Max HR on Garmin

Elfed

Hi guys, I know this is a minefield topic but would appreciate some advice.

I've bought a Garmin 510 with HRM. On my first ride I exceeded the max hr that the unit worked out with the 220 - age(45), going up to 180 rather than 175. So I changed the default on the 510 to 180bpm to represent this. Today on my ride nursing a hangover it maxed at 186, so I've changed it again to the higher number.

Is this correct and do I change it again if it goes higher.
I'm guessing it's probably going to be higher anyway as I wasn't feeling like I was going to pass out, just breathless.

One good thing about the Garmin is that I now know my natural cadence is 89/90 which for a 100kg 6'6" guy is a good thing I think.

I find if I keep the cadence to around 90 up a hill it helps keep the heart rate in check.

Anyway, I'm obviously a novice to all this so please be kind, thanks guys.

meanredspider

Your HRmax is whatever you measure it at. You can do a test by going as hard as you can up a steep hill several times - ideally standing as that ramps it up. TBH though, a few BPM either way doesn't make a lot of odds with zones and the like.

As for cadence, that's the same - your cadence is whatever you're comfortable with - I'm not sure size and weight influences things.

Elfed

meanredspider wrote:

Your HRmax is whatever you measure it at. You can do a test by going as hard as you can up a steep hill several times - ideally standing as that ramps it up. TBH though, a few BPM either way doesn't make a lot of odds with zones and the like.

As for cadence, that's the same - your cadence is whatever you're comfortable with - I'm not sure size and weight influences things.

Hi, thanks, so am I right in setting the Garmin 510 with the highest bpm I've seen so far, which is 186?

meanredspider

Elfed wrote:

meanredspider wrote:

Your HRmax is whatever you measure it at. You can do a test by going as hard as you can up a steep hill several times - ideally standing as that ramps it up. TBH though, a few BPM either way doesn't make a lot of odds with zones and the like.

As for cadence, that's the same - your cadence is whatever you're comfortable with - I'm not sure size and weight influences things.

Hi, thanks, so am I right in setting the Garmin 510 with the highest bpm I've seen so far, which is 186?

Yup - the 220- thing is notoriously inaccurate and only serves as a guide

Elfed

Thanks.

So is seeing it go higher than expected a good thing or worrying?

I'm guessing that the fitter I am the harder I'll have to work to see the max?

meanredspider

Elfed wrote:

Thanks.

So is seeing it go higher than expected a good thing or worrying?

I'm guessing that the fitter I am the harder I'll have to work to see the max?

Neither a good thing or worrying - it just is (provided you feel ok in yourself)

That's part of the theory. There are quite a few things that influence your HR on any particular day. I find mine is lower if I'm fatigued and higher if I'm rested for instance.

imposter2.0

Elfed wrote:

Thanks.

So is seeing it go higher than expected a good thing or worrying?

220-age is largely useless as a guide to an individual's MHR. The only way to establish your true max is by doing the kind of thing you are already doing.

Elfed wrote:

I'm guessing that the fitter I am the harder I'll have to work to see the max?

Your max HR doesn't really increase with fitness - ironically, you may find it easier to hit MHR with improved fitness.

Stalin

Imposter wrote:

Elfed wrote:

Thanks.

So is seeing it go higher than expected a good thing or worrying?

220-age is largely useless as a guide to an individual's MHR. The only way to establish your true max is by doing the kind of thing you are already doing.

Elfed wrote:

I'm guessing that the fitter I am the harder I'll have to work to see the max?

Your max HR doesn't really increase with fitness - ironically, you may find it easier to hit MHR with improved fitness.

Paradoxically you might find your max heart rate decreases when you get fitter.

Elfed

Ok, so I've found out that the cadence I'm most comfortable with is 88/89/90, with the average cadence for a ride usually around 85.
Is matching my natural cadence to a certain % of MHR a good way of managing a climb?
I struggle with hills as I'm heavy with not much more weight to lose, so this seems to improve things.

drlodge

On my garmin, my max HR is set to the maxium my HR has been. So it set it to 185. Then I hit 187 so I increased it to 187...I'm 46 and 220-gave gives me 174. It is what it is, perhaps useful to know when you are closing in on it for example, once I get into the high 170s I know I'm near the max and can't sustain it for long.

ai_1

220-age is just a very rough approximation that's reasonably accurate for a lot of people. However plenty of us will differ quite a bit. For example I'm 38 but my max heart rate is somewhere around 195 not 182.
This is not an indication of health. Just treat it as a number from which to calculate useful effort levels.
Max heart rate does not change specifically in response to effort. As your cardiovascular fitness improves you will be able to do more work for any given heart rate and obviously your max heart rate will correspond to a higher max power output.

