Heart Rate monitor ?

[251am]

   Somewhere in Faster II I believe there was an interview with Dr. T. He mentioned the difference in heart rates between Rossi and Biaggi during the heat of a race. Anyone ever use a monitor during a race to record your peak heart rate, during a race?

[PJ]

Nope. And I don't think I want to know...

[Thingy]

No, but you piqued my curiosity.  I just borrowed one that records min. max. and avg. heart rates and will take it to Blackhawk in two weeks.  It will be interesting to see the results.  :)

[Mark Bernard]

I don't know and don't want to know. I know my heart is a pumpin fool!

I have freinds that ask how fast we go, and to tell the truth, the first thing I took off the bike was the spedo. I don't want to know how fast we are going. If I knew, I probably wouldnt be racing. Some things are better left to the great big unknown!

[tshort]

If any of you work out on a spin bike or stationary bike and use an HRM try this:  get up to a decent "cadence ride" heart rate that you can maintain for a long time (for me it's about 140 beats per minute).  

Once there, close your eyes, and without changing your cadence or resistance, imagine you are on your race bike doing a lap at your favorite track.  I've done this several times (sometimes end up leaning into turns so much I nearly fall off the bike  :-/ :)).  Without any change in resistance or cadence at all, I end up at about 180-200 when I do this, with no increase in breathing!!  

I've asked my sister, an aerobics instructor about this, and she doesn't know what to make of it - but thought it probably wasn't a very good sign.  I'm not so sure about that - I don't think it hurts anything - just more circulation available to do the same amount of work.

So I have not technically done a lap at BFR with an HRM (yet), but in a way I sort of have.  Will have to check it out for real and see whether it comes out any different.

[spyderchick]

The increase in HR when "imagining" being on the track is pumping additional adrenaline into your system. It's akin to biofeedback. It's not really harmful unless you start having shortness of breath or chest/arm/shoulder pain.

Racers should be in condition this time of year anyhow. (yeah, 12 oz curls ain't what I'm talkin' 'bout here...) ;D

[Jeff]

I think what I'd rather do is shove a bar of titanium up my arse and see how many dents I could put in it after an average race!  ;D

[Protein Filled]

Hey Jeff, you are starting to scare me! does your wife know you go that way?

I think what I'd rather do is shove a bar of titanium up my arse and see how many dents I could put in it after an average race!  ;D

[Jeff]

Hey Jeff, you are starting to scare me! does your wife know you go that way?

She'd bring a hammer...

[roadracer162]

Epinephrine/adrenaline although a natural chemical in the body is not always helpful. Conclusion based on studies of firefighters found that newer rookie firefighter's heart rates dramatically increases during the fire bell/tones compared to the counterpart veteran firefighter's heart rate.  Researchers also conclude that this increase in heart rate is brough on by the release of adrenaline in the blood stream. when this adrenaline is not used for physical activity it can be damaging to the heart muscle. That tightnes you might feel in that anxious moment could be attributed to this.  it is also accepted that a firefighter's life span is shortened by 10 years due to this.

My experience, there have been a lot of firefighters that have recently retired after many years of service at what seemingly is a young age for retirement only to learn of their passing from heart illness. I wonder how coincidental that is.

[spyderchick]

... when this adrenaline is not used for physical activity it can be damaging to the heart muscle. ...

Tom is excercising when this occurs, so that's not the issue for him, and it wouldn't necessarily be cause for alarm.

Also, when siting studies, it's necessary to know the goal of the study and what controls were in place. If the alarms in this study were not followed by immediate activity as would normally occur in their daily routine, I would think that would most definitely affect the outcome of the result.

This is not related to this particular issue, but it's important to know that when studies are conducted, the protocols differ significantly depending upon who is funding the study, (Pharmacuetical companies vs. independant research), the eventual use for the study results, as well as the target group involved in each study.  

[roadracer162]

The study was for the longevity of firefighters and the stresses placed on them.  For every alarm there is not always a response of physical activity(ie: fire) other than an interruption of the normal around the fire house activity.

The basis of the study I am not sure of and you are right this is a little off the original subject.