How long after cycling does the heat rate return to normal?

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Lovacott

Über Member
I don't drink coffee or consume much caffeine. I am going to the doctor, I just wanted to know whether anyone experienced the same thing as me,so I could get some answers as no doctor has provided me with any answers.

Cardio vascular fitness is measured by seeing how long it takes for a stressed heart to get back to normal.

The fact that you are asking a question on here is an indication that something is not right.

If I were you, I'd be aiming the question at a doctor.
 

Ajax Bay

Guru
Location
East Devon
I have already shared with you, @Anonymous1502 how you determine your resting heart rate. When you checked it this morning before getting up, what was it?
This distribution is from Fitbit data (so most of the subjects are presumably interested and indulge in exercise, and see below my text on general (US) population stats):
1606601852186.png

https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20180214005548/en/Fitbit’s-100-Billion-Hours-of-Resting-Heart-Rate User-Data Reveals-Resting-Heart-Rate-Decreases-After-Age-40

During the day just walking around my HR is 30 beats above resting (well I've just taken it to check). Only a 4 hour ride today though, and back for the England v Wales rugby (doubt my HR rose while watching that rather turgid match). I rode the first half with a young lady who is slower than me, but very determined. I know that if I keep below 120bpm then she can hold my wheel on the flat/false flat, so I keep a beady eye on the display and rein back if necessary.
So if your resting HR (HRrest)is 72 (which is 'average') then 106 is perfectly reasonable.
This study offers you more detail: https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/nhsr/nhsr041.pdf
Results (I have selected and precised for the OP - female assumed aged 19-21):
HRrest mean in adulthood plateaus at 72bpm. There is a gender difference: adult females under 20 have a mean HRrest of 90bpm, . . . females over 20 mean HRrest of 74bpm.
3 hours after cycling for 3 hours my heart rate is still very high @106. Is my heart rate high because of the cycling?
so I could get some answers
1) You have not established that 106 is 'high' for you.
2) After 3 hours cycling your HR will be a little elevated for some time - this is entirely normal and shows you worked hard and enjoyed your ride.
3) What's the question? If it's "Is my heart rate highER because of the cycling?" then 'yes'. What actions will you take having received that answer? (Suggestion: None.)
4) Go for another ride tomorrow. Wear an HR monitor for extra data.
 
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gbb

Legendary Member
Location
Peterborough
Very quickly when you are fit and used to a high level of exercise in my case...then.
I'd do 50 miles hard, climb off the bike and carry on the day like little happened, heart rate didnt even occur to me.
If you're under the weather (and perhaps didnt realise it)...your (my) heart rate would stay high for longer.
Now I'm just about done with cycling, a 10 miler a bit too hard will see me with a high heart rate into the night.
 

Magpies

Senior Member
If you are not already using a heart rate monitor (like a Fitbit, for example), perhaps you should consider getting one. They are quite accurate and not very expensive, and keep constant track of your heart rate over months.
The reason is that - like most things to do with your health - knowing what is 'normal' for you makes it far easier to detect when anything goes out of kilter.
You will have a far better sense of whether your recovery to 106bpm after a cycle ride is your usual pattern, or something abnormal.
 

Lovacott

Über Member
Many years ago, when I was running 50+ miles a week and running sub 3 hour marathons, my resting heart rate was in the 50's and I could push it to ~200 with some fast interval training or towards the end of a shorter race.

My RHR is currently sitting at 47 bpm and with light activity it rises to the mid sixties. My BP is 116 over 69.

A year ago I was pre hypertensive.

It's amazing what you can do with a cheap Halfords MTB and a couple of hills.
 

Lovacott

Über Member
I don't drink coffee or consume much caffeine. I am going to the doctor, I just wanted to know whether anyone experienced the same thing as me,so I could get some answers as no doctor has provided me with any answers.
Since I started cycling to work, others have noticed physical changes to my body and passed comment.

The obvious one is the bulging calf and thigh muscles along with the loss of the pot belly.

