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[lindsayh]

Hi Graham
You are right I have an interest in sports physiology but am very much a moderately informed amateur rather than a professional. I am a veterinarian by trade so have a science background but in no way pretend to give anyone advice in medical matters.

Resting HR 45 - 50, missed beats, general heaviness in the chest, dizzy when leaping into action, due to a lifetime of fitness rather than anything else.
He explained all about what it is, and why it's unsatisfactory to have long gaps in the heart beats, where all sorts of shenanigans can happen with the natural pacemaker signals, and the associated risks of atrial fibrillation occurring (which I have already experienced occasionally when fell-running but no longer do due to that.) Anyway, apart from recommending decaf coffee (just what is the point of decaf coffee anyway? ) he suggested I actually row with less intensity, only allowing my HR to get to 100 during exercise - in an effort to try to get my resting HR back to something 'normal' i.e. 60-ish.
So it seems the lifetime of aerobic exertions (squash, running, cycling and more recently, rowing) have set me up with a problem later in life.

If your GP has become concerned simply because your heart rate is <50 then I agree with Henry - seems a bit "lazy" as there are lots of fit long term trainers that get to our age with HRs very low (mine is 43 and not that unusual I suspect). He maybe just doesn't have a lot of experience of sporty well trained people. That is different to you having an arrhythmia (that is an irregular heart beat) It is unclear as to whether that is happening though you mention "missed beats". There is a phenomenon I understand in ultra distance athletes where there can be heart damage that can lead to sudden death but my understanding is that it is a pathology confined to that small group not to the sort off exercise we typically do. There has been a bit of talk on the Forum about AF and it would be worth searching for it but again it is by and large anecdotal albeit well meaning. It is equally possible that you have a risk of arrhythmia/AF or a perfectly normal healthy slow heart.

IMO even highly vigorous training is good not bad and a resting HR of 60 is no more "normal" than 45 it depends on genetics and fitness. I would pretty frequently get very close to my maxHR of 173 - was 171 on a session this week, 168 last week I think. My mantra is to actually train harder as we age not lighter to work against the natural slowing that results from our wasting muscles (google sarcopenia!)
If there is any suggestion of heart disease (in particular an arrhythmia) then I would definitely get to see a cardiologist and have an ECG resting and stress and maybe a stress ultrasound or even a stress CT I think are the gold standard now. Try to find a sports clinic to maximise the chance of getting good advice and if all is good then just go for it!

[jackarabit]

Links to blog of U.S. heart specialist ———>

http://www.drjohnm.org/2011/03/cw-that- ... ect-sense/

http://www.drjohnm.org/the-mysterious-athletic-heart/

Minimum of hemhawing, lay reader friendly.

[lindsayh]

Links to blog of U.S. heart specialist ———>

Makes sense Jack - I am defo not taking up triathlon training any time soon. It seems as if it is the long distance steady runs that are the biggest problem and the shorter sharper stuff that we tend to do is better value for our health

[jackarabit]

I am conflicted, Lindsay. I guess I’m an endurance wannabe with reference to volume but have been fortunate to not experience heart rate regulation anomalies excepting one episode of tachycardia subsequent to angioplasty and stenting for coronary artery disease in 2014. I’ve had an annual stress test and tracer radiography for the past four yrs.—the last in Nov. 17. At that review, the cardiologist cut me loose saying I would not be doing the photo session this yr.

I failed my body for much of my working life but somehow it didn’t fail me sufficient to warrant bypasses and cracker scars. I’ve cut back on the meter chasing this season and doing only four days a week of WP Lite as Henry calls it. My “lite”version still requires 40 to 60’ daily. Not quite ready to abandon the sweatbox for 15’ of 30 on 30 off. (As if I could maintain 90% of top end for more than 5’. )

[lindsayh]

I am conflicted, Lindsay. I guess I’m an endurance wannabe with reference to volume but have been fortunate to not experience heart rate regulation anomalies excepting one episode of tachycardia subsequent to angioplasty and stenting for coronary artery disease in 2014. I’ve had an annual stress test and tracer radiography for the past four yrs.—the last in Nov. 17. At that review, the cardiologist cut me loose saying I would not be doing the photo session this yr. I failed my body for much of my working life but somehow it didn’t fail me sufficient to warrant bypasses and cracker scars. I’ve cut back on the meter chasing this season and doing only four days a week of WP Lite as Henry calls it. My “lite”version still requires 40 to 60’ daily. Not quite ready to abandon the sweatbox for 15’ of 30 on 30 off. (As if I could maintain 90% of top end for more than 5’. )

Jack my guess is that we are nowhere near the level of endurance exertion that is required to mess with our hearts in a negative way and right in the middle of the sweet spot that will benefit us in the long term - different spot for everybody though . Clearly in your case there is a process of trying to claw back long term "damage" and to my eyes you have done a great job with an incredibly disciplined approach to changing a life time of "bad" habits.
My advantage is that I have never really been an endurance wannabe much more an intensity wannabe I think.
There is also evidence around what happens if people don't work their hears and the much higher levels of cardiac morbidity as a consequence.
Lets keep at it I reckon!