Resting heart rate will normally reduce as you get fitter. For example mine has dropped from about 69 three years ago to 51 now. This is because your resting requirements haven't changed much but as mentioned above you are now able to do more work for a given heart rate.

Max heart rate is not the maximum you happen to have seen on your rides. You will not hit your maximum heart rate on a normal ride nor should you be trying to unless you're trying to achieve specific changes in performance.
You will need to ride specifically to max effort to get your maximum heart rate. There are recommended protocols for doing this usually based on riding up a moderate gradient with gradually increasing speed until near max exertion and then going all out.

Your heart rate is effected by several variables including fatigue, alcohol consumption, hydration, food intake, ambient temperature and illness. I find mine is usually pretty consistent for a similar type and effort of ride but I have noted by comparison with a friend I often ride with that while my HR at cruising speed is usually about 5-10bpm lower than his, it can be 15 to 20bpm higher if I ride on a Sunday morning after a late night with alcohol.
Alcohol has a very significant impact on your heart and also causes blood vessels to constrict.
So, I think it is useful to know your max HR but you need to know that HR is not a fixed absolute scale of effort or performance.

Elfed

drlodge wrote:

On my garmin, my max HR is set to the maxium my HR has been. So it set it to 185. Then I hit 187 so I increased it to 187...I'm 46 and 220-gave gives me 174. It is what it is, perhaps useful to know when you are closing in on it for example, once I get into the high 170s I know I'm near the max and can't sustain it for long.

This is what I was planning on doing as well so I can manage a hill climb, as I'll never be quick going up as I'm 100kg

Elfed

Ai_1 wrote:

220-age is just a very rough approximation that's reasonably accurate for a lot of people. However plenty of us will differ quite a bit. For example I'm 38 but my max heart rate is somewhere around 195 not 182.
This is not an indication of health. Just treat it as a number from which to calculate useful effort levels.
Max heart rate does not change specifically in response to effort. As your cardiovascular fitness improves you will be able to do more work for any given heart rate and obviously your max heart rate will correspond to a higher max power output.

Resting heart rate will normally reduce as you get fitter. For example mine has dropped from about 69 three years ago to 51 now. This is because your resting requirements haven't changed much but as mentioned above you are now able to do more work for a given heart rate.

Max heart rate is not the maximum you happen to have seen on your rides. You will not hit your maximum heart rate on a normal ride nor should you be trying to unless you're trying to achieve specific changes in performance.
You will need to ride specifically to max effort to get your maximum heart rate. There are recommended protocols for doing this usually based on riding up a moderate gradient with gradually increasing speed until near max exertion and then going all out.

Your heart rate is effected by several variables including fatigue, alcohol consumption, hydration, food intake, ambient temperature and illness. I find mine is usually pretty consistent for a similar type and effort of ride but I have noted by comparison with a friend I often ride with that while my HR at cruising speed is usually about 5-10bpm lower than his, it can be 15 to 20bpm higher if I ride on a Sunday morning after a late night with alcohol.
Alcohol has a very significant impact on your heart and also causes blood vessels to constrict.
So, I think it is useful to know your max HR but you need to know that HR is not a fixed absolute scale of effort or performance.

Thanks for that explanation, I obviously need to look into this a bit more as there's a lot to understand, a lot more

dw300

This is why no one lives to 220 years old..

charlie_potatoes

dw300 wrote:

This is why no one lives to 220 years old..

I'm planning to. So far so good

drlodge

dw300 wrote:

This is why no one lives to 220 years old..

You need to have lots of birthdays. Research has shown that the oldest people are those who have the most birthdays.

imposter2.0

drlodge wrote:

dw300 wrote:

This is why no one lives to 220 years old..

You need to have lots of birthdays. Research has shown that the oldest people are those who have the most birthdays.

The Queen has it sussed - two birthdays a year...