Heart rate

[Chief Broom]

Hi folks im a newbie and have been making steady progress over the last 3 months or so hills that i had to dismount and walk up are now tackled in 3rd gear and only a moderate heart rate increase. Its the long remorseless hills i find challenging, i am spinning rather than grinding but at times have been somewhat alarmed at the old ticker [im 61yrs not over weight]. Should i grit my teeth even though my heart feels like its about to explode or stop to bring the revs down. I must say though my visitations into high heart beat territory really make me feel good when i return and rest after a ride.
Any advice appreciated but I'll be really miffed if i get bad advice and die hee hee

 

[si_c]

I wouldn't worry overly much, your heart is doing what it's intended to do, pumping faster when you need it. My HR normally sits around 50bpm resting and 110 when doing light exercise. I've seen 190bpm on a hill recently, but when I'm fitter that's 170ish usually.

If you are genuinely concerned that there might actually be a problem then you need to speak to your GP and get a properly monitored cardio stress test.

 

[numbnuts]

Very long hills you need to pace yourself, start off slow and keep that rhyme going until you get to the top, get a heart rate monitor, if in doubt go to doctors

 

[Alex321]

If you don't have any underlying heart problems, then a high heart rate during exercise isn't anything to worry about. The fitter you get, then the less it will increase with similar exercise levels, but it will never go high enough to be dangerous unless there is some other problem. It simply won't let you - you will basically black out before your heart would fail.

But spending too long at very high rates won't actually do as much for your overall fitness as spending longer at slightly lower rates. It can be useful you know what you maximum heart rate is, and then use a heart rate monitor to try and keep your rate in the ideal zones for what you want.

There are formulae for maximum heart rate by age, but they are very much average values, and individuals can vary widely from those values. My max heart rate is way higher than any of the formulae would suggest for my age (62), at around 180 - I've had it as high as 179 while on the bike, though only occasionally going above 174. And max heart rate seems to be unaffected by anything but genetics and age. Fitness levels have no bearing on max rate, only on resting rate.

 

[Chief Broom]

Thanks for the great advice folks Think i'll err on the side of caution as my body accustoms to higher heart rates and as suggested spending longer at slightly lower rates. I did have a heart check with my GP last year which was ok

 

[CXRAndy]

It sounds like your gearing is suitable for you to spin up hills. This is the most efficient way to get up climbs. Set a pace you're able to maintain and just spin away. The fitter you get will see a slightly lower HR when climbing long hills. If you feel good, keep doing it