Dear Eurosalus,
Today I wore a heart monitor while running but I had an average of 157, even 160 heartbeats per minute: isn't that too high? Could this be why I ‘m exhausted after training? But I run so slowly, I just can't seem to get it right... What should I do?
Thanks

Dear Reader,

When you start exercising you shouldn't feel discouraged if your body sends out signals that aren't exactly reassuring, especially if it's been inactive for many years. I'm referring to the feeling of fatigue that comes during the hours following training but also to the sensation of heart palpitations, short breath, etc. that accompany the effort.

These are all physiological responses by the body to compensate for stress (in this case the return to physical exercise) to which it is unaccustomed. Even though they are physiological, it's important that exercise not become harmful and for this reason a heart monitor can be useful for measuring cardiac activity and for modulating the effort in relation to heart beats.

First of all, before beginning regular physical activity it's a good idea to remember some important advice (especially if you haven't exercised in a while). Every training session should last an hour. This doesn't necessarily mean that you have to run for the whole time. Some people need to start out with a simple brisk walk and then increase the effort.

Start to run gradually: if you're starting from zero, start by walking for the first two sessions and then at a certain point you can move on to a minute (only one) of continuous running. After completing one minute of running, start walking again. Don't run again until another minute has passed. At this point, if you're up to it, you can run for another minute. You don't have to do it right away and it's important to tune in to your sensations. When you're ready, you can run for another minute. The important thing is to always insert a minute of walking recovery between the minutes of running.

As you progress with your training, you'll alternate one minute of running with one minute of brisk walking (after an initial 5 minutes of walking as a warm-up). When you reach this goal, you can run for two minutes if you like but always follow it by a minute of walking. Very gradually you'll get to the point where you can alternate two minutes of running and one minute of walking for the entire hour. After that you'll move on to three minutes of running and so on until you very gradually and cautiously reach an entire hour of continuous running.

A past Eurosalus article explains every step of this training procedure in detail.

Post-training recovery plays an important role. It's not a good idea to concentrate all of your weekly training sessions (we suggest three) one after another. It's important to provide for a day of recovery in which the body compensates for the stress from the physical effort

Now let's take a look at how to use the heart monitor. When you're starting out it's normal to have 160 hbm especially during the minutes in which you run. When you use the heart monitor it's important to wait until the beats come back down to under 130 hbm before resuming running.

In all of this it's important to realize how different heart rates indicate different types of work. A workout performed between 120 and 145 hbm is typically aerobic and stimulates the heart to function at full regime but with a good balance between circulation and breathing. This type of workout allows us to significantly increase the benefits of our training. On the other hand, a workout at over 155 hbm becomes anaerobic and forces our muscles to work at an oxygen deficit: It's best to avoid this type of training except for short periods, at least when you're a beginner. Finally, a workout at less than 135 hbm mobilizes the fat reserves. However, this type of work is only effective if done for prolonged periods (not less than 40 minutes).

Please consult the articles listed to the right for further discussion of the themes related to physical exercise and running.

Cordially,

dr. Gabriele Piuri and dr. Attilio Speciani
Eurosalus Medical Staff