max hr

[andydude]

This is all very interesting to me thanks for all teh replies, I have searched the web but didnt find what you are telling me. to answer your question. I have a specific route that I train on atleast once a week and noticed that my hr keeps increasing when I check my monitor from week to week or month. this caught my attnention as I'm doing the same hills (with what it feels like to me the same intensity) and my hr keeps increasing. I have noticed in the past that if I'm sick it goes of the charts, but this has not been the case. I cant imagine what it feels like if your hr is 218.....lol

 

There are thousands of heart rate sites on the interweb - you using Google and if so, correctly?

 

Not sure what you mean by your hr is increasing week by week. Is it increasing everytime you climb the hill (which is understandable, because you're probably going harder), or is it increasing week on week, where week 1 = 150bpm, week 2 = 160bpm? Obviously it can't increase forever so something is wrong with your theory. Do you have any programs you use where you can download your training and then compare your rides?

 

Regarding your last comment, don't think in terms of the number of bpm, but rather the percentage of mhr. One person's 160bpm could be the same effort as someone else's 218bpm, because both could be 90% of mhr.

[RockCoach]

 

 

There are thousands of heart rate sites on the interweb - you using Google and if so, correctly?

 

Not sure what you mean by your hr is increasing week by week. Is it increasing everytime you climb the hill (which is understandable, because you're probably going harder), or is it increasing week on week, where week 1 = 150bpm, week 2 = 160bpm? Obviously it can't increase forever so something is wrong with your theory. Do you have any programs you use where you can download your training and then compare your rides?

 

Regarding your last comment, don't think in terms of the number of bpm, but rather the percentage of mhr. One person's 160bpm could be the same effort as someone else's 218bpm, because both could be 90% of mhr.

 

 

What happens with new riders is that their relatively weaker legs are unable to push their cardio close to max. As leg muscles become stronger the HR that they can achieve will increase up to a point. If you have really strong legs you can get up to HRmax quite easily. It can go the other way too after lots of endurance training that you battle to get to your max because your cardio is so strong.

 

I don't think many people know what absolute 100% effort actually feels like. When I have done some maximal testing in the past I collapsed off the bike and needed a good 10 minutes recovery before a very short gentle ride home. Resting HR for the next few mornings was quite elevated and couldn't go for any rides.

 

BTW, the general formula for males is 220 minus age but use 226 for females. As stated that gives you a rough guesstimate to start off with.

[witbanknorth@lantic.net]

I have been using ftitrack with a Training Plan MTB - Intermediate 2 - JUNGLE JIM (8 week) 8-10 training hours per week. My hr has gradually increased over the last couple of months and not 10bpm in a week. When i started the fittrack program my hr was 180 and now about a month after the program ended I'm at 190. there are 3 hectic climbs on the route I do and i check my monitor when going at my max up the climb iow at the top.

 

I feel I still have quite a way to go till I'm happy with my fitness and this is when the formula started to bug me. I thought going over the amount the formula gave me could be bad for me.

 

I feel better then ever and will just keep monitoring it and see where it ends up.

[andydude]

What happens with new riders is that their relatively weaker legs are unable to push their cardio close to max. As leg muscles become stronger the HR that they can achieve will increase up to a point. If you have really strong legs you can get up to HRmax quite easily. It can go the other way too after lots of endurance training that you battle to get to your max because your cardio is so strong.

 

I don't think many people know what absolute 100% effort actually feels like. When I have done some maximal testing in the past I collapsed off the bike and needed a good 10 minutes recovery before a very short gentle ride home. Resting HR for the next few mornings was quite elevated and couldn't go for any rides.

 

BTW, the general formula for males is 220 minus age but use 226 for females. As stated that gives you a rough guesstimate to start off with.

 

I understand about new riders, but the way he said it didn't make sense, implying that it increases forever. But I disagree about your statement "you can get up to HRmax quite easily" part. It's not thaaat easy.

[andydude]

I have been using ftitrack with a Training Plan MTB - Intermediate 2 - JUNGLE JIM (8 week) 8-10 training hours per week. My hr has gradually increased over the last couple of months and not 10bpm in a week. When i started the fittrack program my hr was 180 and now about a month after the program ended I'm at 190. there are 3 hectic climbs on the route I do and i check my monitor when going at my max up the climb iow at the top.

 

I feel I still have quite a way to go till I'm happy with my fitness and this is when the formula started to bug me. I thought going over the amount the formula gave me could be bad for me.

 

I feel better then ever and will just keep monitoring it and see where it ends up.

 

Sounds like you're doing well!

 

Throw away your formula for mhr. If you don't want to go for an official test, try and do your own test as described by somebody else earlier where you really push yourself hard. And like Slick said, it will really hurt. That still won't be your mhr, but could be pretty close.

[SwissVan]

I have been using ftitrack with a Training Plan MTB - Intermediate 2 - JUNGLE JIM (8 week) 8-10 training hours per week. My hr has gradually increased over the last couple of months and not 10bpm in a week. When i started the fittrack program my hr was 180 and now about a month after the program ended I'm at 190. there are 3 hectic climbs on the route I do and i check my monitor when going at my max up the climb iow at the top.

