Good Evening,
60 yo male here, I have a couple of stents no big deal. I am well with no issues... errr health issues. My question is because I am limited by my max heart rate will I ever be able to lower my split times? What I mean is if I row a 7k and keep my splits around 2:15/500 my heart rate will maintain a 118 - 120 bpm. If I push a little harder and lower the split to a 2:09/500 my heart rate will increase to around 126 - 128 or so.
I can go harder but I will approach the 135 max set by my cardiologist.
On a recent 1k row I did an average pace of 2:01.6/500 in 4:03.3, My max hr was 135 bpm and my average was 125. I am good with how ever this plays out but like most we are always looking for that sign of improvement.
Any thoughts would be appreciated.
Thanks to all who take the time to read and respond.
chris
limited by an old heart
Re: limited by an old heart
Great that you're feeling well Chris and excellent to be working out regularly on the erg.
Not being medical I've no idea why you've been restricted to a 135max by your cardiologist - may well be worth discussing this with him/her and see if they'll offer any support on gradual progression. I say that because I know two oldies (older than you!) who've had a real new lease of life since having their stents. From the way they've gotten back close to previous scores and returned to competition, they are clearly not shy of elevating their HR. But of course there may be all sorts of other reasons for you being restricted, not necessarily the stents.
The other light I can offer is that progress can (indeed will) be made by erging regularly even at low HR. We often argue on here about Aerobic/Anaerobic training and zones and how to be in one rather than the other. What is widely accepted though is that if you train at a low (enough) HR you are training your aerobic engine. This takes a long time to build - months/years rather than weeks/months and is all about a lot of seat time and long sessions. The classic "plan" to set your optimum scores would see you spend ages getting aerobically fit, then concentrate on some speed work for a couple of months and PBs beckon. You can't do the speed work, but just getting aerobically fitter on its own will eventually yield improvements. You'll see this in being able to erg slightly faster for slightly longer at a lower HR. Because the adaptations take so long its not as exciting or rewarding as doing speed work...but it does happen, so you will see it in some of the numbers if you put in the time and work.
Best of luck with it ...
Not being medical I've no idea why you've been restricted to a 135max by your cardiologist - may well be worth discussing this with him/her and see if they'll offer any support on gradual progression. I say that because I know two oldies (older than you!) who've had a real new lease of life since having their stents. From the way they've gotten back close to previous scores and returned to competition, they are clearly not shy of elevating their HR. But of course there may be all sorts of other reasons for you being restricted, not necessarily the stents.
The other light I can offer is that progress can (indeed will) be made by erging regularly even at low HR. We often argue on here about Aerobic/Anaerobic training and zones and how to be in one rather than the other. What is widely accepted though is that if you train at a low (enough) HR you are training your aerobic engine. This takes a long time to build - months/years rather than weeks/months and is all about a lot of seat time and long sessions. The classic "plan" to set your optimum scores would see you spend ages getting aerobically fit, then concentrate on some speed work for a couple of months and PBs beckon. You can't do the speed work, but just getting aerobically fitter on its own will eventually yield improvements. You'll see this in being able to erg slightly faster for slightly longer at a lower HR. Because the adaptations take so long its not as exciting or rewarding as doing speed work...but it does happen, so you will see it in some of the numbers if you put in the time and work.
Best of luck with it ...
Mike - 67 HWT 183
Re: limited by an old heart
Two comments:
1) I'm guessing that your "old heart" comment in the subject was meant in jest, because as far as I know, there's no purely age-based (especially for someone 60 years young) reason to limit your max HR.
