Heart rate recovery, or HRR, are a measurement that shows how quickly a persons heart rate decreases after a person finish intense physical exercise. Heart rate recovery is a way to measure how well the autonomic nervous system manage stress, and heart rate recovery provide information about the efficiency of the cardiovascular system. You can calculate heart rate recovery by measuring your heart rate at the peak of your physical effort and then measuring your heart rate again exactly sixty seconds after you stop move.
The difference between the peak heart rate and the heart rate after sixty seconds is the heart rate recovery score. If the heart rate recovery score are a large number, it means the body is efficient at switching from a state of high stress to a state of rest. If the heart rate recovery score is a small number, it means the body is having difficulty return to a state of rest.
Heart Rate Recovery: What It Is and How to Test and Improve It
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The heart rate recovery score provides a way to categorize different levels of fitness. People with high levels of fitness will have a rapid and steep decrease in heart rate, and a rapid decrease in heart rate indicate that the autonomic nervous system is highly trained. People who exercise consistent will have a healthy and dependable heart rate recovery, and a healthy heart rate recovery indicates a dependable cardiovascular base.
However, people who have low activity levels will have a slower heart rate recovery, because a low activity level mean the cardiovascular system is less trained. Therefore, the heart rate recovery score act as a metric to show where a person stand on the spectrum of physical fitness. Age is a factor that affect heart rate recovery numbers.
A younger person will naturaly have a higher heart rate recovery potential than an older person, because biological aging affect the bodys ability to recover. However, training can offset the effects of aging, so a fit person in their fifties can have a better heart rate recovery than a sedentary person who is younger. Because training influence heart rate recovery, a person can use exercise to maintain a better heart rate recovery even as the person get older.
You can measure heart rate recovery yourself, but you must ensure that you exert yourself at a near-maximum intensity to get an accurate measurement. If you do not exert yourself at a near-maximum intensity, the heart rate recovery measurement wont be accurate because the heart rate will not have reached a true peak. To measure heart rate recovery, you must reach a peak heart rate, then you must stop moving and stand still, and then you must monitor your heart rate for one full minute.
You must subtract the heart rate measured after one minute from the peak heart rate to find the heart rate recovery score. Many factors can influence the heart rate recovery score and make the score appear lower than the actual fitness level. For example, dehydration can cause the heart rate to stay elevated, and intense heat can cause the heart rate to stay elevated.
Additionally, a lack of sleep can cause the heart rate to stay elevated, and certain medications like beta-blockers can also affect the heart rate recovery score. If a person is sick or if a person is dehydrated, the heart rate recovery score may look poor, but a poor heart rate recovery score in these cases dont always mean that the person is losing fitness. There are ways to improve a heart rate recovery score.
A person can improve heart rate recovery by performing low-intensity Zone 2 training, because low-intensity training build an aerobic foundation. A person can also improve heart rate recovery by performing high-intensity intervals and hill repeats, because high-intensity intervals teach the heart to manage and shed the stress of exertion. Furthermore, strength training and consistent sleep can contribute to the efficiency of the cardiovascular system, and improved efficiency will lead to a better heart rate recovery score.
A slow heart rate recovery can be a sign of health risks. In a clinical setting, a very low heart rate recovery score is linked to higher cardiovascular risks, and a low heart rate recovery score can be a predictor of sudden cardiac event. Because a slow heart rate recovery can indicate cardiovascular risk, monitoring heart rate recovery is important for long-term health.
Monitoring heart rate recovery allow a person to understand how the body manages the stress of exercise and how the body return to a state of rest.
