Why You Should Be Playing with Heart Rate Recovery (HRR)

hrr

One way to measure your level of fitness is to utilize a technique called Heart Rate Recovery (HRR). The idea is simple.

  • Exercise
  • Stop
  • Note your heart rate
  • Rest for two minutes
  • Note your heart rate (again)

We are interested in heart rate because it’s easy to monitor. We can build hardware to do this. There are also wrist and chest straps that allow us to get precise measurements of our heart rate. The data tells us a story.

The interesting number here is to subtract your exercise heart rate from your rested two minute heart rate. The difference between the two indicates your biological age versus your calendar age. The faster your heart recovers the better condition your body is in.

  • <22:  biological age is slightly older than calendar age
  • 22-52:  biological age is about the same as calendar age
  • 53-58:  biological age is slightly younger than calendar age.
  • 59-65:  biological age is moderately younger than calendar age.
  • >66:  biological age is a lot younger than your calendar age

I scored a 43 in the first minute and dropped only 6 more beats during the second minute. My test was to run three miles wearing a Wahoo TICKR chest strap at 60% effort. I then monitored the first and second minute of recovery using an app on my iPhone called iSmoothRun. A score of 49 puts me at a biological age and calendar age being a match.

I would try not to get hung up on the number ranges here. Instead focus on improvement. It also seems unnecessary to measure the second minute as the first minute is the real significant drop.

How well do you score when using HRR?

Sources:

Improve Heart Health by Knowing Your Recovery Heart Rate


Adafruit publishes a wide range of writing and video content, including interviews and reporting on the maker market and the wider technology world. Our standards page is intended as a guide to best practices that Adafruit uses, as well as an outline of the ethical standards Adafruit aspires to. While Adafruit is not an independent journalistic institution, Adafruit strives to be a fair, informative, and positive voice within the community – check it out here: adafruit.com/editorialstandards

Join Adafruit on Mastodon

Adafruit is on Mastodon, join in! adafruit.com/mastodon

Stop breadboarding and soldering – start making immediately! Adafruit’s Circuit Playground is jam-packed with LEDs, sensors, buttons, alligator clip pads and more. Build projects with Circuit Playground in a few minutes with the drag-and-drop MakeCode programming site, learn computer science using the CS Discoveries class on code.org, jump into CircuitPython to learn Python and hardware together, TinyGO, or even use the Arduino IDE. Circuit Playground Express is the newest and best Circuit Playground board, with support for CircuitPython, MakeCode, and Arduino. It has a powerful processor, 10 NeoPixels, mini speaker, InfraRed receive and transmit, two buttons, a switch, 14 alligator clip pads, and lots of sensors: capacitive touch, IR proximity, temperature, light, motion and sound. A whole wide world of electronics and coding is waiting for you, and it fits in the palm of your hand.

Have an amazing project to share? The Electronics Show and Tell is every Wednesday at 7pm ET! To join, head over to YouTube and check out the show’s live chat – we’ll post the link there.

Join us every Wednesday night at 8pm ET for Ask an Engineer!

Join over 36,000+ makers on Adafruit’s Discord channels and be part of the community! http://adafru.it/discord

CircuitPython – The easiest way to program microcontrollers – CircuitPython.org


Maker Business — “Packaging” chips in the US

Wearables — Enclosures help fight body humidity in costumes

Electronics — Transformers: More than meets the eye!

Python for Microcontrollers — Python on Microcontrollers Newsletter: Silicon Labs introduces CircuitPython support, and more! #CircuitPython #Python #micropython @ThePSF @Raspberry_Pi

Adafruit IoT Monthly — Guardian Robot, Weather-wise Umbrella Stand, and more!

Microsoft MakeCode — MakeCode Thank You!

EYE on NPI — Maxim’s Himalaya uSLIC Step-Down Power Module #EyeOnNPI @maximintegrated @digikey

New Products – Adafruit Industries – Makers, hackers, artists, designers and engineers! — #NewProds 7/19/23 Feat. Adafruit Matrix Portal S3 CircuitPython Powered Internet Display!

Get the only spam-free daily newsletter about wearables, running a "maker business", electronic tips and more! Subscribe at AdafruitDaily.com !



No Comments

No comments yet.

Sorry, the comment form is closed at this time.