Heart rate monitor

sidrhino

Hi
I'm 49 year old male who weighs 104 kg and 5'10. Since the purchase of my road bike I tend to do at least one ride a week as I just enjoy it , weather and work permitting this would be more often. Recently I fitted my HRM on my handlebars. During my rides which can be anything from 22 to 32 miles I notice that it hovers mainly around 145 mark and this shoots up to 165 when tackling hills. To be fair I live in Cheshire not the Alps so these are not very steep. I don't suffer any pains apart from the expected burn for being fat and unfit. Can anyone tell me whether having your heart rate so high at my age is the wrong thing and should I be taking it easy. I am concerned that I could be doing some damage so forgive my ignorance. I am aware that many riders who use this forum are veterans with far more knowledge than myself so any tips would be welcomed.
Cheers

robertpb

The figures don't mean a lot as you have to know your max heart rate to use the monitor properly.

For fitness it's a good idea to know your minimum heart rate.

I'm a few months off of 60 and my max is 184 and min 50, at 165 I can ride for ages and quite often get close to max on hills but I'm lean at 62kg.

But for proper advice and to get a definitive answer you should go to your doctor and be given the once over.

endurojcb

A pretty good rough guide for your max HR is 220 beats per minute minus your age.

That makes yours around 170-171 bpm.

If going up to 165 bpm doesn't cause you any problems then I wouldn't worry about it. Just bare in mind that you don't really want to go over 170 bpm.

But as robertpb said, your doc will give you the best advice as he'll know your medical history.

robertpb

If I used the 220 minus my age it would come to 160, but my max is 184 I've even hit 187 a few months ago.

The only way is to do a proper test.