Pacing with a Heart Rate Monitor

[urbantravels]

It seems that there's a lot of interest in this subject, and discussions are ongoing that are buried in other threads. Seemed like it could use a thread of its own.

 

[Sasha]

Thanks, urban - I want to start trying this again and it will be helpful to have this all being discussed in the same place.

 

[urbantravels]

Here, by the way, is the link once again to the CFIDS & Fibromyalgia Self-Help page on pacing with a HRM:

http://www.cfidsselfhelp.org/librar...our-heart-rate-to-stay-inside-energy-envelope

Once you know your threshold, you can monitor yourself to discover when you are beyond your AT. One way to track your heart rate is to count the beats, as I did, but other people use a heart rate monitor, an inexpensive machine available for $30 and up.

Monitoring heart rate has at least five benefits.

First, it offers control. In the words of one person bedbound with CFS, "I craved a boundary, something I could see or touch that would tell me what was too much. My heart rate monitor is drawing my boundaries for me. When I can manage to get up and move around, but keep my heart rate below 105 beats per minute [her AT], then I know I am safe to continue to do so."

Second, wearing a monitor often leads to recognition of previously unknown limits. In the words of one person, "Just getting the heart rate monitor was a huge eye opener for me...Everything put me over the threshold" Another said, "It was quite shocking to find that I operated routinely above my AT."

Third, the alarm feature of a heart rate monitor tells you when you're about to go outside your limits and alerts you to the need to take a break. As one person says, "We set my monitor to alarm when I reached a bit below my anaerobic threshold. That audible heart rate alarm was the best training tool I could have had."

Fourth, awareness of limits can suggest how to change. One person found that just going up a flight of stairs pushed her heart rate beyond her threshold. Her solution was to stop halfway and rest. Another person says that lifting her daughter used to push her over the edge. Her solution was to sit down and have the child climb into her lap. A third person found that many activities put her over her limit. She has found ways to be active with less exertion. For example, she now uses a rolling chair in the kitchen, empties the dishwasher in stages, and uses a grabber to pick up things without having to bend over.

Fifth, the monitor helps educate others about limits and to elicit their help. As one person said, "Using the monitor helped my family to understand and they helped me to stop when it went off."

 

[sparkplug]

hi all, i am a patient of dr lapp & dr black. they rec'd i begin using the HRM. i began, i guess, about a month or so ago. i am part of the vimeo group for the upcoming What About ME? documentary. The films susan douglas began the group as a way for us to reach out via video and for the filmakers to learn more. great group, btw. i did a looong video there, link below, demonstrating how to make a bed using the HRM. there is no way to stay w/in your a.t. and do this in a short vid i also have a couple of other HRM vids there as well. here are the links to both my vid, if interested, and the What About ME? filmakers. They need all our support to get this documentary done.
What About ME? blog: http://whataboutmefilm.blogspot.com/
What About ME? website: http://www.whataboutme.biz/
My vimeo vid: http://vimeo.com/16263125

 

[shannah]

I could really use some input as to makes/models to purchase. I think the girl in the video making a bed said she has a Polar 1 but the alarm goes off at 104 whereas her AT rate is below that at 102. Consequently she has to keep checking the watch and look to see what it is registering.

I've noticed as I've been looking that the heart rate setting at which the alarm sounds doesn't seem to listed.

 

[urbantravels]

With all heart rate monitors, you set the limits (upper and lower) yourself. I haven't watched the videos, but I don't understand why she didn't set the alarm at 102 if that was the limit she was trying to stay under.

I know I posted this elsewhere but the model I got is a Polar FS1:

http://www.amazon.com/Polar-Heart-Rate-Monitor-Watch/dp/B000ASDGU8

I believe this is the cheapest model that Polar makes. The more expensive ones just add a lot of other features, most of which are probably not relevant to us and are intended for people in serious athletic training programs. For instance, some of the higher-end models let you upload all your "workout" information to a computer. I can see this potentially being useful for some PWCs if they are taking a really, really analytical approach to their pacing and want to crunch a lot of data every day... but it's probably not vital for most of us.

 

[Sallysblooms]

I have had an Omron hr monitor with the chest strap for months. I wear it all day. It helps so much with my activity. I have POTS so it is a valuable tool!

I wonder though if it is dangerous to wear a transmitter like that, day after day. Like cell phones, etc.

 

[OnlyResting]

Hi everyone

There is some useful info on the PEM thread so I'll paste the relevant posts over here in due course.

