Over training and heart rate?

[bigbadaboom]

Was wondering if anyone know whether your MAX heart rate drops lower than usual if you over trained yourself?

For example I usually have a MAX heart rate of 172 with an average of 155 for a 60 minutes cardio work out, but lately I've been noticing a drop in my MAX heart rate down to 168 on my heart rate monitor when I do the same amount of work out I usually do.

I couldn't really find any article that shows whether it's a sign of over training around the net, so I'd thought I'd come around and ask to make sure.

[Charvie]

220 - (your age) is a textbook answer to your maximal heart rate.\
It varies according to fitness levels of whether or not you actually get that high

[Deleted]

For example I usually have a MAX heart rate of 172 with an average of 155 for a 60 minutes cardio work out, but lately I've been noticing a drop in my MAX heart rate down to 168 on my heart rate monitor when I do the same amount of work out I usually do.

Usually it's just a sign of your body getting stronger. If you work out, specially with cardio exercises like running, swimming, etc., your body gains stamina and grows stronger including your heart. And since your heart is stronger, it will have easier times pumping blood around with less "beats" then usual. If you checked your normal pulse before you started working out few months ago and after you started working out, you would probably notice your normal pulse is lower aswell.

It's just general fact, since people who are in professional sport usually have a lot lower pulse when they are and aren't working out then people who exercise only every now and then.

[Aesc]

Overtraining will typically show an increase in resting heart rate first thing in the morning. AS in you take it while still in bed.

[Masark]

220 - (your age) is a textbook answer to your maximal heart rate.\
It varies according to fitness levels of whether or not you actually get that high

You need a new textbook. even the guy who came up with that formula back in 1970 says it's highly inaccurate.

a better formula is 191.5-(age^2 X 0.007)

[Charvie]

You need a new textbook. even the guy who came up with that formula back in 1970 says it's highly inaccurate.

a better formula is 191.5-(age^2 X 0.007)

Well I did that, and my heart rate has been well above 191.5-(age^2 X 0.007)
but never above 220 - age .
may be out dated, but it hasnt been wrong yet in my experience

[Riptide]

Overtraining will typically show an increase in resting heart rate first thing in the morning. AS in you take it while still in bed.

This. So no you're not over training. As the others have stated, it's just that your body is getting more efficient at your current workout.

If you're using a treadmill continue with your usual routine but with an incline of +2 what you normally do and keep the same speed. I would bet your heart rate will go up past your previous 172 :P

[Demonakat]

Was wondering if anyone know whether your MAX heart rate drops lower than usual if you over trained yourself?

For example I usually have a MAX heart rate of 172 with an average of 155 for a 60 minutes cardio work out, but lately I've been noticing a drop in my MAX heart rate down to 168 on my heart rate monitor when I do the same amount of work out I usually do.

I couldn't really find any article that shows whether it's a sign of over training around the net, so I'd thought I'd come around and ask to make sure.

You're not overtraining, you're training like usual. And if your max heart rate drops when you're doing the same workout, that's a sign that you should change your work out. If you're running, add some weight to yourself, like grab some dumb bells, a weight vest, some ankle weights, or change the incline, make it harder on your body. If you're biking, change the gear on the bike. You need to make changes/variations in your workout every few weeks to keep it optimal, otherwise your body gets used to it and you don't get as good a workout as you usually do.

Basically, you got used to your work out, to keep training at a good intensity, you need to change your workout into something different. Big changes or small, as long as you're changing. It's kind of the same principle behind p90x, except p90x muscle confusion is stupid. Your muscles don't get used to a workout within 10 minutes.