I have been monitoring heart rates, both resting and active. My resting rate has dropped from an initial of 60 down to 47-48. This is due to the running I have been doing, 5-6 miles at least 3x a week. My heart rate while running is hard to figure since I do not (yet) have a monitor, but when I finish my run I immediately take my pulse for one minute while walking down, and I have dropped it from 165-170 down to 145-150. Of course the active rate is higher since you will slow down a fair amount during the course of one minutes rest, I roughly figure an extra 15-20bpm woul dbe in the neighborhood. But the cool thing is it is LOWER, meaning I am getting better efficiency. I don't starve for breath, and the riding time on track is incredible now. So much fun....

That's a really good resting heart rate-60 isn't half bad to start with. The idea of checking it right after you stop, but keep in mind the better shape you get in, the faster your heart rate will return to normal. I guess that's a good problem to have. Invest in a heart monitor, it's useful and I would think could be kind of interesting to monitor while riding. (or maybe we don't want to know how fast our hearts are beating while we ride).
Good Job!

I got a HRM on a whim - close out at the local sporting goods store for $40. I love it! I use it running and mountain biking. Very cool info. I subscribed to Runner's World for a year - tons of training info for cardio. I've been implementing some of what they say - hard days, easy days, speed intervals on the hard days. My fitness is improving much more quickly using these strategies than it did with my original "run hard all the time" method.

Unfortunately, I took a trip over the bars of my mountain bike about 10 weeks ago and was quite inactive. Recently cranked it up again and am finding that I lost substantial ground. Not as much as I thought I might, but still a bummer.

I highly recommend an HRM and log book. I write down what I do (run, mtb, mx, strength training), how I felt, general HR info. It is pretty cool to look back over months of entries and see the progress.

What brand of Heart Rate Monitor is best. I found 4 brands on eBay and another big velcro blood pressure/HRM. It sure would be nice without the chest strap while gearing up.

The Polar's are more expensive, ECG and Timex Ironman are less.

Polar does make high quality stuff...but you can find great low cost units on bicycling sites like Nashbar and Performance. You do need the type with the chest strap...there are a few that you touch for a read out, but that is pretty useless.

And you will find good training tips in running and cycling mags. And a mix of hard and easy days, along with rest days, are a big part of getting fit.

I use one made by "IMPULSE". It does not use a chest strap. It reads by placing your index and middle finger on two sensor buttons on the top and bottom of the watch face. The only draw backs are that it does not read continuously, so you do not get your HR at a glance. It seems fairly accurate, I have tested it against several other brands of monitors and against HR pick ups on several cardio machines. It was with in 2 - 4 beats. I agree that any sort of HR monitor greatly improves the effectiveness of your workouts.

I have been training with a heart rate monitor for about ten years. Considering that off-road motorcycling is an incredibly intensive physical exercise, it is amazing that most off-road motorcyclists have much less knowledge about sports physiology and training than bicyclists or runners. What other sport uses every muscle in your bod to such a high degree as off-road motorcycling?

If you are not familiar with heart rate monitors, I would recommend doing some online research or reading a book with info on heart rate target zones, exercise recovery, and nutrition. There are a couple of points that you will see emphasized. One is the importance of recovery. When you exercise hard, you are actually breaking down your muscles. It is the recovery period (usually 24 to 48 hours) that rebuilds your muscles stronger than before. Nutrition and even adequate sleep are important components. Secondly, there is a trend back to what bicyclists used to call "LSD" (long slow distance) for a large part of base training. Carmichael Training Systems (Lance Armstrong's coach) has been a leader in this trend, and his training programs proscribe a great deal of training at only 60-70% of max heart rate. The theory is that this range maximizes aerobic development while minimizing ATP use (a less energy efficient process by which your body produces short term high power output).

To my knowledge, most inexpensive name brand heart rate monitors work well. The more expensive ones add features and double as wireless bicycle computers.

In addition to motorcycling, I do a lot of bicycling, including 25-30 mile early morning road rides before work (twice a week), all the CRCA Central Park road races, about eight 80-120 mile day rides each year, and an occaisional MTB ride or NORBA MTB race. I work out in the gym and do Spinning classes in the winter. I think that bicycling and off-road motorcycling complement each other perfectly as aerobic work-outs.

My waking heart rate is 38 (I am 45 years old). My max is 190 (I hit it four times in the last MTB race I did). The top of the line Polar 710S/720S heart rate monitors have a fitness test. You input a bunch of info and then lie down while the monitor senses heart rate and consistency. There are six fitness categories, #6 being the highest fitness. When I did the test in the middle of last winter, I rated in category 5, near the border with category 6. Then I went down to Central America and rode my bicycle every day for 24 days straight, mostly jeep trails up to 9000' altitude in the mountains of Guatemala, Honduras, and El Salvador. A couple of weeks after I got back, I did the test again, and I had made it into the top #6 fitness category. Cool!