Just a quick post to see if anyone has a similar issue - and indeed if it's an issue at all...
Background - Now in my early 50s and medium fit/active . I no longer train for anything, just hop on my bike or in my boat or go for a jog as and when. Even use an indoor bike and do some strength work when motivated. But nothing structured. Once upon a time I was very different - competitive cyclist and triathlete at a pretty good level - a coach, a bit of sponsorship and a bit of travel for competitions inc at European and world level. Never going to win anything worth winning but half decent. Like everyone getting older is a bit of voyage into the unknown, but I'm also not used to being less than very fit too.
I've got this, to me, weird thing going on with my heart rate. When I first start exercising my heart rate refuses to budge for the first few minutes. Those first few minutes feel properly brutal, from a RPE (relatively perceived effort) perspective toward the 3rd minute it's like the back end of a cross country running race back in the day....then my heart rate picks up to what you'd expect for the exercise intensity and it's all good. Below is a quick sample from a jog this morning I recorded to send to the consultant to try to explain - grey is heart rate and blue is jogging pace. As you can see for the first few minutes my heart rate was bouncing around in the mid 60s (my resting HR is high 40s) as I jogged up a gentle hill and felt like death. Then, boom, heart picks up pretty much instantly and I'm golden - breath under control, RPE normal, no longer feeling like I'm going to die. Back in the day you'd always expect some HR lag as you changed exercise intensity, but this feels another level. Sometimes (not on this occasion), my HR will start to pick up to what I'd expect and for no good reason (I'm still doing the thing) drop back down to near resting HR for a few minutes - seemingly just to mess with me.
Is this normal for an old fart? Is this what old and not so fit looks like? I'm trying to work out how much to annoy the consultant. To be honest I don't really mind when actually exercising (just start super slowly and build up as and when the HR starts to pick up), it's actually more of a pain just living a day to day life - doing something physical out of the blue, like lugging something heavy up a few flights of stairs, and by the time my heart gets the memo that we need to up our game I'm ready to faint - on a couple of occasions quite literally. Once the ticker is up to speed I could keep going all day - it's just those first few minutes.
I got referred by my GP 12 months ago to a cardiologist and after an 11 month wait I had an ECG and a 5 minute audience with the consultant where he said he wished he was in my shape and booked me an exercise test for next month just in case. I've just got the letter and it sounds a waste of time - a HR & BP walking test on the treadmill in my normal clothes and a reminder not to smoke for the 4 hours beforehand (I don't smoke). I'm not convinced that's going to simulate this weirdness. Hence doing this mini test myself to send him something hopefully useful.
Tell me I'm worrying about nothing, its the bit about getting old I didn't read in the manual and I just need to toughen the **** up and not be such a lazy arse and get fit(ter) again.
Sorry - more words than I expected....
I would say that's very similar to my experience (and I have mid-40s resting and pretty low upper limit). I've often put it down to the wrist hrm and that I never warm up... although maybe I should stop and check some time.
Conversely with the chest strap I used to use i'd often see double the correct heart rate for the first few minutes.
How/what are you measuring HR with? There are various reports of some Garmin watches taking a few minutes to "kick in" at the start of activities. To avoid any doubt, I'd try using a chest HRM for a while and see if the same pattern results.
How/what are you measuring HR with?
Always chest strap - never trusted watch readings.
I'd put the readings down to errors in the equipment if it wasn't directly related to how it feels.
Edit - and to add...my resting HR is actually quite high now to back in the day when it was in the mid to high 20s. My party trick back then was to chug a beer or G&T an hour or so after an intense run then promptly fait when my HR dropped into the teens. I ended up on a heart rate tape with a load of pads all over me for a couple of days and then given the all clear (after the cardiologist enquired if I might be on some form of PED - I wasn't). So maybe I've always been a bit of a lightweight..Now I'm just an old lightweight.
I'm not a Dr and personally I would wait for Dr's to answer but from what I've been learning on my fitness journey the past year, AI, getting big into HR zones, lactate threshold data, v02, nutrition etc and understanding why my body behaves in certain ways when I'm running it seems what you're experiencing is pretty normal if you're not warming up beforehand, especially if you're fit. It takes a while for your body to realise oh shit we're not stopping we're actually doing this.
Your HR lags, oxygen delivery lags, muscles burn glycogen anaerobically because your physiology isn't expecting it, then 2-4 mins in your blood vessels vasodilate, heart rate ramps up sharp, breathing locks in and muscles switch from anaerobic to aerobic and your cardiovascular system starts working as intended, this could be from you starting your runs too fast (not warming into the first 2km at an easy pace, dehydration, outside temperature, built up stress etc). Try warming up before your run and start at an easy pace for the first 5 minutes before going to your intended pace and perceived effort.
I'm on the other end of the spectrum for the past 2 months where my HR ramps up quickly but then I experience HR drift and find after 5km my breathing has started to slow down, my pace slows down but my HR remains too high for the perceived effort. I've found for me as I've started training for a half marathon, work stress, DIY, lots of social events with booze, etc my HRV has dropped and I need more time to recover, I've started pushing out my 10k runs to once every 10-12 days with one very easy 5k in between keeping HR below Zone 3 and it's started to get better again. I'm 35 years old for context.
