CrossFit open - heart rate stayed low and couldn’t catch my breath

Crossfit is TOUGH!

by USMC-Pacer - 2024-03-02 19:22:08

I'm thinking rowing, biking, and treadmill are more sustained, or steady exercise where Crossfit is much more intense. I don't know your condition, but maybe your device is not keeping up with the demand that Crossfit is putting on your heart. Perhaps an "adaptive" setting. Other than that, perhaps beta-blockers are keeping your HR down?

Beta blockers

by piglet22 - 2024-03-03 05:42:33

Yes, I can vouch for high doses of beta blockers (Bisoprolo) knocking out exercise capacity.

I'm on 10mg daily and hills I could cycle easily 18 months ago, I struggle to walk up now.

It's a cleft stick. The BBs keep the ectopics down, but ruin the exercise.

Trying to reduce the dose a bit.

Beta blockers

by Jacque - 2024-03-03 10:10:48

I am on a beta blocker but only experience a delay in increased HR when I begin exercising but then it begins to increase and goes up to 170 if I'm really pushing it running, biking, on the treadmill and elliptical.  My heart rate doesn't increase as much doing the WOD or rowing.  I'll have to do more exploration and send a message to my doc and Medtronic.  

increased rate

by Tracey_E - 2024-03-04 10:22:08

It's odd that burpees didn't get your rate up! If we do things without a lot of chest movement, the pacer may not notice and it won't give us an increase in rate. I could see maybe the snatches not being enough to let it know you need an increase, but burpees should.

Ask if you can get on a treadmill while they monitor your pacer and heart rate. This is the best way to fine tune the pacer for hard workouts. They can just guess at it and go with trial and error, but a treadmill is the most efficient way. I've done this several times (paced 29 years) and each time we found small things that they were able to fine tune that we wouldn't have caught otherwise. Another good tool is a 2 day holter. My doctor does one of them every other year just to make sure he's not missing anything. He said he gets 80% from talking to me and looking at the readouts, the other 20% is from the holder and/or stress test. 

Do you have a sports cardiologist, or at least an ep that has other athletic patients? You might want to search one out if not. You can have a really great doctor, but if they aren't used to working with paced athletes, it's not the right doctor for you. 

Congrats on competing!! I miss CF so much. I had to switch to something lower impact two years ago. (heart is doing great, joints were starting to rebel at the big weights)

I'm Impressed

by Andiek11 - 2024-03-09 20:20:13

Even with your current challenge, I'm totally psyched to hear what you do with exercise. I look forward to having similar successes after my CRT placment.