Overtraining or Broken HRM

[Correvor]

My max HR has been around 196 for as long as I remember, recently though I've noticed my HR is staying low during hard efforts - 185 (ish). It's a garmin chest strap, a few years old.

I thought it was me being a wimp and not going deep enough. Been on two hard rides in the last couple of weeks though and got PBs on segments which I ride a lot, I have to be on the limit to get close to my best times. My max HR on the hardest one was 184 but it didn't feel easy.

I've been doing couch to 5k recently (I don't normally run), trying to build better all around fitness. In the last week I did:
- Tues = 12.5 mile ride, zone 2 / nose breathing
- Weds = 5k run, fairly hard effort but not that deep
- Thurs = rest
- Fri = 30 mins run, alternate 2 min running, 1 min walking. Easy pace.
- Sat = 50 mile ride, went hard on a few segments but about average effort

I do some strength training at home throughout the week but nothing crazy. The health stats on my watch all look OK, had a few bad night's sleep recently but I've never been a great sleeper so not necessarily linked to overtraining. Prior to running, I'd do two mid-week rides and normally go for a 1hr walk on the days I didn't ride.

[Deefor62]

Having recently noticed a sudden drop in heart rate on my Garmin and thinking it was the battery or monitor at fault , I’d strongly recommend going to your doctor to ask this question.
In my case, medical experts have confirmed my monitor is fine,

[Correvor]

Hmmmm, I kind of assumed there's nothing medically wrong because my resting HR seems normal and when doing zone2 work it's around where I'd expect.

Hope you're well on the way to recovery. I may try bike activity on my watch and see what max HR I can register on that. I typically find the wrist HRM a bit st though.

[mcelliott]

Don’t bother with the Dr sounds like you need a couple of easy weeks, then see if things improve

[popeyewhite]

mcelliott said:

Don’t bother with the Dr sounds like you need a couple of easy weeks, then see if things improve

This.

Also serious overtraining leads to a raised resting hr, as well as a possible lowered max hr. If resting hr is normal I'd suggest it's just your current program catching up with you and to back off a bit.

[stargazer30]

Your max HR will drop as you age, but we are talking a few beats per minute as the years pass. A big drop in a short period is something else.
It could be a dodgy HR strap, the Garmin ones have an issue with sweat getting in and shorting the battery out.
It could be you are getting fitter and your heart simply doesn't need to max out. I've seen this with my max (190). I used to hit it on every tough climb, now unless I am really really trying to blow myself up, it won't go much above 180.
I've had it happen once due to exhaustion too. That was a long Glorious Gravel event where I was out of my league. By the last 10 miles my HR would not go above about 160 and I simply couldn't put any sort of power down anymore. I was utterly done, and wiped out the next day.

[Steve vRS]

On a non-related but related front, my HR does something strange when I set off on a run - but never on a ride!

It will peak to a value approaching my max HR and stay there for 3 or 4 mins, even when just taking it easy. Then it will drop to a more realistic rate for the effort. Not every run, maybe 1 in 3 and like I said, never on the bike.

Garmin HR strap as well.

[Paul Drawmer]

Steve vRS said:

On a non-related but related front, my HR does something strange when I set off on a run - but never on a ride!

It will peak to a value approaching my max HR and stay there for 3 or 4 mins, even when just taking it easy. Then it will drop to a more realistic rate for the effort. Not every run, maybe 1 in 3 and like I said, never on the bike.

Garmin HR strap as well.

I've had a similar thing. I do regular sessions on the turbo trainer. This is an example during a very boring 1hour Z2. My max hr is about 160
I'm controlling the HR and there's this blip at about 18 minutes. I just kept the effort steady, and a couple of mins later the HR just drops down to target.
Don't worry about the poor performance - I'm 77.

[oddman]

Paul Drawmer said:

Steve vRS said:

On a non-related but related front, my HR does something strange when I set off on a run - but never on a ride!

It will peak to a value approaching my max HR and stay there for 3 or 4 mins, even when just taking it easy. Then it will drop to a more realistic rate for the effort. Not every run, maybe 1 in 3 and like I said, never on the bike.

Garmin HR strap as well.

I've had a similar thing. I do regular sessions on the turbo trainer. This is an example during a very boring 1hour Z2. My max hr is about 160
I'm controlling the HR and there's this blip at about 18 minutes. I just kept the effort steady, and a couple of mins later the HR just drops down to target.
Don't worry about the poor performance - I'm 77.

I get the same thing with my Garmin heart rate strap. It's a waterproof one so less likely to be corrosion related. Rarely happens on a bike so I think it is more to do with positioning, arm movements and bouncing. If I'm on a z2 run I'll sometimes get it reading 60-70 which is half the target. On a very low intensity activity I'll sometimes get double what it should be. I think when the contact is not perfect, the device doesn't pick up electrical activity reliably.

For the OP it could just be a natural decline in Max HR with age and getting fitter. A another poster pointed out, if fitter, won't need the same HR for the same output. I may be lazy but Max HR is a measure, not a target. It happens as a consequence of something I do but I'm certainly not chasing it. My training is based around aerobic and lactate thresholds.

[Correvor]

An update after the last week:
- Monday: easy 30 minute run cycling 2m running 1m walking
- Weds: 5km quick (for me) hard effort
- Thurs: 15 mile bike ride, zone2 and easy
- Sat: 35 miles pushing a strong pace. Got a couple of PBs on segments I ride fairly frequently and did a 8 mile hilly walk.
- Today: 30 min intervals running, hard pace.

Max HR I saw on Sat was 186, today on the run (watch HRM) was 188.

Following comments above, I don't think this is over training, my sleep, HRV, etc. all seem OK. It could be my old garmin HRM but equally I'm just fitter and although it feels like I'm going pretty deep, perhaps my legs need more training to match the better aerobic capacity from running. Legs are sore today after the run and weekend activity, some more strength training is probably wise.

I'm going to see how things go over the next few weeks, may look at a new HRM if Amazon have any in their sale.

[BoRED S2upid]

Getting fitter? The fitter you are the less your heart needs to beat as you are finding the efforts easier.

[frisbee]

I just replaced my heart rate sensor, on Zwift it sort of looked like it was working i.e. it wasn't dropping out, but my heart rate wasn't really reacting properly to what I was doing.

I probably could have just replaced the battery but It was 8-9 years old.

Edited by frisbee on Wednesday 9th October 08:15

[Robertb]

The Garmin HR straps can get a bit temperamental as they age... I find a splash of water underneath the unit and on my chest helps get a better connection, particularly in colder weather.

[thepritch]

Almost definitely just tiredness (possibly fitness …. See below) - and you don’t have to feel tired There are various signs for over training, and over reaching (they’re different) so check them out first though - mood, appetite, motivation etc. When I was training hard, there would always be times through different phases during interval sessions when my hr wouldn’t get within 12-15 bpm of my max despite going as hard as possible.

I’d not worry too much right now.

Have a read of this

https://joefrieltraining.com/max-heart-rate-and-fi...

Edited by thepritch on Friday 11th October 08:56