Heart rate

[The Guy in Pink]

Hi all,

 

Ive been cycling for 2 years now, im 36 years old. Before that i played rugby and different other sports.

 

Im struggling to get my heart rate down, compared to a friend (46 years old) of mine on a strava segment(Big hill) he is almost 2 minutes faster with a avg heart rate of 145, my vg heart rate is 179, same hill just 2 minute slower than he is.

 

What is the cause of this and how can i fix this with training or should i just accept that hes got the better genes than me?

People are very different, his genes are no better than yours, but you may be rather unfit , when it is easier to get your HR up.

 

  I am 72+ years old, which is supposed to mean my maximun HR is less that 148BPM, but when unfit I can  reach 180 Bpm fairly easily as shown below on a 1 hour HIIT session about a year ago ,  but last week fairly fit on a 90 minute HIIT session I only managed 167Bpm. 

 

Your HR is what it is , Don't stress about it,  just exercise it as hard as you can. 

[DJR]

.............when you are a youngster you are like a 2 stroke. High reving but with less torque. As you get older you become more like a 4 stroke. Then when you hit your 40's you become a big ol diesel. loads of power and go but not so much top end.

Depressing being a diesel huh? Until a few hours on the bike killed all the two-strokes and you are still chugging along happily! Those bloody 4-strokes are tricky things to wear down though! Best tool for beating them is always some psychological stick!

Edited May 8, 2020 by DJR

[Frosty]

I’ve hardly had problems getting my HR up, higher than the 220-age formula, except when fatigued. However, when fit, my HR still hits the high numbers, but the time it takes to drop to a recovery zone is quicker. So for me being for doesn’t mean I have a lower HR.

 

Then, the ability to repeat the intervals is another story. The fitter I am, the more repetitions I can do before I need a longer recovery period.

[The Guy in Pink]

As with all functions of our bodies you use it or you loose it, that includes the heart and the ability to achieve high pulse rates. 

The 220- age thing  works for those who don't use it regularly, but for those of us who exert  or heart regularly it may be more something like 220- age/15

 

The first time I had my heart rate recorded under stress was in 1970 at the Chamber of mines Human Science laboratory at Crown Mines, when I did a series of stress tests on a bicycle ergo-meter. ( the Prof running the institution wanted some fit athletes for some base line data)  

 

My maximum heart rate was then (1970) recorded at 188 bpm, and  it was about 20 years later before I got my first Polar heart rate monitor and then I often achieved around 190 bpm in competition.

 

With proper motivation (Chasing a truck up our mountain pass)  I can still get my heart rate  to the 1970 mark.