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Training with Your Heart

An article by Mike Schultz CSCS of Highland Training

Have you ever been told to follow your heart? If the person who told you that was talking about exercise science and training then the advice given would be wise! Heart rate training for athletes, of all types, has been around for a long time. The science behind how to use your heart rates, as a guide of intensity, is only becoming more precise as time goes on and new theories are tested. Using heart rates is a great way to learn how to work within your limits to gain improvements in power, speed and endurance without overtraining. It is also one source of bio-feedback that you can use in relation to other forms of bio-feedback, such as breathing and perceived exertion, to measure fatigue levels and improvements in performance. Your heart rate is also very valuable feedback when using a power meter for cycling. Heart rates give you direct internal feedback of exercise intensity to measure increases in power, showing improvements, and decreases in power, relating to fatigue.

There are certain trends in heart rates while exercising to observe. When performing intensity, such as sprinting up a hill, heart rates may respond in a few different ways. Heart rates may be slow to respond to the intensity by increasing slowly, be very responsive to the intensity by increasing quickly, or not respond at all by remaining hard to elevate. If your heart rate is very hard to elevate during an intense effort then you are experiencing fatigue. You will, most often, also experience a higher perceived exertion when you have a hard time elevating your heart rate during training. A non responsive heart rate is a trend that usually occurs after a few days of very intense training and racing or during the end of a long two or three week training period. This is a great sign of your fatigue level and your limits. Ignoring a non responsive heart rate, training through it, may only lead you into an over trained state. A heart rate that is very responsive to intensity is a sign of a well rested system. You want to see a responsive heart rate as you get closer to a race. This is a great sign that you are rested and ready to handle the intensity of the event. You may also see a very responsive heart rate after a week of reduced hours or rest. This is also a very good sign of a well rested system.

The very best way to use your heart rate is in relation to your perceived exertion and your breath. Knowing how to use your breath in relation to your heart rate takes practice but it is a great way to see where your body is calling upon more oxygen compared to where your heart rate intensity is. If your heart rate is 20-30 beats below where you can work at race pace, and you are experiencing a labored breath, then it may be the first sign of fatigue. If you have a labored breath and a high perceived exertion, while working at a lower heart rate, then it is more likely that you are experiencing a larger amount of fatigue. If you use power and are working 20-30 heart rate beats below race pace, experiencing a labored breath, high perceived exertion, and your power is down by 40-50 watts, then you are fatigued. It would then be wise to seek recovery by cutting the day short. Each form of feedback via heart rates, breathing and perceived exertion gives us a direct sign of what is happening on the inside of your system. Power is a great tool but it is still relative compared to heart rates and perceived exertion. It is important to learn your trends over time and the positive feedback from each of these bio markers, including power. Where is your bio-feedback while you are feeling good while cycling, running or swimming? If you’re feeling good then where are you within your training period or year? It is these comparisons between your training and bio feedback that will help you learn positive and negative trends over time.

It is important to realize that the more detailed you become with your training, the more you will recognize the trends in your heart rates, perceived exertions and breathing. Each person is different. One athlete may experience a higher perceived exertion after a few weeks of training compared to another athlete who is more conditioned to handle the training stress over time. This is the perfect reason to use trends and responses in heart rates to create the most individualized training over time. Learn how to use these forms of feedback over time, have more fun training and always follow your heart!

Mike Schultz CSCS