 

I feel I still have quite a way to go till I'm happy with my fitness and this is when the formula started to bug me. I thought going over the amount the formula gave me could be bad for me.

 

I feel better then ever and will just keep monitoring it and see where it ends up.

 

I think the point is that the HR you are seeing (181 -> 190) is most likely not your Max HR. It is probably the max HR that you have recorded / seen, but it is not your real max HR in terms of HR training principals.

 

Max HR is the HR you can achieve when healthy and well rested during exercise whereby the effort is so hard that the effort can no longer be maintained and the HR cannot not go any higher.

EDIT: This effort level needs to be achieved gradualy over +/- 15 - 30 minutes and not in one quick sprint.

 

Usualy it is extermely difficult to achieve this HR because your brain will try to slow you down before you reach max HR.

 

Click on this link for a basic guide to max HR testing and LT threshold testing

 

http://www.beginnert...p?articleid=633

Edited August 15, 2012 by SwissVan

[b-unit]

Apologies for the hijack...

 

My average HR in a race (MTB marathon) is around 155-159. My max is usually 175-178. I haven't been able to get it higher than 179 on a bike. And yes, I have puked in my mouth trying to get it higher. I did some 400m sprints (pushing as hard as I can) a few months ago and my max was 209.

 

Why is it so much lower on the bike?

[Helpmytrap]

I'm not sure how accurate this is but at the Nissan Tygervalley race I made the mistake of munching on an USN caffeine boost gel just before the start, this led to my hr sitting at 250bpm for about 8min in the beginning (not to sure if it was my garmin malfunctioning temporarily or what...) I also tend to see 208 at least once a week on short sharp climbs when I hammer it. So guess you could say, 'proof' that those guidelines are just that, guidelines.

[SwissVan]

Apologies for the hijack...

 

My average HR in a race (MTB marathon) is around 155-159. My max is usually 175-178. I haven't been able to get it higher than 179 on a bike. And yes, I have puked in my mouth trying to get it higher. I did some 400m sprints (pushing as hard as I can) a few months ago and my max was 209.

 

Why is it so much lower on the bike?

 

Sprints = running sprints?

 

If so thats normal, you use more muscles and your heart works harder to run.

 

For example swimming max would be lower than cycling max HR

[Helpmytrap]

Apologies for the hijack...

 

My average HR in a race (MTB marathon) is around 155-159. My max is usually 175-178. I haven't been able to get it higher than 179 on a bike. And yes, I have puked in my mouth trying to get it higher. I did some 400m sprints (pushing as hard as I can) a few months ago and my max was 209.

 

Why is it so much lower on the bike?

Well my average for MTB marathon races is 170 but at road races it's all the way down at 145.

[RockCoach]

 

 

I understand about new riders, but the way he said it didn't make sense, implying that it increases forever. But I disagree about your statement "you can get up to HRmax quite easily" part. It's not thaaat easy.

 

You need to read again about how I have nearly killed myself in maximal testing. The "quite easily" bit you quoted is out of context. That ONLY happens when your legs are particularly strong but your cardio is weak - it has happened to me after a long time off the bike but other things have kept the legs strong.

[b-unit]

Sprints = running sprints?

 

If so thats normal, you use more muscles and your heart works harder to run.

 

For example swimming max would be lower than cycling max HR

 

Thanks.

 

Yes, was referring to running sprints.

 

So my max is 209. In other words I am cycling at 75% HR in MTB races?

[andydude]

You need to read again about how I have nearly killed myself in maximal testing. The "quite easily" bit you quoted is out of context. That ONLY happens when your legs are particularly strong but your cardio is weak - it has happened to me after a long time off the bike but other things have kept the legs strong.

 

My bad! I misunderstood. Thought you still talked about new riders from the beginning of the same paragraph.

[andydude]

I'm not sure how accurate this is but at the Nissan Tygervalley race I made the mistake of munching on an USN caffeine boost gel just before the start, this led to my hr sitting at 250bpm for about 8min in the beginning (not to sure if it was my garmin malfunctioning temporarily or what...) I also tend to see 208 at least once a week on short sharp climbs when I hammer it. So guess you could say, 'proof' that those guidelines are just that, guidelines.

 

That 250 sounds like an error!

 

But yes, we shouldn't use that formula. Everybody is unique, just like everybody else

[Mr SingleTrack]

You need to read again about how I have nearly killed myself in maximal testing. The "quite easily" bit you quoted is out of context. That ONLY happens when your legs are particularly strong but your cardio is weak - it has happened to me after a long time off the bike but other things have kept the legs strong.

i did a VO2 max (and HR MAX) test a couple of weeks ago. And yes, I was fakt for a couple of days after that.

[Mr SingleTrack]

That 250 sounds like an error!

 

But yes, we shouldn't use that formula. Everybody is unique, just like everybody else

+1