High heart rate
Rowano
Posts: 5
I class myself as a moderately healthy 35 year old, bit overweight (6 ft, 95 kg). I've decided to use cycling to aid weight loss and increase fitness by setting myself a target of completing a century ride later this year. I currently cycle a 12 mile daily commute with longer rides up to 30 miles at weekends. So, I decided to get a Garmin edge to aid training. I've used it for the first time this morning and was alarmed that my heart rate was up to 190 at one point and frequently in the 180s without much perceived effort. This is abnormal, right? Anyone have any advice other than get ghee sen off to doctor, pronto? I should sat, the commute is broken down into segments between train stations, this was during a 3 mile stint.
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No way of knowing if that's worrying or not. Sometimes get erroneous HR figures because the HR contacts on your skin aren't wet enough, or sometimes a flapping shirt is to blame. One of my rides showed a HR of 220 for 8 miles or so when I was taking it easy. I'm 57 and my max HR on the bike is only 165, so I knew it was rubbish.
Ball park figure for max HR is often quoted as 220 minus your age. While this may be true for the mean of a large sample, an individual can have a max HR much higher or lower than this.
Only way to find your max HR is to test it. Google for exactly how to go about it, but basically it involves warming up properly then pushing yourself progressively harder and harder, ideally up a hill, until you're on the point of passing out / throwing up. When you regain consciousness / stop heaving, look at your Garmin to see how high it went.
If you're concerned it might be best to have a word with your GP before you undertake anything like this...0 -
The standard max heart rate formulas simply give the peak of a bell curve distribution. There will be a small percentage of people who have a very high or very low maximum heart rate.
My actual observed max riding out on the road is 206, but according to the formula, it should be 183. In reality, I'm only just getting going at 183 and my threshold is 185.
Probably best to see your GP if you are concerned, but a high heart rate also doesn't instantly mean you are about to keel over.0 -
as above, step one is make sure the hrm strap is tight enough and wet the pads before putting it on - loose/dry hrm can give crazy readings
if it still shows the same high results for degree of effort then i'd back right off and make an appointment with your gpmy bike - faster than god's and twice as shiny0 -
Those HR numbers would not be unusual for a high effort level, but your own HR may not follow the usual pattern. Did you feel unwell or different when this was going on?0
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If you're worried, you can always mention it to your GP next time you see them, although some people do just have really high HRs though.
I'm 23, and my max HR as measured last year on a Wattbike ramp test came out at 114bpm, even though if you do 220 minus your age it should be 198. In reality, as long as it's not cold out I'll hit over 200 when giving it beans for a reasonable length of time, and very regularly when racing.
I told my GP when I last saw them (I had a hole in my heart when I was born, so thought it would be a good idea, but had been riding hard for several years) and they said it's fine as long as it goes up steadily and decreases rapidly when I stop, and don't have chest pain etc.0 -
Check your HR by feeling your pulse and timing with a clock - count beats for 10 / 15 /20 seconds or whatever and multiply by 6 / 4 / 3.
DON'T try this while actually riding! STOP first. Or do it in conjunction with a fast walk or run.
If you have been sedentary for most of your life, then a high HR wouldn't be unusual - you haven't trained your heart to grow larger and more powerful.
As said earlier, if your HR lowers within a few minutes of doing high exertion exercise - that's good.
Jay Kosta
Endwell NY USA0 -
What is your resting HR? (wake up skip breakfast, no exercise for 2 hours, relax for a few mins and take it for about a minute) There are phone apps that can take your HR, using a camera/flash.
If you have a high resting HR, then this may be an indication that the upper levels are not that high.0 -
I class myself as a moderately healthy 35 year old, bit overweight (6 ft, 95 kg). I've decided to use cycling to aid weight loss and increase fitness by setting myself a target of completing a century ride later this year. I currently cycle a 12 mile daily commute with longer rides up to 30 miles at weekends. So, I decided to get a Garmin edge to aid training. I've used it for the first time this morning and was alarmed that my heart rate was up to 190 at one point and frequently in the 180s without much perceived effort. This is abnormal, right? Anyone have any advice other than get ghee sen off to doctor, pronto? I should sat, the commute is broken down into segments between train stations, this was during a 3 mile stint.
A friend discovered that his heart likes to run fast, when to see the GP and got refured to have some checks which came back with, yes that's a bit high but some hearts do.
But equally it's possibly to discover all sorts of quirks to ones body most of the time it's nothing but not always.0 -
I'm 37. 5'4'', weigh 58kg and in pretty decent shape. My heart rate tends to be quite high with a resting HR of 55bpm and a max of 204bpm, but I put this down to the fact that I'm pretty small. I'm pretty sure it's not down to me being out of shape!
A mouse can have a resting bpm of 750 and an elephant just 25 - it's a general law of nature that size makes a difference: http://www.merckvetmanual.com/mvm/appendixes/reference_guides/resting_heart_rates.html
I wasn't aware it applied to humans though!Job: Job, n,. A frustratingly long period of time separating two shorter than usual training rides0 -
My Garmin use to read crazy high but it was due to a bad connection, tightening the chest strap and a bit more spit sorted it.0
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[url=http://www.bikeradar.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=19634152#p19634152]steadyrollingman[/url] wrote:I'm 37. 5'4'', weigh 58kg and in pretty decent shape. My heart rate tends to be quite high with a resting HR of 55bpm and a max of 204bpm, but I put this down to the fact that I'm pretty small. I'm pretty sure it's not down to me being out of shape!
A mouse can have a resting bpm of 750 and an elephant just 25 - it's a general law of nature that size makes a difference: http://www.merckvetmanual.com/mvm/appendixes/reference_guides/resting_heart_rates.html
I wasn't aware it applied to humans though!
The same rule applies within a species too. A larger 'surface area:volume' ratio results in a higher metabolic rate.0
