am posting it here:

http://www.nourishbalancethrive.com/...sure-progress/

WFS.

[David Meverden]

Originally Posted by Jason A Smith

No HR monitor for me. But I train almost all the time at a percentage. Most of the time 85-90% to build aerobic power and then lately one session at 75% for building my aerobic base.

I have been thinking of getting a heart rate monitor to see where I land. As far as juggling my days it is VERY rare I deviate from what I get sent. I usually just suck it up and do the work. When my coach was asked about it he had this to say. "I don't care if you say you felt tired or sore. If you are improving week to week during each cycle that is what matters".

I got a Heart Rate Monitor after a lecture with Alex Viada on the benefits of cardio for strength athletes. Still don't do as much as I should, but the HRM has proved an interesting tool/toy. In particular, seeing how my heart rate responds to different activities was eye opening.

When biking I have to put in a decent effort to keep around 70% of max. Rowing I have to put in a little effort (like a 2:05-2:10 per 500 pace). Running, though, I've had times where I physically couldn't run slow enough to keep in the band I wanted. The running doesn't feel taxing at all, but my heart rates goes up higher than semi-taxing biking or rowing. Weird.

It's possible that there are some inefficiencies, but I mostly chalk it up to having huge calves and legs (and just being heavy), and it taking a lot of energy to keep that mass cycling. If anyone else has thoughts on it I'd be curious to hear them.

[Victor J McQuaide]

got a new heart monitor. A good one for xmas. Has the go around chest strap.

Did a met con and went up to 165 bpm most of the time.

30 ohs 95#
90 dubs with Zeus cable Heavy one
20 ohs
60 dubs
10 ohs
30 dubs
5 min and some change.

After the sets checked the pulse. Mostly around 165. Helped knowing that I was not under stress at 165. Beat my training partner by a min so felt good about that one.

Did some 15 cal sprints on the rower 5 min. Each min sprint 15 cal and rest the remainder of the min. Usually :25 second rest. Was rowing 1700-2000 watts most of the time. The pulse went up to 167 as a high.

I want to find the max. 220 minus age is the old theory. Which would be 173.. but I think the I can get my pulse up to 190. We will see.

Anyone have a good way to find the max?

Cheers
Happy New Years Eve Eve
Vic

[Dare Vodusek]

I find something more power related than strength raises my pulse a lot more.

Like sprinting. I can never get my pulse up to 180 with a barbell but can do so with sprints. Shuttle sprints are a nice beasts.

Another option, and the doctors do it like this, is a treadmill walk. They set a walking speed of ~4kmh (convert that into miles for you US folks) and increase incline every minute. I got to a value of 185 last time I did it, which is very close to my "theoretical max".

But I prefer sprints, walking for 10-15mins is more mind challenging than body

[Victor J McQuaide]

Have been under the weather and was really struggling today on the triple 3.

Plan was to stay 150 pulse and see where I stand.

3k row. 2:00 pace usually that is totally easy.. 165 pulse.

Dubs… really hard today. Pulse stayed above 160. 300 in about 9 sets.

3 mile run.. Fighting to stay under 160. Even just under 8 min miles.

Learned a lot. Don't try the 3's while under the weather. Its a hard workout for sure.

Will have to re try this when feeling 100 percent.

Cheers
Vic

[Victor J McQuaide]

Update- general met cons steady able to go for 10-20 min sustainable- 164-167. When I get to 174 which was the max I have achieved feels like everything. Goals are to stay in the 165+ and push the last 90 seconds and end up as high pulse as possible.

[Dare Vodusek]

Thats about how I do it, just my line is at 170, but it also depends on the WOD itself. then the last minute/round I kinda go all out.

For example, yesterday's CFFB WOD I did with 175+, going over 180 in last round as it was a relatively easy and low rep one.

[Victor J McQuaide]

100 pull ups/100 wall balls got me up to 191. 8:10 ish for time.

That is the highest rating so far for me. 47 years old. 185 another met con had me go up to.

But last night in a 21-15-9 Calorie Row and 95# thruster workout I got up to 166 and it felt like 185 or more. So some workouts put the pulse super high and some others not so high but feel like they are. Time was 4:24..

Wonder what the guys pulse rates were who did low 5:00 min for the 15.5?

Taked to my friend Karl D 48 years old and he gets his up to 166 but can't keep it going that long.

164-166 is a good working heart rate for me. I am a hummingbird for sure.

220 minus 47 says max heart rate 173.

I have a good Polar with the chest strap brand new.

Will check other sports for high heart rate.

I like checking the rate between rounds.. gives me something else to do besides suffer.

[Steven Wingo]

Originally Posted by Victor J McQuaide

100 pull ups/100 wall balls got me up to 191. 8:10 ish for time.

That is the highest rating so far for me. 47 years old. 185 another met con had me go up to.

But last night in a 21-15-9 Calorie Row and 95# thruster workout I got up to 166 and it felt like 185 or more. So some workouts put the pulse super high and some others not so high but feel like they are. Time was 4:24..

Wonder what the guys pulse rates were who did low 5:00 min for the 15.5?

Taked to my friend Karl D 48 years old and he gets his up to 166 but can't keep it going that long.

164-166 is a good working heart rate for me. I am a hummingbird for sure.

220 minus 47 says max heart rate 173.

I have a good Polar with the chest strap brand new.

Will check other sports for high heart rate.

I like checking the rate between rounds.. gives me something else to do besides suffer.

You have identified one of the problems with training using heart rate across multiple sports--your max heart rate will vary based upon activity. My highest has been while running, and cycling has been close but never as high (except when experiencing supraventricular tachycardia which landed me in a cardiac cath lab getting a cardiac ablation). Swimming is typically the lowest max heart rate for most people.

With so many movements in CrossFit, it seems to add so many variables that it is hard to judge effort by heart rate since it will very from movement to movement. As you pointed out, 15.5 is just as taxing as some of the other workouts you have done but your heart rate wasn't high. I just don't think a heart rate monitor is particularly valuable given all the variables involved, especially in regard to CrossFit where we do such a variety of movements (and in different combinations).

A couple places I tend to think it might have more value is the following:

1. When doing monostructural recovery workouts, for those people who do them, to help make sure you are keeping the intensity low enough so it is really recovery; and

2. For those who can be very religious about checking heart rate first thing in the morning, using it as a sign for overtraining/lack of adequate recovery/illness--if you check every day and are consistent about it, then you probably can detect trends which might help guide your training.

I've just ordered a heart rate monitor--haven't used one since taking up CrossFit--and did so to start monitoring my heart rate when doing recovery workouts while rowing, running, and maybe the AirDyne. I'm also curious to see good heart rate data with various workouts, although I'm not really interested in trying to use it to guide my regular CrossFit training other than the recovery workouts.