The Health Benefits of Autocrossing

[rnr]

Originally posted on the GGLC Blog: Health benefits of Autocrossing Chapman Report Online

At the last GGLC autocross Alex and I decided to try out a little experiment to see how your heart rate changes during the race. We used a <a href="http://www.polar.fi/en/support/product_support?product=480">Polar S720i</a> to record his heart rate, an iPhone for video and a <a href="http://www.race-technology.com/dl1_8_936.html">DL1 data logger</a> to record G-force and speed readings. I used some simple PHP magic to sync the two data files together and used the <a href="http://www.chasecam.com/catalog/25/dashwaredataandvideointegrationsoftware">Chasecam Dashware</a> system to create this finished video.

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You can see the speed, heart rate (BPM), longitudinal G (acceleration + braking) and lateral G in the dashboard on the top of the video. His average heart rate was in the low nineties while on the grid and rises to to 101 just before the start of the run. As the run progresses you can see it quickly rise all the way to 145 bpm by the end of the 45 second run. Just as interesting is the way his heart rate falls as soon as the run ends and drops to the low 130s just 10 seconds after the run. So now if anyone asks you why you autocross just say its for the health benefits

Unfortunately the video quality is not as perfect and the heart rate only updates every 5 seconds but all in all it was a successful test of the system. I have already ordered a Polar RS800CX (1 sec resolution) and I plan to run this same setup for the duration of the Lemons race at Buttonwillow next month. So stay tuned for the health benefits of endurance racing

[...m...]

...hah!..

[Randy Chase]

Autocrossing was what put me in the hospital as my heart was not working right on each run. At the end of the run I could not breath or talk. Going to the hospital saved my life.

It is amazing how elevated the heart can get in 60 seconds. I would like to see my heart rate at a track vs at an autocross.

[rnr]

Originally Posted by Randy Chase

It is amazing how elevated the heart can get in 60 seconds. I would like to see my heart rate at a track vs at an autocross.

If you bring the Chasecams, I'll bring the HRM

The main reason I created this setup was to record heart rate during the upcoming Lemons race. I'm guessing that a 3 hrs stint in 110 degree weather in Buttonwillow will be pretty stressful and I wanted to see how the body responds to the on track action. If all goes well I plan on creating a site where users can just plug in their HRM and CSV files to get a single synced output file.

[apkom]

Wow! You made it sound like autoX is dangerous for ones health Randy, did you do any exercise program at the time?

I'm cycling/running a lot lately (hence the reason I got Polar HRM/cyclometer combo).
To put it in perspective 145 BPM heart rate for me is 80% of my HRmax (180) so not a lot really. The way it picks up and drops quickly simply tells the heart is in good shape. And I don't think it's due to AutoX health benefits as Rahul might led folks here to beleive
Matter of fact, he's regularly running in hot weather to get fit for challenges of multi-hour Lemons Racing.

Originally Posted by Randy Chase

Autocrossing was what put me in the hospital as my heart was not working right on each run. At the end of the run I could not breath or talk. Going to the hospital saved my life.

It is amazing how elevated the heart can get in 60 seconds. I would like to see my heart rate at a track vs at an autocross.

[Chris Mackey]

Autocross probably isn't good for you, but it probably isn't bad either.

A high pulse alone isn't going to do much for your health, unless it is in conjunction with some exercise. Good cardio is getting your pulse up for at least 20 minutes while running, etc.

[apkom]

Exactly my point! Thanks for putting this nicely.

Originally Posted by Chris Mackey

Autocross probably isn't good for you, but it probably isn't bad either.

A high pulse alone isn't going to do much for your health, unless it is in conjunction with some exercise. Good cardio is getting your pulse up for at least 20 minutes while running, etc.

[Vexige]

Good cardio shape could be achieved only through cardio exercise; in turn efficient cardio system will help to successfully withstand prolonged elevated HR caused by any type of stress (from autocross to sex ).
Migel Indurain comes to mind; his RHR was 28, which was elevated to not higher than 75 after the stage or during his training sessions. He was called "superhuman", his physilology is legendary.

