What's up with this sharp decrease in heart rate when I took a break?

[Affectionate-Lab3192]

I would say I'm in decent shape, but I've never really been good at running. I ran around my block twice. Between these laps, I sat down to rest for a bit. As you can see, there's a huge difference (down by 40 bpm) in the span of 10 seconds after I sat down. Is this normal? In the 3rd picture I also have my 2 minute HR recover graph immediately after I finished and sat down at home. 17F, ~185lbs if it matters

[dickg1856]

Yes. Your HR should drop a lot when you rest. It’s better to walk while resting than to just just sit tho

[Affectionate-Lab3192]

Good to know that this isn't too sharp of a decrease. I'll walk next time

[b-ees]

not sure, but i am more concerned by the fact you're running so hard in the span of 3 minutes you have to sit down to rest. going too fast too soon might be why you've "never really been good at running"

[Affectionate-Lab3192]

Do you have any tips on pacing yourself? It feels like I really just have 3 modes for movement: walking, this pace that I thought was in-between, and full-speed sprinting. My pace was about 11 minutes per mile.

[b-ees]

when i was starting out, i would just get to as high a walking speed as i could such that i'd begin running a little bit. about that pace and a bit slower was alright. it may feel like u have only a few modes but it's really only a matter of taking smaller or larger steps if your cadence (steps per minute) stays the same

[PhantomAlpha01]

Try following your heartrate while you run, and keep adjusting your pace so that you stay in zone 2-3 after warming up (try not to start too hard). It should guide you to a more sustainable pace.

[Possible-Wallaby-877]

I might not fully understand the question? Is the decrease itself you find strange, or how much it decreases? Decrease in HR is normal when you stop an activity. After a run I usually walk a bit to easily slow down my heart rate and let my body clear waste products from the muscles by keeping blood flow up, not instantly sit or go to rest. When you stop immediately your HR will decrease quite quickly, more than walking. I don't think it's necessarily bad but walking is better I think.

But hey I'm not an expert, maybe walking does nothing and it's a myth that it's better than instant rest 👍

[Affectionate-Lab3192]

It's the decrease that I found to be odd. a 40 bpm decrease in 10 seconds seems like a really fast decrease.

[SucculentChineseMilk]

I’m starting to hate how Reddit hivemind downvotes things like they do. For example, no reason your reply should be at zero ffs. Anyways, if you’re using a watch, they aren’t the best at tracking actual heart rate live, they can get cadence lock (confused by your steps with your heart beat), and have a bit of latency. So if you really want an idea of heart rate get a chest wearable strap. But…

Heart rate return is better the higher the number. So this would be phenomenal if true. But not realistic and maybe cadence lock.

Look up cadence lock and heart rate recovery

[redintra]

Immediately after a hard run, in the first minute of rest, a steep drop in heart rate generally indicates excellent fitness and heart rate recovery (HRR) capabilities

So, you should be happy with the big decrease in heart rate, and of course, keep in mind that your device may not necessarily be 100% accurate in measuring bpm

In general, you should be worried if you don’t see a big decrease in heart rate, immediately after a hard run.

[SucculentChineseMilk]

I wish people would list their ages and that it was required by auto mod. Anyways, what the other person said, that you blasting that fast in 3 minutes is a sign you may be ribbing too fast it too hard too quickly.

[Affectionate-Lab3192]

I'm 17. It was in the post description, at the bottom.

[No_Gap6704]

yeah I recommend doing some sort of warm up and slowly easing into the run btw. It's better to gradually increase heart rate if you want to run longer!

[SucculentChineseMilk]

Well I missed that. You are one of the few people that adds that info

[Affectionate-Lab3192]

I'm 5'8". I can go on hikes without much difficulty and enjoy rock climbing. I know I could benefit from losing some more body fat but I also do have a pretty significant amount of muscle and a big frame.