What do you folks use for planning your training for the day using RHR? I’ve had the watch 4 weeks now and the RHR values have not been more then 2 beats apart for the whole month. Within that month I had a very strenuous training week, a week when I was sick and two weeks of off season recovery. Still no change in RHR. Now when I awake I look at the “last 4 hours” on the watch and see a minimum HR that can be between 41 or 58 over the last 4 weeks. To me that seams more realistic to plan my training day around. What do you think?
Looking at the last 4 hours of your HR graph when you awake isn't going to give you your RHR. All it's going to show you was your sleeping HR. Your RHR is measured while you are awake, calm and usually lying down for at least 10 minutes. The best time to check is 2-5 minutes after you awake while you're still lying in bed to get a more accurate RHR. Use that reading to plan your training.
IMedically your RHR is the lowest reading that is recorded. That would make mine 42 but it is clearly not where it is most days. Just before I get up its around 55 - 60 pretty consistently. My average RHR as shown on the watch changes a fair bit though and its down to whether I have a few drinks on a Friday or Saturday night - an external influence that's nothing to do with sickness or recovery. Alcohol just seems to raise my heart rate overnight. I'd go with the measurement that TMK suggests. It's a point in the day when, unless you've just had a nightmare, your body is in a pretty similar state. I have read a number of times that heart rate variability is a more accurate measure as to state of training, recovery and stress. Have a look at the app Elite HRV - I can't use this as I have a high number of benign ectopic beats that throws the results but in a normal rhythm this type of monitoring is meant to be a lot more accurate than average HR - its measured via your phone and a chest strap from memory.
Thanks! So your saying your RHR is measured while your awake? That makes more sense then. I always thought it was using sleeping as well. Now it makes sense that it’s in the high 50’s. Thanks
Yes. There's a misconception that your RHR is taken while you're sleeping, but that's not the case. I too thought that was the case but after some research I now know the deal. There's a difference between sleeping and resting HR.
``` For users that wear their device while sleeping, the device will read and record the average of all readings while they sleep, excluding periods where any steps were detected or the measured heart rate fall outside reasonable bounds. ```
So has Garmin invented their own definition of resting heart rate? This seems to be a very novel definition that I have not found anywhere else, they're saying they will take the average of all your heart rate readings while they think you're asleep. Not only is this not the commonly accepted definition, at least VA3 is not the most accurate in deciding when you're actually asleep vs when you woke up. I've had it off by up to an hour though generally it is ok.
I think what it says is that it's still recording sleep for those that wear their devices 24/7 and if it doesn't detect steps or unreasonable measurements it averages those readings as actual sleep and not rest. I think Garmin has it right. I wear mine 24/7 and my RHR is anywhere from 10-12 bps from my lowest daily reading.
We must be reading the language differently. The article is titled "Resting Heart Rate Calculation on Optical Heart Rate Devices" so I don't think it is talking about how it measures sleep. It seems to be saying that IF you wear your device during sleep so that Garmin can detect your sleeping time according to whatever algorithm they use, THEN they will use the average of your heart rate while sleeping and use that as your Resting Heart Rate for the day. Thus whatever your heart rate is during the rest of your day while you're awake would not affect your RHR even if lower and at rest but not sleeping. At least that is the way I read it.
I'm reading it as if you wear your watch 24/7 and your daily low was 43 while asleep, but then detects slightly higher readings outside your set sleep times, it's factoring those averages as to not say your RHR is 43. If you're not wearing your watch during sleep, it has to take the lowest reading for your RHR. This is how my watch is working and it makes sense.
I'd like to believe that, but then my heart rate that I see on the mobile app graph has many periods during the day (correlated by me with times when I know I wasn't active) where it was lower than what the app reports as my resting heart rate. That doesn't make sense if they're measuring the lowest during the day while not asleep.
Man I am confused. I could swear what I said above is true but now I went back and looked over the last few days and it seems to match what you suggested. Maybe I'm losing it :-) Ok, so if that is true, the measurement seems to make sense.