Question: I’ve been feeling great all season on our hard Sunday morning club ride, but last Sunday I felt terrible. My legs were empty. I wanted to quit 10 minutes after the start. I thought I was well prepared. In fact, I had stepped up my interval training and my mileage the month before, hoping…
Question: I’m trying to avoid overtraining by tracking heart rate. It’s my understanding that morning resting pulse is both an indicator of fitness level and a measure of recovery from the previous workout. I’ve also heard that how rapidly your heart rate drops in the immediate 1-2 minutes post-workout is a good indicator of fitness level….
Question: I’ve been feeling tired recently after a month of hard training for a century, and I read that elevated morning heart rate is a signal of overtraining. But my morning pulse is almost 10 beats lower. What’s going on? — Amanda Q. Coach Fred Matheny Replies: Exercise physiologists often list elevated morning heart rate…
Question: Running and cycling seem complementary because they don’t work the same leg muscles. But can the heart and lungs suffer overtraining even though leg muscles seem to be OK? — Pete S. Coach Fred Matheny Replies: Good question! The mechanisms behind overtraining, and indeed the symptoms, are controversial in the exercise science community. Overtraining isn’t…
