Heart Rate ?

rickenbacker89

After some posts and replies on this forum, I bought a trek 1.5. I picked it up two days ago and went on my first training ride today. Great bike, really pleased with it. The question I have is this:

My average HR for one hour and 15 minutes was 175 bpm with a 199 max. I know my HR max is around 218 bpm, by the way. I'm in pretty good shape, I'm on a competitive university rowing team. Do these numbers sound high? I've been sick for the past week so that could explain maybe 5 or 10 beats off. It didn't feel as if I were going too hard. Anyway, just wanted to know what you all thought. Thanks

phil s

First time doing something new may lead to a high-ish heart rate. I took up running between race seasons and at first I was astounded at how high my HR was going - higher than my max on a bike at times... or it may be due to sickness, in which case it's not a bad idea to reign it back in a bit.

Anonymous

Sickness, sleep levels/quality, fatigue, diet, time of day and the fact you are new to cycling can all be factors in heart rate.
That's why I don't train solely based on heart rate any more...

pbt150

That does sound a touch high. Bear in mind your Max HR (presumably on an erg) is probably different when you're on a bike, as is your VO2max.

If you're starting cycling a lot then you might want to start keeping a training diary, measure your resting HR every morning to monitor illness, and then your ave/max HR whilst out on the bike, and how long you spend riding. (If you don't already do this for rowing you might want to start, so far it's really helped me).