An indicator such as a pulse can say a lot about a person’s health status. In this case, the heart rate changes under the influence of physical activity. Consider the characteristics and types of this indicator, as well as what should be the pulse of athletes and the reasons for possible deviations from the norm.
Heart Rate Key Features
Doctors who specialize in the human cardiovascular system note that the pulse can be characterized by several important criteria. It is on their basis that conclusions can be drawn about the state of human health.
Important pulse properties:
- rhythm - the oscillation of the walls of the arteries occurs at regular intervals (if the intervals are different in time, this indicates pathology);
- frequency - the number of heart beats per minute (a frequent pulse occurs in infants, a moderate pulse in athletes at rest with good health, a rare pulse occurs in the elderly, as well as in various pathologies);
- filling - the volume of blood that is ejected from the heart chambers into the arteries (“full pulse” - the arteries fill up completely and fluctuations are more noticeable, with a “blank pulse”, it can generally not be felt);
- voltage - the force pressing the artery for a qualitative and quantitative study of the pulse (the indicator depends on the level of systolic pressure);
- the value is associated with filling and tension (a small pulse indicates a narrowing of the aorta or tachycardia, a large pulse indicates an overstrain of blood vessels, a threadlike one in case of shock conditions and bleeding, and intermittent one indicates pathologies of the heart muscle);
- form - can only be determined by instrumental means (it can be slow, fast and dicrotic).
What is the pulse?
Heartbeat can be of different types. This should be taken into account when studying the pulse of athletes, which differs somewhat from the heart rate of ordinary people.
Types of pulse:
- Arterial. It is important in the diagnosis of the basic characteristics of the pulse (frequency, rhythm, filling, voltage, size and shape);
- Capillary (Quincke's pulse) - in healthy people, blood flows through the capillaries continuously, so it is not palpable. The detection of such a pulse is a deviation from the norm.
- Venous - determined by a sphygmogram or phlebogram and can be characterized as positive or negative.
The rate of heart rate in an ordinary person
In a healthy adult in a calm state, the rate of heart rate varies from 60 to 80 beats per minute. The pulse of professional athletes in between physical activities should be the same. Its indicators increase only during sports.
The frequency depends on the time of day and the position in which it is measured. In the supine position, the pulse is usually lower than in the "sitting" or "standing" positions. To notice some deviations from the norm, it is worth measuring the pulse in one position and at a certain identical time for several days.
Average heart rate depending on the person’s age:
- newborn children - 140 bpm;
- children under 2 years old - 100 bpm;
- adolescents (up to 14 years old) - 80 bpm;
- women - 60–80 bpm;
- men - 65–90 bpm;
- elderly people - 65 beats / min.
What is the pulse of the athletes?
If for an ordinary adult a heart rate of 60 to 90 beats per minute is considered normal, then for athletes these rates may be slightly different. This primarily depends on the sport, as well as other factors.
What the athlete's pulse depends on:
- A person who is engaged in high-speed power sports has a higher heart rate. For those athletes whose occupation is aimed at developing endurance, the pulse is slightly reduced or equals the heart rate of an ordinary person.
- Beginner athletes have a more frequent pulse than professionals, regardless of the sport. And also with age, heart rate tends to decline. The highest rates are among athletes under 15 years of age who are engaged in high-speed power sports. For them, the norm is up to 80 bpm. For professionals over 30+ who rely on endurance, the norm is up to 50 bpm.
- In women athletes, the heart rate is on average 10 beats per minute less than in athletes of the stronger sex. In the prone position, heart rate is also reduced by 10 divisions.
- Bradycardia is diagnosed in an ordinary person if his heart rate is less than 60 beats / min. For skiers, marathoners, cyclists, a pulse of 40-50 beats per minute is considered normal, since the body itself goes into a saving mode. However, with an indicator of less than 40 bpm. or more than 90 bpm. It is worthwhile to see a doctor, this indicates pathologies in the work of the heart muscle.
- To ensure increased blood circulation in the body, the athlete’s heart can dramatically increase the number of beats per minute. If earlier it was believed that 180 beats per minute is an extremely high pace of the heart, nowadays professional athletes have heart rate within 200–220 beats per minute. It does not have negative consequences for the body. In an ordinary person, such a sharp increase can lead to overstrain.
- In athletes who lift weights, heart rate can increase to 120–135 bpm / min, but it is important to monitor your breathing here, since overstrain can be observed.
It should also be understood that the athlete’s heart rate depends not only on physical activity, but also on diet, lifestyle and other related factors.
Why are there differences?
The differences between the average person’s heart rate and the athlete’s heart rate are due to the fact that a person regularly performs moderate or large physical activities for a long time. This leads to a slightly modified indicators of pressure and heart rate.
Swimmers, marathoners, styers, sprinters, skiers and other sports who focus on endurance experience the following changes:
- the heart muscle contracts with more force;
- the number of vessels in the heart increases;
- the walls of the heart thicken, and the volume of the cavities increases;
- pulse and blood pressure at rest are reduced;
- the number of blood vessels increases and their condition improves.
With regular sports, blood circulation is more active, but the heart learns to work more economically. A somewhat slowed heart rhythm provides a good metabolism and better nutrition of the whole organism. But with age, a low heart rate can lead to pathologies such as coronary heart disease, heart failure, and others. Therefore, former athletes do not exist and it is important to always maintain physical activity, although they are not so intense.
Determine the maximum heart rate
Important aspects when playing sports is determining the athlete's normal pulse and its maximum performance.
The general formula by which the maximum allowable pulse sizes can be calculated is as follows: heart rate (max) = 220 - age.
It is with the help of such calculations that reductions are determined for various physical activities:
- Warm up (warming up before or recovering from training) - the pulse should be up to 60% of the maximum rate.
- Training - the pulse is up to 70% of the maximum heart rate. At this time, up to 85% of calories are burned.
- Cardio load (aerobics) - up to 80% of maximum heart rate. The body at this time actively consumes oxygen and burns only 50% of excess deposits.
- Work at the limit (intensive training) is up to 100% of the maximum heart rate, but only a limited and short period of time is worth working at this pace, only professional athletes can afford such loads (for example, at competitions).
Conclusion
The pulse is one of the main indicators for diagnosing an athlete’s physical condition. However, it is impossible to talk about any pathology only on the basis of heart rate, since this is only one of the signs.