Heartrate discussion

[VeloVT]

Isn't it the opposite? that the more fit you are, the higher your HR at a given PER?

Originally Posted by aicabsolut:
Just improving overall fitness... may also lower your HR for a certain perceived exertion rate.

Thanks for the morning brainteaser . You're both trying to say the same thing I think. It's easier to conceptualize with a concrete example: imagine a beginning runner who starts out running a 10 minute mile at an rpe of 7 and a heart rate of 175. After two months of training, she can run 8:30 miles at an rpe of 7 and a heart rate of 175. After another 6 weeks, she can run 8:30 miles with hr of 175 and rpe of 6.

I think there's a correlation (though not a perfect one) between rpe and hr; I think they may move more or less together at least at first, although after training it seems likely your rpe would go down for the same hr.

As you get fitter, BOTH your hr AND your *perceived* exertion will be lower for the same **actual** rate of exertion (for instance, if our runner were to do some easy runs at her initial 10 min pace, her hr would be much lower than it had been at that pace when she started).

(That was a long way of agreeing with Oakleaf, I guess ).