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Other/Mixed YMCA Step test/recovery heart rate

Other strength modalities (e.g., Clubs), mixed strength modalities (e.g., combined kettlebell and barbell), other goals (flexibility)
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Raid

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I did the YMCA 3 minute step test. I found it easy, and yet, i still failed because my heart rate did not come down low enough after 1 minute's rest. However, I was not exhausted, not even close, but still failed, while people who barely finished the test and were barely standing or breathing, managed to pass, because their heart rate came down low enough. I know these people were not as fit as me, so I'm finding it hard to believe they passed, and me, the fittest of the lot, actually failed. Is the heart rate recovery really accurate as a sign of fitness? I'm not just saying I am fitter than those people, I know this based on workouts we have done together...hill sprints and kettlebells(swings, snatches), and I smoke them, easily, and they're stuffed and I'm still fresh. I am very confused. Any ideas?

At the time of testing, I have been doing ROP using 24kg kb upto 5 ladders, 5 rungs. I also run, with special emphasis on hills and sprints.
 
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Hello @Raid welcome to the forum.

It's hard to say for sure without seeing your heart rate patterns over the last few training sessions.

It seems like you should be in good shape and as you suggest it's a bit surprising. A few things could be contributing.

You may not be fully recovered from your previous training session/s, you could be coming down with a cold or flu & the white coat effect may be playing a role as well. Maybe you can function well at a high heart rate and just recover as fast as others.

You may have been in a state of chronic over training for a while and not even realised.

& the white coat effect is a phenomena that sometimes occurs when people go through a medical examination, just the stress and expectation of having your heart rate or blood pressure (normally just blood pressure but heart rate can be affected too) measured can cause it to be artificially elevated.
Blood Pressure : White coat hypertension (and white coat effect)
 
Hello@Tarzan...My HR has been consistent as i monitor it regularly. I had no cold or flu and was pretty fresh. I actually took 3 days off training before undertaking the test. I also make sure I recover well in between sessions. However, I was nervous before my test, even though the test itself was easy. I also noticed that when i layed down, during recovery, which was recommended by the tester, my HR was actually beating faster. I think I would probably be better off just sitting down or even standing up!

This is frustrating for me, as I know I'm fit! I was looking at the people passing, and i had to think, u gotta be kidding, as I was the only one who did it easily...oh well...
 
Hello,

@Raid
How is your breath ? It has to be perfectly coordinated with the move. Maybe you simply "lost" your breath pace regarding your steps ?

Kind regards,

Pet'
 
Hi @Pet...my breathing is ok, as in I'm not laboring, but as far as coordinating with the move,im not sure, i just breath in normal as in it's not like the swing where i coordinate the movement with the breathing...the step test does not really give me any reason to really focus on my breathing as it's not taxing enough for me to do that...come to think of it, i never really took notice of the breathing very much, until during the 1 minute's rest...

The snatches/swings, and kb routines tax me, as well as the hill running, but not the step test. I can operate at high HR and sustain that, as sometimes when i do the ROP Hard days...i go at it hard with the swings with minimal rest, and sometimes, no rest at all, and my HR stays high, and i have no problem sustaining it.

Im only short, so maybe stepping up boxes is not ideal, but then running uphill and every other exercise i do is harder than the step test!
 
It's intriguing to say the least. I would have thought snatches and swings would get you into better condition than the average guy on the street, especially if you are also running and doing hill sprints.

As you said laying down after the test could have been a factor.

Is there any chance the pulse readings could have been wrong ?

Edit : it would be interesting to see your heart rate at the end of the test & then a minute later. Some people just have a high heart rate when training so the recovery in BPM over that one minute period can be more helpful in some cases. If your heart is reaching 190 BPM during the test and then dropping by 20 BPM a minute later you will have a normal recovery rate but taken out of context that 1 minute test could appear high.
 
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My resting HR is 58 when i wake up...and usually around 64-66 throughout the day. My recovery HR after step test after 1 minute's rest goes down to 116, from 150. Unfortunately, i need it to go down to 112 at least, which it does, after about another 20 seconds, goes down to 104 to low 90s, but they only give me 1 minute to recover, so it doesn't count. @pet.
 
