Recovery Heart Rates

I have been using a heart rate monitor for a while now. Only thing is I am not sure exactly how to interpret the data to work out if my fitness is improving over time. After a 3 month break my first week back has resulted in a ending heart rate after 60 minutes that has ranged from 156 to 175 and a drop in my heart rate after 30 seconds of between 14 and 28.

ending HR,drop 171,21 159,14 173,19 175,21 159,18 156,28

I dont know if this is good or bad I think i need a chart to work out where my fitness levels. Can anyone comment or suggest anything a website a book just something to measure the data from this monitor against and measure the progress of a 35 year old male approx 6 ft 1 inch tall dragging around 200ilbs.

See the book, SERIOUS Training for Endurance Athletes ... a very good investment..it will tell you about this and give your other very useful training information.

Sling Skate

Does anyone know of any reference books or charts that can be used to interpret the recovery heart rate on my heart rate monitor. I can find information and formulaes about heart rate zones and targets for my age etc but not anything to allow me to interpret the significance of my recovery heart rate on the monitor at the end of a workout.

You can ask your doctor this to confirm, but I read this in a NY Times feature.

Recovery for an athlete is about 50 beats/min. For a normal healthy person it is about 20 beats/min. A person with a severe heart condition and with the highest likelihood of dying within the next 5 years, the best indication is a recovery heartrate of 12beats/minute.

My dad had a heart attack a couple years ago. This is also what his doctor told him when he went through the stress test. Luckily with exercise, his recovery was 25beats/minute.