max and min HR

[butafly]

Raced over the weekend on the mtb and absolutely died on one hill, when i checked my Polar HR was surprised to see that my max was only 155 (i expected at least something in the high 160's or low 170's). ok , so i must be due for a rest......checked my resting HR this morning and it came in at a low of 43 and an average resting HR over 8 minutes at 51 bpm and a high of 61.  this is not too bad but what puzzles me is my max of 155, it  should be higher. am i correct in assuming the lower the resting HR , the higher the max.

[daggavis]

As a guideline, subtract your age from 220 to get your max hr. I used the following as guidelines for canoeing:

 

	TARGET ZONES	LO	%	MAX	%
1	AEROBIC RECOVERY	96	50%	115	60%
2	AEROBIC ENDURANCE	115	60%	134	70%
3	LACTATE TOLERANCE	134	70%	153	80%
4	VO2MAX	153	80%	172	90%
5	MAX SPEED	172	90%	191	100%

[mrmed]

The lower your max HR, the worse your conditioning. For example in the Epic your max HR on day 3 - 6 might be 160, but if you have rested before the race yor HR, should be like a 50cc motorbike engine. Take a week off.

 

 

[Dirtbreath]

Heart rates need to be taken with a pinch of salt.

 

I am unfit and 10kg overweight. My resting heart rate is 44 and my max is 209. My average on a MTB marathon is above 170!

 

Go figure?

[Cheryl J]

Max and Min heartrates are very individual.  What matters is what range your own heart rate does.   All the formulas are averages!  and often based on unfit people.

 

Know what your 'normal' range is and how your heart rate normally responsds.  Then you can monitor and determine when its not 'normal' (for you). 

 

[Christie]

I have found that I hit a higher HR when I'm a bit out of shape, especially after taking 2 weeks off from training.

[FreakishlySlow]

Keep in mind that your 50% HR is not (220-age)/2.

 

50% is in the middle of your working range for your heart.

 

(220-age)/2 is in any case a very thumb suck and "bogus" value.  I recommend to determine your HRmax by sprinting or spinning and see where you pass out.

 

Once you have your HRmax you should determine your HRmin.  Subtracting the two gives you your working range.  Deviding your working range by two and adding the result to your HRmin, gives you your 50%.

 

Any questions?

 

[butafly]

in a test a few years ago i maxed at 172 (i have seen my hr at 179 and 184 during races over the years but had a cateye hrm which was not downloadable). so i should go and get tested again to find out my max hr.

[Wonder Woman]

Butafly....your max HR is the HR you'll get to and then very nicely bring up.

 

Most tests for cyclists work out your Lactate threshold, which is when your body goes from aerobic into anaerobic, so you are then producing more lactate acid than what your body can get rid of.

 

From my experience if you are VERY unfit, you will feel like you are dying at lactate threshold whereas when you are fitter you can happily go over that and hold it for quite a while quite easily.

 

So if you have been training normally and your resting HR is normal but you can't get to your max...

 

I'd probably say take some time off. But if you are overtrained normally your resting HR is also a bit higher than normal.

 

And as stipulated earlier....min and max HR is a very personal thing and you can only tell your specific fitness level from it if you know yourself...everyone is different here so I can't tell you if 43 is low or high for you etc etc!!

 

 

[knippie]

Heart rate is affected by so many things.  What was your training like the week and weeks before the race? You might have had  high training stress on your body, this would give you a low hr.  Yes hr changes with age, fitness level, emotional or work stress etc etc.  The best way to determine your Functional HR (that is not your max) but about 95% to even 105% of your max, would be to take the average of your last race or two.  How long ago was your previous race?

[cyclenut]

Struggling to get your heart rate up?

 option 1 = you're very fit

 option 2 = your overtrained

[Domestiquehated]

Keep in mind that your 50% HR is not (220-age)/2.

50% is in the middle of your working range for your heart.

(220-age)/2 is in any case a very thumb suck and "bogus" value.  I recommend to determine your HRmax by sprinting or spinning and see where you pass out.

Once you have your HRmax you should determine your HRmin.  Subtracting the two gives you your working range.  Deviding your working range by two and adding the result to your HRmin' date=' gives you your 50%.

Any questions?
[/quote']

 

Just one: if what you propose is correct, why don't heart rate monitors work like that?

[Domestiquehated]

in a test a few years ago i maxed at 172 (i have seen my hr at 179 and 184 during races over the years but had a cateye hrm which was not downloadable). so i should go and get tested again to find out my max hr.

I would not say so.  I personally find that desparate race conditions with all the adrenaline flowing around get my HR higher than any test.  Going up Smits in the Argus the last in my group I found an extra 2 BPM over my previous Max.  Yes, I managed to stay in contact with them by a hair's breadth!

[butafly]

Heart rate is affected by so many things.  What was your training like the week and weeks before the race? You might have had  high training stress on your body' date=' this would give you a low hr.  Yes hr changes with age, fitness level, emotional or work stress etc etc.  The best way to determine your Functional HR (that is not your max) but about 95% to even 105% of your max, would be to take the average of your last race or two.  How long ago was your previous race?

[/quote']

 

my previous race was the end of april with a mhr of 159 and at an average hr of 143. thanks for all the advice, i hven't ridden since Sunday and will take the rest of the week off and will have a nice easy 2 hour ride on Sat and Sun.

[FreakishlySlow]

When I run, my HRmax never goes beyond +-190.

When I cycle, I reach 220, within the first 2km if I try to average 30km up a slight incline!

 

I am 27.

 

Your HR is as unique as your ........ fingerprints!