I'm 52 and reasonably fit, just had a look through my last few tracked activities and they have more of a gradual rise over the first few minutes, not a complete flatline then sudden jolt like your trace above.
Intrigued what the issue is, do keep us updated.
I'm 65, raced various sports up to 55, good amateur in some of them, still very active. My peak heart rate has dropped a lot over the past 10 years and getting it up takes a serious effort feeling out of breath and crap. Like you I then feel OK. If I then let it drop; for example if I do a col, drop down and then do a second I have to start all over again. If I just go out and try to run at a reasonable pace I grind to a panting halt with a heart that isn't up to speed. So my personal solution is start very slowly. In the pool I have to alternate backstroke and crawl till I'm "warmed up" which really means the heart up to speed. I've given up on heart rate monitors, a finger on the wrist or neck tells me all I need to know, going too high is not going to happen.
Being objective there was change with Covid first wave I've never recovered from.
Can't help with the query but..
then promptly fait when my HR dropped into the teens.
Say what? When you were younger you use to see a hr under 20?? I've heard of under 30 in tdf cyclists, but under 20 is insane!
If I just go out and try to run at a reasonable pace I grind to a panting halt with a heart that isn't up to speed. So my personal solution is start very slowly
Interesting - very similar to me then. How do you cope away from sport? Does doing something a bit physical for DIY where you've been pottering then suddenly asking your body to lug something heavy make you struggle?
For that graph above I forced the issue a bit. If I'd walked/jogged (like I was doing a couch to 5km session) until my heart rate started to move up I'd have been fine. It was a very modest pace I was jogging there, but still enough that it was an issue. It's actually normal life tasks that I've struggled with most.
Have you actually checked manually that what your HR monitor is saying is actually what your heart rate is at the point it's reading low. My watch is useless at this early in a session (and often mid session) and one of my Garmin HR straps takes an age to decide I'm actually exercising. I've manually checked at times to confirm they are both reading utter rubbish.
Watch generally sorts itself out eventually and is all I use now outside but I only use that as it's part of the watch.
Say what? When you were younger you use to see a hr under 20?? I've heard of under 30 in tdf cyclists, but under 20 is insane!
At the time my resting HR was in the 20s and I seemed fine most of the time. But if I added alcohol to the situation straight after strenuous exercise it would drop lower still, and I'd black out and fall over. I wasn't a complete masochist - once I discovered it was a thing I avoided doing it!
Have you actually checked manually that what your HR monitor is saying is actually what your heart rate is at the point it's reading low.
As in - taken my pulse manually at the wrist - yes sadly. My watch has a little heart graphic that blimps on every beat and I can stop and take my pulse and the blip on the screen matches what I feel with my fingertip.
In that case sounds odd and go see your GP (which you are) and possibly ask to refer to someone who knows more about this stuff as you were quite a high level athlete once with a freakishly low resting heart rate. Miguel Indurain BITD was the poster boy for low resting heart rate which google suggests was 28bpm. That may or may not have been assisted by EPO.
You don't have to turn up to a stress ECG in normal clothes and walk on it. The reason they say this is because the average person on it struggles to make it past 10 minutes, but in reality you keep going until you say stop, or the ECG/blood pressure measurement goes funky, or it times out at 24 minutes.
Definitely pack a change of clothes and a towel. I've suffered through two and the hospitals aren't used to people that can work up a sweat, and they won't let you shower afterwards either in case you faint in there.
You'll know more after the stress ECG but maybe you just need to do a more careful warmup?
For what it's worth I don't bother with warm ups on short fast runs and see an almost instant climb in HR (up to threshold in less than 90 seconds from a standstill at 3:30/km pace). Would attach a picture but STW. 🤷♂️
I find this quite reassuring. I would say I’m less extreme than you but it’s there.
Zone 2 for me is about 120 beats per minute. Once I’m warmed up in can keep to that for hours. There is a small hill near the start of many of my rides. If i put in an effort there my heart rate is 120 but my perceived excursion is really high
I’m 59 and active rather then fit. 5 hours a week on a bike but mainly in zone 2. Was fit in my 20s not my 30s
How do you cope away from sport? Does doing something a bit physical for DIY where you've been pottering then suddenly asking your body to lug something heavy make you struggle?
Yes, again I warm up. I go for a walk before starting.
Somewhat similar.. was very fit in late 20's , 30's, resting pulse circa 40 , max around 200, VO2 max > 75, and national level at running.
I guess the effect I see now is that because I'm not running it's very hard to get my HR up as the 'plumbing' I think is very good compared to my muscular power in major groups, so I can be in lactate hell and it takes a long time to get over 130.
10 years older than you OP but my resting is very low; 7's rugby and regular football caused that. My resting is about 45 but I cannot get above 160 nowadays. But it does also take time to get going too and my thoughts are that during Covid and time off, due to injuries/lack of motivation, there is a drop in the reaction and pick up time. All ok at the moment though, as I'm in one of those motivated periods in my life.
Might need a sports Doc to answer though.