Hi @Tarzan,

Yeah mate, that's what i thought too, that swings and snatches would do it for me, as i do them 3-4 times a week, plus the hill runs. At the end of the test, my HR is 145-150. A minute later it's down to 116, then about 20 seconds later im back to under 100. Unfortunately, the first minute is the only thing that counts. But within a minute, it's still a 34 BPM recovery though.

Yeah, I noticed that when i was laying down, it was more of an effort to breathe normally than when im sitting down or even standing. Iam 46 years old, and i have no trouble operating at 85% or higher of my HR and sustain it. When i do the hill sprints, myHR reaches as high as 90-95% then it goes back down to 70-75% pretty quickly, usually within a minute.
 
@pet...no i didn't drink any coffee, and i never drink energisers, but I did drink tea that morning. Might it have been the tea? But i also noticed I was nervous and a bit anxious, which was silly coz the test is easy.
 
My 'vote' is for the white coat effect that Tarzan mentioned.
However.... and not be be an alarmist, if you are really concerned, you might consider seeing a heart specialist.
 
The graph below is a representation of what is happening.
upload_2017-2-22_5-22-13.png
The green area (EPOC) is the post exercise excess oxygen consumption. Your body does not immediately return to rest when you stop. The curve in the green area (elevated metabolic rate after exercise ends) represents the body slowly returning to rest/homeostasis. Unfit individuals will have a bigger O2 deficit (on the front end) and a bigger EPOC (on the back end) than fit individuals. Fit individuals subject themselves to small disruptions in homeostasis regularly (they train), so the body becomes more resilient and an exercise dose has a smaller impact on homeostasis. The smaller impact on the front end (O2 deficit) in fit individuals, results in a smaller EPOC on the back end, therefore a faster heart rate recovery. The EPOC is partly due to repaying the O2 deficit, but part of it is also due to the surge in epinephrine, increased body temperature, disposal of lactate etc.... (basically disrupted homeostasis). All of these should be reduced by chronic exercise training. Factors other than fitness can impact the EPOC response though (dehydration, heat, caffeine, shallow recovery breathing, stress, fatigue).

I find that my heart rate recovery improves rapidly when I start doing high intensity interval training. My typical way to do 1/4 mile track intervals is to rest only long enough to get my heart rate down to 100 BPM. As I get fitter, the rest period starts to get really short. It happens within 2-3 sessions.
 
Below are the norms for the YMCA step test HR recovery:
upload_2017-2-22_7-20-44.png
Based on this chart, your score puts you at below average. However, this chart uses an absolute heart rate, not a relative heart rate. Absolute heart rate is a bad way to measure fitness. Consider the data presented below on actual maximum heart rate and age for a group of research subjects:
upload_2017-2-22_7-23-3.png
If heart rate did predictably vary with age, this would be a nice, tight line but it is not. Note the 23 year old group. One person has a max HR of 220 and another of 173 ! Huge difference. This exposes a flaw in the YMCA test scoring. It would be much better to score the test based on how many BPM you dropped over the first minute, rather than simply what was your heart rate after one minute.
 
@Raid You're sensing something wrong here, with the test or scoring or whatever, but something like this could also be a seriously good heads up in case there's something wrong in the ticker...if I were you, as much as I dislike going to the doctor, I'd go get an EKG and some blood work done. Simple physical can be an early warning of something that can be easily fixed, or help avoid a catastrophe. Some diseases put a load on the system so the metrics are off. Best case is you sleep better knowing nothing's the matter.
 
Hi...@matts and @offwidth...i'm not actually concerned or alarmed about my heart, as I don't feel any shortness of breath or pain, or anything for that matter, I'm just wondering if the YMCA fitness test is a good indicator of actual fitness, as I';m seeing some unfit people actually pass the test. I do test my HR, and it's regular, but i noticed it went up high before the test, as high as 90bpm.... I have also done the test at home, and i pass easily, however, the anxiety factor is not there, so maybe it is the whitecoat effect, as I always get nervous before a test of any sort. But just to be sure, i will go see the doctor, thanks.
 
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@mprovest...my HR drops drops by 34 BPM after 1 minutes rest, and then a few more seconds and it's actually down by 50 bpm.
 
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