Morning heart rate

[PainIsYourFriend]

I ride a couple of days a week very early in the morning (03:00) and I've noticed that my heart rate is substantially lower (10 beats on avg.) at these times compared to when I ride later in the day. Does anybody know why this is?

 

[mherm79]

I ride a couple of days a week very early in the morning (03:00) and I've noticed that my heart rate is substantially lower (10 beats on avg.) at these times compared to when I ride later in the day. Does anybody know why this is?

How do you feel during your morning rides and what level of effort do you put in? I've found that when I ride early (0500) and am tired I spend the first part riding sleepy and that I tend to coast and my HR is lower.

If your talking about your peak efforts again most likely due to fatigue.

 

[PainIsYourFriend]

Generally I feel good. I've being do this for a long time now and i'ts just something that I've noticed over time. My perceived effort is pretty much the same regardless of time of day. On time trial efforts I notice that I'm a minute or two slower but put that down to not being fueled properly. I'm just interested to find out what's going on at a physiological level.

 

[mherm79]

I wonder if it has anything to do with waking at a time that your body is preparing for a good sleep. This link has the stages of sleep.

http://psychology.about.com/od/statesofconsciousness/a/SleepStages.htm

I suspect you body hasn't switched back on yet during these early rides

 

[PainIsYourFriend]

Thanks for the link mherm79. Yeah your probably right, my body is still just waking up and i haven't digested anything yet. Which brings me to another question. The days that i get up early are usually the days that I do intense workouts. So am I doing myself a disservice because I can't reach the higher limits of my heart rate? Or is it better to go off perceived effort?

 

[mherm79]

Thanks for the link mherm79. Yeah your probably right, my body is still just waking up and i haven't digested anything yet. Which brings me to another question. The days that i get up early are usually the days that I do intense workouts. So am I doing myself a disservice because I can't reach the higher limits of my heart rate? Or is it better to go off perceived effort?

If you feeling tired on those days then it's probably not the best day to do your intense workouts. it would be more effective to do hard work outs when your well rested and use your early days for low intensity active recovery rides.

 

[hiero2]

I don't think it is clear WHEN you are taking your heart rate.

For instance, if you are talking about your resting heart rate - you take that before you move out of bed. That should be considerably lower than after you've moved around even a little.

You should get close to your resting heart rate by just sitting still for, oh, say, 10 minutes, I think.

Something else that can impact this is your effort the day before. AFTER you have made a significant effort, your heart rate will stay elevated to a degree. And, if you are still feeling the effects of the previous day's workout, it should show in your heart rate (hr) and blood pressure (BP). If you have not yet recovered, your bp and hr would still be elevated somewhat. How much depends on how hard the workout was, and how much you have recovered.

 

[biokemguy]

Circadian Rhythm

I ride a couple of days a week very early in the morning (03:00) and I've noticed that my heart rate is substantially lower (10 beats on avg.) at these times compared to when I ride later in the day. Does anybody know why this is?

Sounds like your natural circadian rhythm to me. At 03:00 you should be approaching your lowest HR and body temp for the day if you have a normal sleep/wake cycle most other days.

 

[FrankDay]

I ride a couple of days a week very early in the morning (03:00) and I've noticed that my heart rate is substantially lower (10 beats on avg.) at these times compared to when I ride later in the day. Does anybody know why this is?

You are better rested (recovered) after a nites sleep than you are at any other time of the day.

 

[Krebs cycle]

I ride a couple of days a week very early in the morning (03:00) and I've noticed that my heart rate is substantially lower (10 beats on avg.) at these times compared to when I ride later in the day. Does anybody know why this is?

You live in Melbourne. It's generally colder at 3.00am than during the day. The cold will tend to keep the blood centrally by constricting blood vessels in the periphery, this will tend to improve venous return and SV, thus lowering HR.

I've been working with athletes for years and I will always inform them they need to adjust their heart rate training zones up or down slightly depending on the ambient temperature.