Cycling UK Forum

I've not been very active all winter, after a broken ankle but I have noticed that my resting pulse (normally 55-60bpm) has really stayed static in the 4 months I've been under the weather. It rarely strays above 65 (I wear a smart watch day and night) and normally drops down to 40-45 in REM sleep.

Anyone know how long it takes for an active person to lose that kind of cardiovascular fitness?

JerseyJoe wrote: ↑14 May 2024, 6:46pm I've not been very active all winter, after a broken ankle but I have noticed that my resting pulse (normally 55-60bpm) has really stayed static in the 4 months I've been under the weather. It rarely strays above 65 (I wear a smart watch day and night) and normally drops down to 40-45 in REM sleep.

Anyone know how long it takes for an active person to lose that kind of cardiovascular fitness?

Effects are detectable within a month. Of course it depends on how hard you look.

As always it's a very good idea to find some other way of getting exercise if your preferred form isn't possible either temporarily or permanently.

Jonathan

I find that my resting HR, as detected by my wearable, is approx. 10 bpm higher (58bpm v 48bpm) if I've had a couple of drinks.

I'm not convinced of the value of RHR as a measure of fitness. After I knocked the exercise on the head, it took about 18 months for my RHR to rise from 43 to 47, and even years after that it would immediately drop from the mid fifties to low 40s at the slightest sniff of exercise.
After more than a decade, my RHR is now in the low 60s.

Sudden unusual changes are an indication somethings wrong though, mine went from 47 to 60 overnight when I had bowel surgery, then gradually returned over about a month.

In Jan 2011 I had to cut my exercise dramatically, and rode easy for about 7 months. When I went on tour that August I noticed that I wasn't quite as fit climbing hills, but set against that my long distance stamina had improved immensely. It turned out to be the longest tour I ever did.

I'm sure I read somewhere it takes about 6 months to lose the best part of your cardiovascular fitness, ie if you start living a sedentary lifestyle. I've no real knowledge on the subject. Is there a doctor is the house!?

When I was ill with Shingles my RHR immediately jumped from low 40s to mid 50s. The problem with this is trying to convince any medic that your HR is high.
Out of action for four months I’ve spent the last eighteen months regaining fitness ( aged 72 now so found it hard). Recently two consecutive days on the bike and the next morning AW alerts me to low HR. Yesterday my RHR had a low of 39 I think I’m back to fitness

JerseyJoe wrote: ↑15 May 2024, 8:05pm I'm sure I read somewhere it takes about 6 months to lose the best part of your cardiovascular fitness, ie if you start living a sedentary lifestyle. I've no real knowledge on the subject. Is there a doctor is the house!?

I'm a Doctor but not of a useful variety unless you want to know about early modern English society and culture! [text removed by moderator]

Disclaimer- I'm not a sports medicine specialist.
Articles are suggesting a 10% drop in cardiovascular fitness after a month of inactivity. For the average person CV fitness returns to baseline pretraining by 8 weeks.
There's a good summary of detraining effects here...
https://www.sciencealert.com/here-s-how ... e-routines

JerseyJoe wrote: ↑15 May 2024, 8:05pm I'm sure I read somewhere it takes about 6 months to lose the best part of your cardiovascular fitness, ie if you start living a sedentary lifestyle. I've no real knowledge on the subject. Is there a doctor is the house!?

The tour I did after 7 months with much reduced exercise was 1400 miles, I doubt a sedentary person would be capable of that.

Limiting my heart rate to a maximum of 85-90ish, it's taken me the best part of ten years to get to invalid levels of fitness (eg: being overtaken by someone with a Zimmer frame whilst walking to Tesco).

Paulatic wrote: ↑15 May 2024, 8:38pm When I was ill with Shingles my RHR immediately jumped from low 40s to mid 50s. The problem with this is trying to convince any medic that your HR is high.

The first time my AF reverted back to NSR the doctor in Resus said "There, you heart rate's back to normal". I told him normal was ~45, not 75, and he said "No, that's normal".

The hospital sets the bradycardia alarm on heart monitors to 45bpm, which at the time I was spending long periods on them was my RHR. My HR used to go from 45-44, the alarm would sound, the nurse would reset it, and then as soon as her back was turned it would go 44-45-44, and it would start up again. I noted the button to press and started resetting it myself, but I soon got fed up with that too, so I've spent countless hours listening to monitor alarms bleeping. If it's not under 45 it's up at 200.

There's a good easy read on tachycardias (too fast heart rate) and bradycardias (too slow HR) in otherwise fit cyclists and other fit individuals/athletes here.
https://www.aafp.org/pubs/afp/issues/2019/0115/p78.html
The bit about a slow resting heart rate being seen as a badge of honour amongst fit individuals is apt.
The key overall message once again seems to be exercise is good for you but not if taken to extremes for your individual physiology.

Cyclothesist wrote: ↑24 May 2024, 10:57am There's a good easy read on tachycardias (too fast heart rate) and bradycardias (too slow HR) in otherwise fit cyclists and other fit individuals/athletes here.
https://www.aafp.org/pubs/afp/issues/2019/0115/p78.html
The bit about a slow resting heart rate being seen as a badge of honour amongst fit individuals is apt.
The key overall message once again seems to be exercise is good for you but not if taken to extremes for your individual physiology.

Tell me about it.

After I went down with AF I spent years reading all the research papers I could lay my hands on, partly because it was interesting, and partly in the forlorn hope that I'd learn something to help my situation. There was plenty that could have prevented it in the first place, but turning the clock back is a different kettle of fish entirely.

"Some require support in coming to terms with diagnoses they have done everything possible to avoid. In our own experience, we each had reactions of “It's not fair” or “I'm shocked and insulted that I could have heart disease,” and we appreciated the understanding of our physicians during recovery."

Try telling cyclists that the activity they've made into a lifestyle might not be as beneficial as they like to think....

It seems almost counterintuitive that a low resting heart rate and a lower heart rate on exercise (including a lower maximum HR) are associated with an increased risk of Atrial Fibrillation, but that is the science. Another interesting paper on the topic here: https://www.ahajournals.org/doi/full/10 ... 113.000267
Obesity and hypertension (high blood pressure) are also a risk. The paper goes into a possible common mechanism linked to increased cardiac volume and distention of the atria.

axel_knutt wrote: ↑24 May 2024, 3:53pm After I went down with AF I spent years reading all the research papers I could lay my hands on, partly because it was interesting, and partly in the forlorn hope that I'd learn something to help my situation. There was plenty that could have prevented it in the first place, but turning the clock back is a different kettle of fish entirely.

For the benefit of those of us trying to make sure we don't get AF, would you be prepared to share your knowledge and experience on how to prevent it?

Thanks

It's nothing new. These are within our gift: eat healthily - a good balanced Mediterranean type diet; keep a healthy weight; exercise regularly but not excessively; don't smoke or take recreational drugs; minimise or avoid alcohol intake.
Some factors are outwith our control such as being gifted with fortunate cardiac health genes, but we can maximise what we have by following a healthy lifestyle.

853 wrote: ↑24 May 2024, 6:55pm

axel_knutt wrote: ↑24 May 2024, 3:53pm After I went down with AF I spent years reading all the research papers I could lay my hands on, partly because it was interesting, and partly in the forlorn hope that I'd learn something to help my situation. There was plenty that could have prevented it in the first place, but turning the clock back is a different kettle of fish entirely.

For the benefit of those of us trying to make sure we don't get AF, would you be prepared to share your knowledge and experience on how to prevent it?

Thanks

Moderate your exercise and don't overtrain. Recognise the symptoms of overtraining. Don't try to build fitness too fast.