Maximum Heart Rate

P0IS0N0AK

Hi, I have been biking for about 2 months. I started as a way of losing a bit of weight. I have a heart rate monitor, but i am almost always on or over my maximum heart rate when cycling, i have confirmed this by counting.

I do push myself, but never feel like i am seriously overdoing it, and always feel good after a ride (7-20 miles), with my muscles knowing they have done some work. I am not exactly fit though I do have quite an active job.

All the advise i find say that i should not train at my maximun heart rate for long, though i seem to be doing this about 90% of the time, but It seems pointless slowing down.

I am 31 years old, about 15 stone, and looking to lose 2 stone at first, as I do carry a fair amount of muscle.

So......Should i continue and not worry about it, or is my heart going to explode?

Thanks

Mytchett Mike

I'm no expert on the subject but I frequently average 97% of my "calculated" heart rate on a ride but manage to peak at 106% on occasions. I was still alive last time I looked :?

Firstly, if you are looking to lose weight then you need to be training at a lower heart rate to burn a higher rate of fat.

I would recommend getting a copy of Total Heart Rate Trining by Joe Friel if you want to understand the subject in detail.

If you use the standard simple calculation of 220 - age = Max Heart rate then you should have a max heart rate of 189.

Basically, you would be better doing longer, easier rides at around 60/70% for burning fat and using fast, shorter rides to build strength and endurance.

You should also be testing your resting heart rate regularly to see how you are improving in overall fitness. For instance, if you had just given up smoking you should see a reduction in a moth or so, especially if you were then training.

Hope this helps

Mike

Mike

cjw

The calculated max heart rate is an average and will often be wrong for you. If you are at 106% of the calculated, then clearly the calculated is very wrong - you know that though.

You can't train at your max heart rate for any length of time, your body can't take it for long. And averaging 97% of max shows that it is way out. To find your max you need to do a stress test. Basically push and push and push till it really hurts (going up a hill afew times will do it) and you may be sick afterwards.

For me, my calculated max HR is 176. My actual max is 199. My average over a goodish ride is between 160 and 170 depending on what I am doing.

helene

Depends on how you calculated your maximum heart rate. Most HRMs have instructions on how to do this, and should give you a better estimate than the 220-age formula. I would like to think I am at least reasonably fit, currently trialling for the Oxford Blue Boat and doing double sessions most days, but I have an unusually high heart rate (resting ~ 75bpm, maximum as yet not fully tested, but at least ~213bpm, achieved in AT training).

This has always been the case for me, and I've found it quite useful to think about it in terms of effort levels, and how I feel doing the exercise:

UT1 = Utilization training 1 (puffed)
UT2 = Untilization training 2 (you should be able to speak full sentences without gasping)
AT = Anerobic threshold (copiously sweating and breathing heavily)
TR = Transportation rate
AN = Maximum

UT1 = training at upto 70-80% of your maximum heart rate
UT2 = training at upto 65-70% of your maximum heart rate
AT = 80 - 85 % of your maximum heart rate (lactate training)
TR = Flat out 85-95%
AN = 95-100%

To increase your fitness, and lose weight, you're looking at ~90mins of UT2 training as Mike suggested. Overall, basic rowing fitness, which I find not dissimilar to basic cycling fitness, entails an alternation of UT2 and AT (for example, a 30 min blast).

Other factors that may influence your HR - recovering from previous exercise and general health (if you wake up and your HR is 10-15bpm higher than usual, you may well be coming down with a cold, etc). Monitoring it throughout the day is always a good idea!

P0IS0N0AK

Thankyou, I now have a good idea of my max HR, and it all makes sense.

willy b

Just bought a sigma heart rate monitor...That has simple calculation for your max heart rate. I'll find it later and post it up

Helene - My Resting HR is also quite high, around 75bpm...what should a average resting HR be?

Cheers,

Dr_Death

'Normal' resting heart rate is anywhere between 60 and 100 according to the text books but it depends on how you define normal...

A lot of people on here will tell you that their resting heart rate is 50 something and they are normal (well normalish ;-)), and they'll tell you that 75 is high but it's not.

breezer

Im not that fit but during the 1-1.5hr Gorrick fun races I will average about 194bpm and normally peak about 207, highest ive seen is 212 which is probably a bit high for a 31yr old but maybe I just have a small heart for a tall person heh.

Surf-Matt

Dr Death - my resting rate is 52 but not into heart monitors so not sure what the maximum is.

I just do stuff until I'm knackered!

terongi

I don't think anyone has pointed out expressly that:

It is physically impossible to exceed your true maximum heart rate. It does exactly what it says on the tin - it is the maximum. It is physiologically fixed. It cannot go up - it only goes down with age.

When you reach your maximum heart rate, after a few seconds, your body will start to shut down your activity to prevent damage to the heart. This could be experienced as total exshaustion or more severe symptoms like vomitting, temporary sight loss or tunnel vision and fainting. None of this is dangerous as long as you don't try push on through it (you won't be able to anyway).

So unlike Threshold and resting heart rate, your maximum heart rate is not something you can "improve" with training. It is your personal marker which provides the limits within which your body operates.

As far as I am aware, a higher maximum heart rate doesn't make someone a better athlete. It is just how each individual is calibrated at that time in their life.

So if you are riding at over 100% MHR or even 95-100% for anything more than a few seconds, then your MHR has been incorrectly calculated.

punctureboy

different brands can give out totally different readings for the same heart rate. the prices of basic models are so cheap now that i would imagine there are huge tolerances on these things. they are better used as an indicator than hard fact. only a proper athlete needing and using state of the art equipment needs accurate feedback.
poisonoak, dont stay religiously in the fat burning zone. you will burn a lot of fat in ither zones as well. for instance if you ride at 80-85% (threshold) you might not burn fat as efficiently, but your system is working faster so will burn fat faster once your body gets into that zone. just not as efficiently. furthermore, you will have a much longer 'afterburn' so your body will continue to burn fat for much longer after riding.

cougie

Pretty pointless having a HRM and then just calculating your max.
Its like buying a Rolex and then setting it off the sun.

Do it properly, or dont bother at all I reckon.

ozzzyosborn206

i am 19 but my max heart rate it 215, i train in the 190's for over an hour on the turbo. there is a vet in my club who is 65 and he time trials at bout 190 aswell so the 220 minus your age is aload of rubbish really, best of doing a test weather it be on a hill or on the turbo and finding your true max other wise your hrm is a waste of time

John Stevenson

220 minus age is pretty much always wrong.

http://www.bikeradar.com/feature/articl ... itness-872

And the formulae in that article aren't much use either. I saw 10 bpm over the number it gives for me on Sunday.

supersonic

I guess this is why we don't see many 220 year olds.