Recovery Heart Rate

"The Heart Rate Monitor Guidebook"  by Sally Edwards


Recovery heart rate is the reduction in heart rate right after exercise is stopped. The higher the fitness level the faster the drop in heart rate. Total recovery heart rate is the time between the cessation of exercise and the heart rate returning to its pre-exercise level. A common recovery heart rate measurement in 1 to 2 minutes, while total recovery heart rate may require as an hour. There are two types of recovery heart rate:

  • Interrecovery heart rate (between workouts), and
  • Intrarecovery heart rate (within a workout).

With condition and the use of mindful recovery, students can learn to improve recovery heart rate. In fact, to some extent, they can learn to consciously regulate their heart rates.

Mindful recovery is also an excellent tool for managing stressful situations. Mindful recovery involves visualization, deep breathing body positioning, and similar relaxation techniques to purposefully lower the heart rate as rapidly as possible. With practice, students can develop their own relation strategies. There are two different methods of mindful recovery:

  • Active recovery, which involves continuing to move gently.
  • Passive recovery, which involves stopping all exercise.

Your recovery heart rate is the number of beats per minute your heart drops when you stop moving. Generally, the faster it drops the more fit you are.

Step 1. Warm up adequately. Choose any activity that you can slowly increase speed until your heart rate is between the floor of Zone 3 and the ceiling of Zone 4 (60%-80% of your maximum heart rate).

Step 2. Stop exercising. Immediately look at your heart rate monitor and note your heart rate number. For two minutes, record your heart rate number for every 15 seconds.

Step 3. Calculate how quickly your heart rate drops by subtracting your exercising heart rate number improves or gets to be a bigger number for each 15 seconds.

Step 4. Compare your recovery heart rate by re-testing frequently. When your recovery heart rate number improves or gets to be bigger number, it means that you are getting more fit.

*If your rate dose not recovery 12 beats in the first 1 minute, please let us know right away. Normal recovery is a heart rate drop of 20-30 beats for the first 60 seconds.

 
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