Posts Tagged ‘heart rate’
When training an important factor to know about is the maximum heart rate. The maximal heart rate is not something one can change by training or nutrition. It is a factor of age and genetics only… This can be quite frustrating for some athletes, because theoretically increasing the maximal heart rate should also increase the cardiac output. Increasing the cardiac output should in turn improve achievements.
The maximal heart rate of a particular person can only be measured if the person is put through an exercise test (treadmill or cycling are usually used). For those who can not perform an exercise test, the maximal heart rate can be estimated by reducing the persons age from 220:
Maximal heart rate = 220 – Age
For example: A 25 years old man is estimated to have a maximal heart rate of 195 beats / min (220 – 25 = 195), while a 45 years old person will have an estimated maximal heart rate of only 175 beats / min (220 – 45 = 175). It is customary to say that the estimated maximal heart rate equation is not perfect but is good enough for most recreational athletes. The maximal heart rate should be measured directly, however, in several instances:
- If the athlete has any pre-existing medical conditions (especially, but not exclusively, cardiac problems)
- if the athletes wish to fine tune their training program to their specific needs exactly
Some people can achieve a very high maximal heart rate. These people are sometimes referred to as “the two hundred club”, because their pulse can go up higher than two hundred beats per minute (200/min !). This might sound like a lot, and it is, but on the other hand if these persons are in good physical condition, this elevated heart rate can help them improve results.
People who engage in sports should know that it is all about output. Cardiac output, to be exact. Put simply, the cardiac output is the amount of blood pumped around the body at a given time.
The cardiac output is a product of the heart rate and the stroke volume. This means that the faster and/or harder the heart beats, the higher the cardiac output. Mathematically the cardiac output can be symbolized in the following equation:
Cardiac Output = Heart Rate X Stroke Volume
Is this equation important for a person practicing sports? Of course it is… If your goal is to increase the cardiac output, you should know what its components are. In most people one of the rate limiting factors for their achievements is the limitations of their heart and cardiac output. This means that a person can not raise his or her pulse for ever or increase the volume of blood coming out of the heart with each beat as much as they would like. There is a limit to ones cardiac output and this limits a persons achievements.
Cardiac function and cardiac output are usually the limiting factors in a person’s ability to perform physical activity. In most cases a person will have much more respiratory reserve than cardiac reserve. Of course, in person’s in whom there is a lung disease (acute or chronic) this may not be the case, and the lung function may be the limiting factor, but this is not true for healthy people.
