Heart rate at 90+%

surfatwork

I recently got a heart rate monitor (Polar CS200) and took it out on my first ride today. did a 10mile loop that I am very familiar and comfortable with. did it as normal and was fairly comfortable throughout the ride. However I found that my HR jumped to about 90% in the first 200m and then remained at 90+% for the rest of the ride. The monitor never stopped beeping!
I have left HR(max) at the default i.e. 220 - age. does anyone know if this is normal? or if not, any inputs would be welcome. thanks

danowat

surfatwork wrote:

I have left HR(max) at the default i.e. 220 - age.

And there is your problem, this is wrong for many (most?) people.

slowbike

Did you feel knackered at the end of the ride?

If not it sounds like you may have your monitor fitted incorrectly or just a duff monitor ...
I do a 10 mile ride and my heart rate is all over the place depending where abouts on the ride ...
It never gets up to max until I'm pushing hard up a steep hill ...

Peddle Up!

danowat wrote:

surfatwork wrote:

I have left HR(max) at the default i.e. 220 - age.

And there is your problem, this is wrong for many (most?) people.

Quite. That calculation makes me "officially dead" through over-revving.

cougie

If i had a penny for every time this came up.

The 220-age is bobbins - its just a calculation and can be way off for a lot of people.

Sounds to me like you didnt wet the belt properly if the HR shot up to a high reading. Heart rate elevates pretty gradually - i've never seen mine jump. YOu might want to try gel to use with it, and do a proper heart rate test or not bother with it at all.

rothers_bikeo

danowat wrote:

surfatwork wrote:

I have left HR(max) at the default i.e. 220 - age.

And there is your problem, this is wrong for many (most?) people.

+1

220 - age is a vague average at best. If you want to find your max HR do a 3 min max power test with a proper warm up. I'm 53 and my max is 185, go figure.

Also my zones were way out compared to the standard BC zones. This works for me: http://www.flammerouge.je/content/3_factsheets/constant/heartrate.htm

surfatwork

Thanks for the super quick responses.....I'll try again making sure I wet the belt properly and see if the HR monitoring is smoother.
The sensor might well be the issue - my usual resting heart rate is ~60 bpm (I checked on some tests taken last year), whereas the sensor found it to be ~82 bpm.

bazzer2

Also, the unit will probably be set to beep at you when your HR is outside of a Zone, regardless of the max and minimum numbers you've put in. Simply making these correct might not make it stop. I've recently got shot of my Polar, but I remember you could set your own zone and also switch the beeps on or off.

blackhands

My MHR is 185 and I race at about 165.

I'm 70 by the way so using the 220-age formula I race at 110% of my 'theoretical max' and my actual max is 25% higher than my 'theoretical' max of 150 bpm. (Mind you I was only 69 the last time I raced).

bompington

Yeah, 220-age is clearly nonsense as I stop at about 170 these days so... oh, hang on a minute... oh crap.

Peddle Up!

blackhands wrote:

My MHR is 185 and I race at about 165.

I'm 70 by the way so using the 220-age formula I race at 110% of my 'theoretical max' and my actual max is 25% higher than my 'theoretical' max of 150 bpm. (Mind you I was only 69 the last time I raced).

Top trumps! Hats off Sir.

Monty Dog

You need to a ramp test to get an accurate max HR figure - you really need to do it on a turbo. After a decent warm-up you start at a moderate intensity and increase the effort progressively every minute - after 15 minutes, when you feel you can do no more give it one last push and your recorded HR is likely near your max. If you nearly black- out or you get tunnel vision, then you're nearly at you max ;-)

charlie_potatoes

rothers_bikeo wrote:

Also my zones were way out compared to the standard BC zones. This works for me: http://www.flammerouge.je/content/3_factsheets/constant/heartrate.htm

An interesting read. Thanks for posting rothers

surfatwork

rothers_bikeo wrote:

http://www.flammerouge.je/content/3_factsheets/constant/heartrate.htm

very useful - thanks for posting.

mustol

The 220 - age calculation is hopeless, it would make my MHR 178, but on really hard out of the saddle efforts, my max so far is 201 and I regularly go into the 190s. Your resting HR should be taken shortly after waking up first thing in the morning. Anyway, my monitor has stopped working, so I'm just using perceived effort during my training rides - I'm not racing, so I don't need to be too exact.

supermurph09

Max HR on last ride was 192, average was 166 on a relative flat ride. (50 miles / 3200ft Climbing)

Ride before that, 19 mile ride, 2000ft of climbing. 199 Max / 177 Average

Calc: 220 - 37 = 183. It seems even as a guide its way off.