[lindsayh]

CTC night

1992m 6:51.2 @1:43.2
df131 sr31 318w
1k @1:43.3 then 992m @1:43.1

Terry @1:51.6

[jackarabit]

Wear out or rust out, Lindsay.

[lindsayh]

Wear out or rust out, Lindsay.

The other thought I had this morning jack is that if you look at the big picture then for every occasional (but clearly tragic) AF/cardiac victim there are 1000s of people who life vastly longer, healthier, happier and more productive lives because of their regular exercise habits. Less dementia, fewer falls, less depression and other mental disease as well as the more obvious things like diabetes, heart, cancer.

[Jenny R]

2nd CTC attempt tonight - 8:47.3. Good improvement on last time and more to come before the end of the month I think. Not sure if Olly will manage another one as he is mid A levels now and has got his nose in his books! I'll see if I can persuade him to give it another go.

Interesting discussion re HR. I am getting fitter as well as intermittent fasting and my RHR has gone from 60ish to low 50s particularly on fasting days.

[hjs]

2nd CTC attempt tonight - 8:47.3. Good improvement on last time and more to come before the end of the month I think. Not sure if Olly will manage another one as he is mid A levels now and has got his nose in his books! I'll see if I can persuade him to give it another go.

Interesting discussion re HR. I am getting fitter as well as intermittent fasting and my RHR has gone from 60ish to low 50s particularly on fasting days.

Good one.

Re hf, does show that your metabolism slows down with less food. Not saying that is bad or anything, just an observation.

[hjs]

Tried the ctc for once, been a while.

R24 and had the idea to do 2 x 1k extra

1k 139.2 24
992 138.6 24
1k 148.5 hd at 250m in, not in the hurt big time mood.
1k 141.9 24

2k 155 18 before and after. Dr124

[Paul N]

When I saw Jenny's new time earlier, I was thinking who's going to improve on their time to move boat 1 up a place... Up pops Henry with a massive effort.

Mine today (first time on the erg since May 7, and boy could I tell):

8:40.9, 1992, 2:10.7, r30, df 110

Splits:
2:10.3, 500, 2:10.3, r31
2:09.9, 500, 2:09.9, r30
r3:00
2:11.5, 500, 2:11.5, r32
2:09.3, 492, 2:11.4, r30

Plus 1k wu, 1k cd.

Didn't recover sufficiently in the rest. Had to manage the 3rd 500 so as not to completely die in the final 492 - think it went as well as.

See that puts me ahead of Rick - but suspect he's either part-injured or not really trying... Still don't know how Jack does it...

[jackarabit]

Tried the ctc for once, been a while.

R24 and had the idea to do 2 x 1k extra

1k 139.2 24
992 138.6 24
1k 148.5 hd at 250m in, not in the hurt big time mood.
1k 141.9 24

2k 155 18 before and after. Dr124

Pacing is crucial to success! I paced myself to HD on the final stroke of the 992 and hit it exactly! Had I chosen 1:39 I would have HD’d immediately upon seeing that number as current pace. I have a faint memory of seeing a 1:39 on a monitor sometime but not certain it was on my monitor.

Paul, Bayko is slumming. He and a couple more lighties will put me on the bottom by end of month. U can 2!

[Kafka]

Good efforts on the CTC this month, but we need more ladies as always!

Did my second go and some improvement meant I'm up (temporarily I'm sure) into boat 4 but still not a floater.

1992m / 8:07.1 / pace 2:02.2 / W192 / SR 24

Max HR 144 / 149 (don't tell the Doc!) but recovery in the rest was good - back to 90 in the 3 mins.

Overcooked the start then tailed off in the 1k from 1:56 to 2:12 at the end

Kept it a bit stronger and more consistent in the 992 and finished strongly.

Probably could knock a bit off that if I put my mind to it.

[lindsayh]

Lizh decided this morning that the challenge was on her list of things to do (although OTE is not her regular thing)
not too bad really =>> boat 4 floated
9:09.7 @2:18.0
1k @2:17.7
992m @2:18.3