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Max Hear Rate


zaShadow

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I found that the most common way of calculating your max heart rate is 220 - Age. If you are reasonably fit they say you can add 1 or 2, so I use 186 as my max.

 

On the indoor trainer I can easily stay between 70 - 90%, but regularly perform in the 90th percentile while racing or on an outdoor training session. My average will then easily be 90-94%.

When I ride between 92-96% I hardly feel different or realise any extra physical exertion, but realise this is not ideal. I exceeded 100% quite often in a race.

 

I have also read that if you exceed 100%, this value becomes your new max. This means I have to increase my max to 212, which, except for the fact that it makes the indoor training sessions ridiculous, I can imagine is quite dangerous.

 

Is it possible that my heart rate can vary that much, or am I slowly looking for serious trouble? My resting heart rate is naturally lower compared to the average.

 

I just cannot get myself to slow down while out on my bike.

Edited by zaShadow
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I find the same thing - hitting 80% of max on an indoor trainer feels tough but I seem to be able to cycle at a higher intensity for longer when in a race without feeling it as much.

 

But as another post from today to my brother's HRM chart (who hammers it even harder than I do) said, don't worry about your heart - it will tell you when you are pushing too hard. Your HRM just tells you what is going on but your body will protect itself.

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That formula is a load of nonsense. Just google max heart rate and you should find a few hundred articles telling you why. But briefly, it was designed for patients recovering from heart surgery so as not to do anything that would compromise their surgery. Max heart rate can be off by up to 20bpm using that formula.

 

Best way is to find a 100m and give it all you got 4/5 times and take the highest reading from that and that my friend is your max. Alternatively you can pay some $$$ and head to a sports science institute or a cardiologist and have a mx heart rate test.

 

The hill thing works best!

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Best way is to find a 100m and give it all you got 4/5 times and take the highest reading from that

 

So, I just increase my max to the highest value I achieve when riding? That works for me! :clap:

 

Guess I was just told by too many people that I am at the brink of a heart attack :thumbdown:

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So, I just increase my max to the highest value I achieve when riding? That works for me! :clap:

 

Guess I was just told by too many people that I am at the brink of a heart attack :thumbdown:

 

A mate of mine bought a garmin, did the whole 220 - age story etc

 

Went for a run and his heart rate was 220 something. He naturally freaked out, went to a cardiologist who told him exactly what I have just told you.

 

I was the opposite. My max according to the formula is 192, but if I get to 180 i fell like I want to die. Everyone's heart rate is different, like DNA different.

 

Do yourself a favor and try find a 100m hill. Running spikes your heart rate much quicker than cycling. You can try the same thing on a bike but running will give you a better value IMHO.

Edited by Zula
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It's pretty individual. I'm the opposite - my HR is much slower than the 220 - age thing, and if I tried to max my HR at that rate would have a stroke / blow a foofie valve way before I got there.

 

The Polar guys (I think it was them) said that your heart can beat plenty enough without damaging itself (I seem to remember 300bpm being mentioned?)

 

My understanding is that the most accurate way of calculating max HR is to warm up nicely, find a long hill and hammer as hard as you can go up it, with giving your all as you crest it. Seems that you need to find a hill of optimum length to get best benefit if you use this exact method, but I'm sure that if you just find a hill and gun it as long and hard as you can, you will hit what is effectively your max.

 

Edit: Ok this has been answered already. Hey, I just type slow.

Edited by davetapson
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so I use 186 as my max.

I exceeded 100% quite often in a race.

That's because 186bpm is not your max.

Use whatever the Max you have ever seen on the Heartrate monitor plus 5 beats and a ride to that.

No harm will befall you.

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So, I just increase my max to the highest value I achieve when riding? That works for me! :clap:

 

Yeah take your max achieved and add 5 beats so that you can always strive for that max ;)

 

Like what was said before, that formula might not work for everybody. I've heard of people being out by more than 20 beats using that! But mine is pretty close. 220 - 32 = 188 while my maximum ever achieved was around 186.

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I exceeded 100% quite often in a race.

 

 

How can you exceed 100%? Your max HR and 100% is the same thing.

 

If 100% = max then you can not exceed it. If you exceed 100% than you weren't on your max HR before. You just happened to exceeded what you thought was your max or 100% HR. If you thought your max or 100% HR is 200 and you reached 220, this does not mean you reached 110% of your HR, it means your max HR is 220 so 220 is your actual or 100% max HR. If next time you reach 222 then that is actually your max or 100% HR.

 

You have to push really hard to find your personal max HR figure. As corretly stated in this thread forget about the formula and hit those sprints until you drop and then check what your ultimate maximum maximum HR reading is, and that is your max or 100% HR.

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Yup, I can ride at 190 for 30mins with relative ease.

 

So according to my Garmin my HR went up to 249!!, Now i see it's been there twice. Both at the beginning of a the ride.

 

Is that possible or should I not trust the garmin?

 

Previous max was 232 and before 223...

 

Caffeine also gets my HR to 210 in less than a minute :lol:

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But, is there no risk with a HR that high?

 

Are the guys who are struggling to reach 188 not the only guys who are really meant to do marathon races? I don't mind and quite enjoy pushing myself as much as I can, but is there not a long term price on doing it? Won't it damage my heart or health in the long run?

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Yup, I can ride at 190 for 30mins with relative ease.

 

So according to my Garmin my HR went up to 249!!, Now i see it's been there twice. Both at the beginning of a the ride.

Is that possible or should I not trust the garmin?

 

Previous max was 232 and before 223...

 

Caffeine also gets my HR to 210 in less than a minute :lol:

 

Timing mat , or other external interference.

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