Also, I'm trying to build a central repository of information on the subject and have started a Facebook group to store research material and document our experiences. This will serve two purposes hopefully... it will allow a database to be built and will save those who decide to try this technique in the future from searching high and wide for information

Link is below - I'd love it if you could spread the word.

http://www.facebook.com/home.php?sk=group_108238369246486

 

[urbantravels]

Hi Onlyresting - Great idea. I would note that you might want to mention ME/CFS in the introductory note on the Facebook group, since it's not immediately clear just from reading it what the group is for!

 

[urbantravels]

Although it's not specifically about heart rate monitoring, I wanted to call attention to this post by Victoria from a couple months ago in another thread:

http://www.forums.aboutmecfs.org/sh...ut-exercise...&p=123803&viewfull=1#post123803

It has really stuck in my mind as a description of how to adjust your pace of doing, well, everything. There is so much more to all this than just "learning to slow down." It's practically a martial art, not the kind of thing you can learn how to do overnight - especially not if your preestablished habits are essentially the opposite.

 

[citybug]

Thanks sparkplug. I saw the video and ordered the fs1 because it was cheaper and on sale. I'm just starting with it. So I'm not going to be standing much. It doesn't correlate with my vertigo. My heart rate was much higher when stuffed up. Once it starts beeping your HR is usually continuing to go up, the numbers change fast.

 

[OnlyResting]

Hi Onlyresting - Great idea. I would note that you might want to mention ME/CFS in the introductory note on the Facebook group, since it's not immediately clear just from reading it what the group is for!

Thanks for that feedback - I've amended the group title and description to make it a little clearer

 

[shannah]

I'm wondering about one of the suggested methods of calculation. (220 - age x.60) This seems to be the calculation used for light exercise for healthy people. How close do yout think it might be for us ill for so long? Should an adjustment of some sort be made?

 

[OnlyResting]

I'm wondering about one of the suggested methods of calculation. (220 - age x.60) This seems to be the calculation used for light exercise for healthy people. How close do yout think it might be for us ill for so long? Should an adjustment of some sort be made?

The lowest figure I've seen used is 50% (220-age x .5). Using .6 gives me 109 and it feels almost right for me as, if I stay below that level, I am pretty functional with decent breathing and mental clarity etc. The only totally accurate way is to pay for a stress test and/or measure blood lactate levels though, I think.

 

[shannah]

Thanks for your answer onlyresting.

It would be interesting to hear from those who've gone to Pacific Labs and what their results are. I guess they'd be all over the map though depending on how ill one is.

 

[shannah]

Well - isn't this a coincidence. I see results for one Pacific Lab test were just posted on the front page. Very interesting!

Her AT the first day was determined to be only 100 and 87 on the second day. She's 33 years old and originally thought she had done really well on the test but in fact reached only 82% of values a healthy sedentary woman of her age would reach on the first day and 80% on the second.

Lots of interesting info in there - worth looking at.

(I hate to think how poorly I would perform.)

 

[xchocoholic]

Hi all,

thanks for starting this ... I'm trying to understand if I need a HR monitor like the ones you're talking about. The ones that tell you when you're at your AT ..

I've been trying to exercise lately and I start breathing heavy at 97. Is that my AT and is that where I should stop ?

I was wondering if this is how you feel when you reach your AT ... thanks .. x

 

[OnlyResting]

Hi all,

thanks for starting this ... I'm trying to understand if I need a HR monitor like the ones you're talking about. The ones that tell you when you're at your AT ..

I've been trying to exercise lately and I start breathing heavy at 97. Is that my AT and is that where I should stop ?

I was wondering if this is how you feel when you reach your AT ... thanks .. x

Hi

In the absence of getting professionally tested, the point where your breathing gets heavier and when you become more aware of your heartbeat is generally a good indication when you are up around. There is also 'perceived exertion' which can apply equally to tasks that only involve mental energy expenditure.

I'm sanity testing my formulaic AT (109) based on how heavily i'm breathing and how much I'm aware of my heart pounding (and also when I reach the point of needing to steady myself and my mind going fuzzy). So far, this figure feels right for me.

In terms of the monitor, I'd definitely suggest a 2-piece one that has the wrist watch and the ECG-accurate chest strap

 

[urbantravels]

I don't get out of breath when I'm near or at my threshold, but I am often aware of the feeling of my heart pounding.

 

[xchocoholic]

thanks .. it looks like I need to find out what my threshold is since reaching AT doesn't mean getting winded. Are there any feelings that go along with this ? I'm on disability so I can't afford the Pacific Labs test. Do regular cardiologists run this test or one that would tell us our AT ?

I "think" the reason I get winded so easily is related to my left bundle branch block. I have an abnormal EKG. This is my first attempt at monitoring my heart rate and my first attempt at exercising in 21 years. I've been walking for 4 years now though ... just never very fast because I got too winded.

thanks again ... tc ... x