Beta blocker & Heart Rate Monitor

[deralmckeel]

I have convinced my girl friend to start rowing on my C2. She takes a beta blocker each day which lowers her heart rate. Is there any way that she can still use my Polar Heart Rate monitor and try to get up to 60-80% (of max HR) level? Or should she shoot for a lower % of max HR (220-age) since her HR is being "artificially" lowered? Thanks for any advice.

Deral

[Gyrodon]

I think that she should forget the HRM and the Max. HR formula and just focus on what her body is telling her. Beta blockers change the rules.

Just a humble opinion from someone who has gone through it.

Rich

[jamesg]

220-Age refers to men, not women. It's also an average, with a standard deviation of at least 5%, so useless for training.

Take it easy, 60% of HR Range is enough for general fitness, so long as we learn to row first.

I'd worry more about the reasons for taking beta blockers than for their physical effects; if they do reduce max HR, then the range values will reduce too, if based on a test.

[Quatroux]

Let me start with what should be an unnecessary disclaimer. I’m not a doctor and don’t give medical advice.

Her doctor that prescribed the medication should be able to give some exercise guidelines. Is her maximal heart rate really what you think it is? I’d say her doctor was the best person to make that call.

My understanding is that a beta blocker will make it impossible to reach your “normal” max heart rate. I say this based on my own experience and feeling. Most importantly, I really don’t feel comfortable reaching my max heart rate. That might be a unique problem for me, but I feel like the beta blocker masks some of the demand that erging puts on my body.

All-out effort has even led to migraine headaches for me. I see these as something of a biological kickback – a resistance to the stress I put on my body. I overcome this by measuring my level of exertion in how I feel and not my heart rate. I also started taking my medication directly AFTER I exercise – not before.

In summary, heart rate probably isn’t a good measure of effort. It is likely good to use the monitor and understand her limits, but not to gauge effort.