High HR in the morning?

Training
1

Hi,

I’ve been having an issue when exercising in the mornings where my HR is elevated between 10-15 bpm compared to the evenings at the same power outputs and is the case from the first pedal strokes of the ride. It’s been getting to the point to where it’s been affecting my training and kind of just makes riding less enjoyable. I mainly run into this issue on my long weekend rides where I want the quality to be the highest.

I’m finding during these rides with the elevated HR’s, I struggle to hold the same power during intervals and I fatigue quite quickly with an overall high RPE for the power stats of the ride.

I’ve been experimenting with switching things up in the morning with no avail, and here is where I’ve started:

  • Cut out caffeine
  • (in lieu of coffee) Drank 1L of water with higher sodium concentration to hopefully increase blood plasma.
  • Ate lower fiber breakfast (rice vs. oatmeal) to try to lower amount of blood rushing to the stomach. (1 hr before ride)
  • Eating my normal oatmeal, waiting 2.5hrs before ride with 1L high sodium (1500mg).

I sleep well and hydrate well before going to bed. This hasn’t always been an issue but has been increasingly so the past three months. I no longer look forward to these long rides because RPE is so much higher than it should be, especially after feeling really good on the bike all week on my evening rides.

Any advice?

2

Welcome to the forums.

I would turn off the HRM and keep training without worrying. Seeing your heart rate should not affect you this much.

1 Like
3

I do usually turn off my HR as looking at it is pretty annoying. I would say I’m not as worried about the number as much as the general sensation. I can physically feel it being elevated and is not a good feeling and affects my riding outside of the number.

4

I’d second @JoeX’s advice here – might be worth turning off the HRM for a bit so you can push it out of your head. It might even be worth turning it off during your workouts so you can focus on power and look at HR data afterward.

If your HR is feeling off/not normal in a concerning way, we’d recommend contacting a medical professional.

1 Like
5

I need two hours to digest comfortably and not feel full on the bike. Do you ride close after dinner too in the evening?

6

Is your resting HR (right after you wake up) higher than usual? That can be a sign of over-reaching or over-training.