Exploring the Relationship Between Heart Rate and Running Power: Insights into Exercise Intensity

Authors: Trevor Persch, James Hokanson, Erik Lind

SUNY Campus: SUNY Cortland

Presentation Type: Poster

Location: Old Union Hall

Presentation #: 36

Timeslot: Session D 3:00-4:00 PM

Abstract: Heart rate (HR) is commonly used to determine running exercise intensity. Assessing running power (watts) may provide another viable measure of intensity but is difficult to determine. The novel Stryd power meter estimates power using accelerometers attached to the runner’s shoe. The purpose of the pilot study was to examine the relationship of power and HR (b.min-1) at three different treadmill speeds. Six healthy, college-aged participants (21.8±1.17 years) completed the following treadmill protocol at 0% grade: 1 min rest, 2 min warm-up walking stage at 93.8 m.min-1, three running stages of 3 mins each at 134.0, 160.8, and 187.6 m.min-1, respectively. A Stryd power meter, attached to runners’ right shoe, calculated power and a Garmin Forerunner® 235 watch with a heart rate strap recorded HR using proprietary Garmin and Stryd software. Descriptive statistics (meanSD) values for each running stage were: 179.2±26.4, 212.1±31.6, and 240.4±34.2 W, respectively, while values for HR were 140.8±17.8, 159.8±15.9, and 175.6±12.8 b.min-1, respectively. Magnitude of change between the first and second running stages for W and HR was 18% and 13%, respectively, and 13% and 10%, respectively, for the second and third stages. A strong positive linear relationship between running power and heart rate was observed (R² = 0.9999). Collectively, the preliminary findings suggest that heart rate can reliably predict running power. Running power adjusted to changes in treadmill speed faster than heart rate. Results suggest that running power can serve as a more sensitive measure of running exercise intensity.