[knucklehead]

Next time you should put it on some out of shape sucka like me. I'll bet my heart rate doesn't nearly come down as fast as Alex's.

BTW any postings of the times from the autox?

[apkom]

And he now has a unit that records every 1s so you'll know it exactly how slow it comes down

I posted results. See this announcement

Originally Posted by knucklehead

Next time you should put it on some out of shape sucka like me. I'll bet my heart rate doesn't nearly come down as fast as Alex's.

BTW any postings of the times from the autox?

[Green Hornet]

Come on guys ...

If you want some Heart Rate - spend some time on one of these

[rnr]

People are taking this way too seriously - it was a fun test to see if they system would work at all and I am in no way recommending that you skip the gym in favour of autocrossing.

If someone wants to run heart rate only setup its pretty trivial to do - all you need is to convert your HRM data into a CSV file and then enter it into the dashware software. Someone else suggested recording both the driver and passenger which could be a fascinating thing to look at especially for videos like when Nelson Piquet took his wife to the track

[Randy Chase]

I was going to type the same thing, THIS WAS TONGUE IN CHEEK!

I did find it impressive what autocrossing did to the heart rate.

[apk919]

Now you've got me tempted to wear my Polar heart rate sensor and watch for the next LCS event... I'll put an extra gauge on my DashWare dash...

[rnr]

Originally Posted by apk919

Now you've got me tempted to wear my Polar heart rate sensor and watch for the next LCS event... I'll put an extra gauge on my DashWare dash...

Merging the DL1/traqmate with the Polar will require a little bit of coding skill. This is because the data aquisition systems generally record at 5-10-20 Hz while HRMs are usually every 1-5 seconds. You are going to have to write something to sync both data files such that the HRM data gets mapped to N different data log readings - its easy to do but still does take some work.

I have a rough version of the script now but it isnt ready for public use yet. Hopefully I'll be able to write and release a freeware version once I get some spare time after the Buttonwillow Lemons race (mid aug).

[apk919]

Originally Posted by rnr

Merging the DL1/traqmate with the Polar will require a little bit of coding skill. This is because the data aquisition systems generally record at 5-10-20 Hz while HRMs are usually every 1-5 seconds. You are going to have to write something to sync both data files such that the HRM data gets mapped to N different data log readings - its easy to do but still does take some work.

I have a rough version of the script now but it isnt ready for public use yet. Hopefully I'll be able to write and release a freeware version once I get some spare time after the Buttonwillow Lemons race (mid aug).

Have you ever seen this thread: 2007 Exige S Intercooler Air Flow Study?

I had to merge the data from a Garmin GPS with data from a Kestrel datalogging weather meter... similar problem

[rnr]

Originally Posted by apk919

Have you ever seen this thread: 2007 Exige S Intercooler Air Flow Study?

I had to merge the data from a Garmin GPS with data from a Kestrel datalogging weather meter... similar problem

In that case you should write the script and I'll just use yours instead

In all seriousness I hadn't seen that thread before(Elise owner after all) and as an engineer/researcher by trade I love your data driven approach.

[apk919]

Originally Posted by rnr

In that case you should write the script and I'll just use yours instead

In all seriousness I hadn't seen that thread before(Elise owner after all) and as an engineer/researcher by trade I love your data driven approach.

Thanks... and I was just teasing you... the data from the Garmin and Kestrel are both available as XML downloads... and I just happened to have an XML parser in Squeak (formerly known as Smalltalk). So it's not in "script" form, but in the form of class libraries.

I've spent a lot of my career processing/modeling large data sets (first as an engineer, then as a trader writing financial models, now as a financial consultant), so I usually have some software tools sitting around for just this kind of thing.

[RichS]

Hmmm....

This makes me wonder.

For a track that I've been on a bunch (multiple hundreds of laps) I actually find it not necessarily relaxing, but not really all that stressful.

Autocross on the other hand was more stressful (shorter track, crazy turns, little time to learn the correct line, etc.).

I wonder what the difference would be for the same driver.