2) So would it be more accurate to say that the limit has been imposed due to your previous issues and the stents? If I were you I would ask the cardiologist for additional clarification, and start the conversation with these sorts of questions: a) Can you please explain to me in relative detail why you've recommended a max HR limit of 135 bpm, an how you chose that value instead of say, 125 or 145? b) I've really been getting a lot from this rowing stuff I've been doing, and feel it's benefiting me in a number of ways. I'd like to push myself a bit harder, but unfortunately the 135 bpm limit you've imposed is really holding me back. Is there any way we can safely raise that number a bit? For example, how about if we do some additional stress-testing while monitoring how the ol' ticker's performing? Would that allow you to gather additional information that might allow us to expand the envelope a bit? [the idea here is that maybe the 135 limit was the "easy" thing for him to do, and maybe with a bit more effort he can give you a less conservative limit with little to no additional risk to you (assuming your heart can handle it).
Good Luck
Edit: I am not a medical professional, nor do I play on on TV.
Re: limited by an old heart
Not a medical professional here. But I prefer to respect them when they diagnose a patient and set limits. So: listen to the professionals. That number should be respected.
For me, I do about 80 to 90% zone 2 training (so heartrate below 70% of max HR). Which for me is around 130. When I go above it, my HR 'drifts' and goes up a lot. Staying below it allows me to keep HR relatively steady. This works for me, I make progress, albeit slowly. But it is comfortable, I can talk, warch video's and above all: don't get injured.
There is a book called "Rowing slow", from Mike Davenport, that claims that it works well long term (haven't been able to read it myself yet, but a friend did and he was positive). An Austrian rowing coach made a video recently about the need for a lot of low intensity training, even for competitive athletes (see https://youtu.be/1GYZW1bjfcA), where he likes to reduce the high intensity stuff to the minimum or even zero.
For me, I do about 80 to 90% zone 2 training (so heartrate below 70% of max HR). Which for me is around 130. When I go above it, my HR 'drifts' and goes up a lot. Staying below it allows me to keep HR relatively steady. This works for me, I make progress, albeit slowly. But it is comfortable, I can talk, warch video's and above all: don't get injured.
There is a book called "Rowing slow", from Mike Davenport, that claims that it works well long term (haven't been able to read it myself yet, but a friend did and he was positive). An Austrian rowing coach made a video recently about the need for a lot of low intensity training, even for competitive athletes (see https://youtu.be/1GYZW1bjfcA), where he likes to reduce the high intensity stuff to the minimum or even zero.
Package maintainer of OpenRowingMonitor, the open source PM5
Re: limited by an old heart
To see these, as control I use W/kg and W/Rating during aerobic work at rates 18 to 24.but like most we are always looking for that sign of improvement.
I've also used W/HR range in use, which is handy since I know I have ratio 2 (historically) and rest rate 60, so now don't need to see HR. I know, and stop, if it's getting out of bounds.
08-1940, 179cm, 83kg.
Re: limited by an old heart
Thank you all I appreciate the input. This is such a great resource (forum) and I will look into all the advice that has been offered.
Regards
Chris
Regards
Chris
Re: limited by an old heart
Hi Chris- I also have an ‘old heart’, and also have a stent (just 1 for me). I’ve been rowing for a few years at this point (as part of my heart-healthy lifestyle) and absolutely love it. And being very familiar with stress-echo tests (I’ve done a couple of those), I wonder if you’ve had any diagnosed heart-wall motion or ischemia issues with your heart. If so, that might explain the heart rate limit imposed on you by your cardiologist.
I had diagnosed ‘mild’ heart-wall motion and ischemia issues during both of my stress-echo tests, but those issues only occurred at peak exercise and early recovery (and not at any other time). Do you remember if your cardiologist ever talked to you about either of these issues- and whether they were mild or moderate, etc? As someone else wrote here, adhere to the HR limit for now and check with your doctor on why this limit was imposed.
Good luck… would be interested in hearing back from you on the reason behind this.
I had diagnosed ‘mild’ heart-wall motion and ischemia issues during both of my stress-echo tests, but those issues only occurred at peak exercise and early recovery (and not at any other time). Do you remember if your cardiologist ever talked to you about either of these issues- and whether they were mild or moderate, etc? As someone else wrote here, adhere to the HR limit for now and check with your doctor on why this limit was imposed.
Good luck… would be interested in hearing back from you on the reason behind this.