TXN11 Posted May 23, 2013 Share Posted May 23, 2013 I'm wondering how changing the way your body uses energy affects your heart rate during exercise. Pre-W30, we favor sugar-burning over fat-burning. During/after the W30, our bodies switch to fat-burning. How should that affect your heart rate during running and biking? I'm asking because my HR went through the roof when I went on a leisurely bike ride. I was within 98% of my max HR, yet I didn't feel like I was really trying that hard. It was weird. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Physibeth Posted May 23, 2013 Share Posted May 23, 2013 I found that the first 2 weeks I was eating Paleo (about 95% W30) everything felt harder for me but once my body adapted to my new way of eating my workouts were better than before. That said I've owned 4 Polar HRM in the past 6 years and they do go wonky from time to time. Usually when I get weird readings on my HRM it is because my strap isn't tight enough or loose enough or damp enough or not in the right place. If you HRM doesn't match your perceived effort than I would question the technology. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GLC1968 Posted May 23, 2013 Share Posted May 23, 2013 Lots of other things affect HR readings during exercise too. Hydration is a big one for me. I normally have a low HR so I know that when it's getting too high during an activity, I've typically not hydrated well enough beforehand. Hotter temps, anxiety, nutritional choices, and even where you are in your cycle (women) can affect HR readings. Personally, it's one of the reasons I think that algorithms that use HR to determine calorie burn are often misleading. When I made the switch to being a fat-burner, I didn't notice any differences in HR readings once I got past the first couple of weeks where I generally felt sluggish anyway. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fenderbender Posted May 23, 2013 Share Posted May 23, 2013 Your body needs time to adjust from a highly refined carb based diet to a veg based carb,fat/protein based diet..... But ........ Your body doesn't " switch" Our bodies are just very efficient at using what is available to convert to ATP. Using a HR monitor is perfect for helping your body do this in the most productive way.... 1 .... Pure anaerobic explosive bursts like sprints, dead lifts,100% effort, etc use ATP and creatine store in your muscles and is good for about 10 sec max 2 .... Above aneorobic threshold, ~85% effort uses muscle glycogen and lactate and will last you for about a 15 min effort 3...... Just below your threshold... 75-80%. You are now in the oxygen utilizing aerobic zone using blood glucose... Will give you a sustained effort of about 90 min 4 ..... Go just below 70-75%. And you are now in your stored fat utilizing zone and with training you have an almost limitless supply If you train in your true aerobic zone you will begin to produce massive amounts of cell mitochondria whose purpose is to convert intracellular lipids into ATP. Your perceived effort will drop your heart rate will drop and you will " go faster" In summary : Most who start a " Paleo " type diet will feel an initial drop in perceived energy because you no longer have massive stores of glucose floating around... ( eat your sweet potatoes!!!! ). While exercising on a " lower carb diet" and you bump up against your lactate threshold, your heart will start to work much harder as you are trying to convert lactate to ATP. So slow down a bit, follow the meal templates, add starchy veg as needed and give your body time to make cell mitochondria and burn tons of body fat.... ( a lot of top level runners,cyclists, endurance athletes... train this way) Oh yeah.... Good time to think about adding pure anaerobic exercise to your workouts Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kmays Posted May 25, 2013 Share Posted May 25, 2013 To the OP, I have noticed this as well with my workouts as of late (currently on Day 27 of my first Whole30). I was doing some intervals that felt hard but not like I was going to die, and when I uploaded my workout info, my HR was in the 190s! (202 or so is my max like at the end of an all-out 5K) An "easy" run for me is normally in the low 160s, and today I ran what felt like "easy" and was in the low 170s. Not sure what's going on either. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TXN11 Posted May 25, 2013 Author Share Posted May 25, 2013 To the OP, I have noticed this as well with my workouts as of late (currently on Day 27 of my first Whole30). I was doing some intervals that felt hard but not like I was going to die, and when I uploaded my workout info, my HR was in the 190s! (202 or so is my max like at the end of an all-out 5K) An "easy" run for me is normally in the low 160s, and today I ran what felt like "easy" and was in the low 170s. Not sure what's going on either. We are going through the exact same thing! I have 2 theories about this. Of course I could be wrong... 1. When adapting our bodies to fat-burning, we are in short supply of carbs / glycogen. However, instead of favoring carb-burning and "bonking" (hitting the wall) when we run out of glycogen in intense efforts, our bodies are actually favoring fat-burning even in intense efforts. But to sustain the intensity, our hearts has to work a little harder than usual to supply the oxygen to our hard working muscles when going over our lactate threshold. Something about the Whole 30 makes our perceived effort lower for higher heart rates, and it could be that by eating a cleaner diet, we increased our true lactate threshold heart rate. Previously, I could not sustain an effort at a HR of 180 for more than 10 minutes. Now I did it for 25-30 minutes, no problem, and I wasn't feeling like I wanted to die. Maybe my new lactate threshold is at 185 or 188 or so. 2. Something else may be at work here, like the thyroid. I am wondering if certain foods are the same foods that promote leptin resistance and higher Reverse T3 levels that block active thyroid hormone (which controls your metabolism). By cleaning up our diet, we might reduce leptin resistance, reduce RT3 levels, and increase the activity of thyroid hormone, and thus increase our metabolism (tiger blood?). When this happens, your heart beats faster, particularly during exercise. So, for the same perceived effort, your heart is beating faster due to higher metabolism. I admit that I am reaching a little in both theories. Which makes more sense to you? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kmays Posted May 27, 2013 Share Posted May 27, 2013 There is definitely something going on with my lactate threshold. Today I raced a 5K and my average HR was 194 with a max of 208, but at a "normal" race effort, like it hurt but I didn't puke or pass out. My resting HR seems to be about the same as always (60-65). I'll go ahead and cast my lot in with Theory #1 though! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fenderbender Posted May 27, 2013 Share Posted May 27, 2013 208! Are you part humming bird.... Lol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TXN11 Posted May 27, 2013 Author Share Posted May 27, 2013 208! Are you part humming bird.... Lol My max is around 200 (I'm 33). We apparently have fast tickers... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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