On Friday, one of our directors (who I hadn't seen for over a year) asked me if I'd taken up weights due to my newly V shaped body.

I can't be bothered with upper body shite like push ups and weightlifting so there seemed to be no logical reason for my upper half to benefit from something my lower half was doing?

The reason for my new V shape is that my heart is a muscle and when you ride a bike hard, your muscles grow.

Your lungs expand, your heart gets bigger.

A bigger heart has a greater blood volume and it doesn't need to pump quite so many times per minute to move your blood around the body.

If you want to build muscle, you need to increase your protein intake and even more so the older you get.
 

Lovacott

Über Member
If you are not already using a heart rate monitor (like a Fitbit, for example), perhaps you should consider getting one.

My son bought me an Honor Band 5 for fathers day earlier this year. Only cost £25.

I also bought a BP Monitor for £19.

The numbers from both tally up exactly.

I reckon everyone over thirty should be encouraged to monitor their own stats and take corrective action. It would remove a fair bit of pressure from the NHS.
 

Ming the Merciless

There is no mercy
Location
Inside my skull
I've been cycling for 8 years and do 4000+ miles a year with multiple long, hilly rides.

I ain't going to get any fitter. It's just who I am

So you don’t cycle that much each year. That’s quite a low annual figure. Sounds like plenty of opportunity for you to get fitter. You just need to change things up to get off your plateau.
 

byegad

Legendary Member
Location
NE England
When I was 15 my resting heart rate was sub 40bpm. Now at 70 it's 54bpm.
I'm not super fit, have barely turned a pedal in 12 months, Lady Byegad's brain abscess op' and Covid (we are both vulnerable) put paid to me getting out on the trike. I had a 24 hr monitor fitted in 2018 (to check my BP, but it also checked my heart as I have a regularly irregular heart beat, since 2001, where my heart occasionally adds an extra beat. My low resting rate was noticed and was deemed benign as were the extra beats.
I think we are all different and while to me 106bpm seems high it may be fine for the OP.
 

faster

Über Member
To the OP - what is your diet like? Not while fuelling for rides, but more generally.

What sort of foods do you get most of your carbs from? Do you eat a lot of sugar?
 

Lovacott

Über Member
So you don’t cycle that much each year. That’s quite a low annual figure. Sounds like plenty of opportunity for you to get fitter. You just need to change things up to get off your plateau.
4,000 a year is 80 miles per week.

That's a fair old whack.
 

Ajax Bay

Guru
Location
East Devon
I reckon everyone over thirty should be encouraged to [exercise] monitor their own stats and take corrective action. It would remove a fair bit of pressure from the NHS.
FTFY
And, yes, 4000 miles a year is a good distance and as you've described, has helped your general fitness and condition massively. Further improvement will probably depend on you deliberately incorporating as many short intervals as possible during your commute, commensurate with road safety. Take all due notice of @YB who as well as daily commuting goes for silly long rides merely to 'up' his annual mileage (and has never sported a pot belly, sfaik, so not starting from the same place as you).
 

boydj

Legendary Member
Location
Paisley
Since I started cycling to work, others have noticed physical changes to my body and passed comment.

The obvious one is the bulging calf and thigh muscles along with the loss of the pot belly.

On Friday, one of our directors (who I hadn't seen for over a year) asked me if I'd taken up weights due to my newly V shaped body.

I can't be bothered with upper body shite like push ups and weightlifting so there seemed to be no logical reason for my upper half to benefit from something my lower half was doing?

The reason for my new V shape is that my heart is a muscle and when you ride a bike hard, your muscles grow.

Your lungs expand, your heart gets bigger.

A bigger heart has a greater blood volume and it doesn't need to pump quite so many times per minute to move your blood around the body.

If you want to build muscle, you need to increase your protein intake and even more so the older you get.

Cycling on a road bike, especially if you do a bit of hill work, engages your core quite a bit and your upper body to some extent, when you get out of the saddle particularly. You don't particularly notice it at the time, but over time you definitely see the effects.
 
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