Heart

[AndersonBiker]

Hi, new to forum, question on heart rates, I’m 51 male, around 3 stone overweight, fairly active job, been cycling on and off for 10 years, trying to get back into cycling more for general fitness and to escape the madness that is living with 4 women, ( wife and 3 teenage daughters), got a garmin and been using hrm and Strava for a while, my boss (keen cyclist) looks at my strava data and says heart rate too high , hrm must be faulty, I got another monitor and it’s the same, resting heart rate mid 60 bpm, on a 20 mile ride averages around 170 with max 190.
Am I putting too much strain on my heart? My general fitness is average with no history of heart or blood pressure issues, any info would be appreciated, cheers

 

[vickster]

I wouldn't bother with an HRM, just ride your bike. What benefit are you expecting from the HRM. Personally, I don't see the point unless you're training for something or a pro or maybe a cardiologist has told you to use one.

If concerned however, get checked by your GP

 

[mjr]

Some people's heart rates are higher than others. I know some with resting HR of 60s and others as low as 39. Yours don't seem outrageous but there seems little harm in asking your doctor to check.

 

[Fonze]

My heart rate was fairly high at my last medical , so I cut salt out of my diet completely.
Most foods have fair amount of salt in so I stopped adding salt to any foods and it helped in lowering bp.
Along with sensible diet and fitness it should reduce by itself , though as said some people do just have a high bp

 

[Tim Hall]

Your boss is basing his statement on what exactly? As @mjr says, heart rates vary. And as @vickster says, don't bother with the HRM. Go and ride, enjoy the view, see the sun through the autumn leaves. What's the riding like in Kilmarnock?

 

[Kestevan]

Conversely I have used a HRM in the past to pace myself on longer rides (200k +)
My resting hr is mid 50s and I max out at 199.

I know I can ride all day as long as keep the average to around 150 or less. Obviously steep hills tend to push this up, but as long as I keep an eye on the overall I know I'll be OK.

 

[vickster]

My heart rate was fairly high at my last medical , so I cut salt out of my diet completely.
Most foods have fair amount of salt in so I stopped adding salt to any foods and it helped in lowering bp.
Along with sensible diet and fitness it should reduce by itself , though as said some people do just have a high bp

What's the correlation between heart rate and BP out of interest?

 

[vickster]

Conversely I have used a HRM in the past to pace myself on longer rides (200k +)
My resting hr is mid 50s and I max out at 199.

I know I can ride all day as long as keep the average to around 150 or less. Obviously steep hills tend to push this up, but as long as I keep an eye on the overall I know I'll be OK.

OP doing 30k not 200k though

 

[andrew_s]

A resting heart rate of 60-70 is fairly normal for the general population, but would normally be lower in someone who does a fair amount of exercise (i.e. hard enough to get sweaty for 10-20 hours a week).
A max of 190 is higher than normal, but not out of range, so you are probably just one of those people with a naturally fast heart rate. If you get max rates of 230 or more recorded, then a checkup is advisable in case the monitor is showing some form of abnormal beats.

Back when I had a heart rate monitor (the battery died and I wasn't interested enough to replace it), I got as low as 39 in bed before I got up, and up to 185 racing others up a pass in the Ardeche in baking heat, before I collapsed in a heap at the top. That was back in 1998, easily rememberable because the others did the Etape a few days later (Grenoble/Croix the Fer/Galibier/ Les 2 Alpes) and Pantani won the Tour in torrential rain on the same stage just afterwards.

 

[PaulSB]

You said you’re three stone overweight and 51. Personally if I was you and concerned, which I presume you are by asking non qualified people on the web, I would see my GP and ask for a full health check. 40 pounds overweight is not healthy.

As regards heart rate the rule of thumb is 220 - your age gives your maximum HR putting you at 170.

I’m 63 which puts me at 160 maximum. My resting HR averages 47, last Sunday I rode 63 miles, 5300 feet of climbing with an average HR of 133 and a maximum of 180. On a flat ride at 15/16 mph I would typically be around 105/110.

I had a heart attack two years ago. I’ve spoken to my GP and practice nurse about hitting 180 or so when climbing hard and they say carry on providing it’s only when working hard.

So all of the above is me, irrelevant to you. Strava is an app which tells you little really other than comparing past activity. My advice to all my friends these days is if you’re worried or don’t feel right see a GP. Men are very bad at this. Cycling or not an admitted 40+ pounds overweight means, for me, you should see a doctor and look at lifestyle regardless of cycling.

Apologies if this reads as a lecture. I’m quite passionate about men’s health since having a heart attack completely out of the blue. The worst a health check can do is tell you you’re OK, the best it can do is highlight a problem in time to prevent more serious events.

 

[Crackle]

As has been said, everyone's HR is different. Your boss has possibly worried you with his statement but I wouldn't be. Resting HR, recovery HR, how long it takes to return to normal or drop so many beats in a period (Google it) is more important.

 

[si_c]

As regards heart rate the rule of thumb is 220 - your age gives your maximum HR putting you at 170.

I’m 63 which puts me at 160 maximum. My resting HR averages 47, last Sunday I rode 63 miles, 5300 feet of climbing with an average HR of 133 and a maximum of 180. On a flat ride at 15/16 mph I would typically be around 105/110.

This is pretty useless advise to be honest, there is too much variability in HR rates and between different forms of exercise to make much use of this. A counter example is that I'm 36, and struggle to get my HR above 165, even when really pushing hard.

To the OP, there is really nothing wrong with being concerned about your heart rate. At this stage though I would personally just assume that I'm a little unfit and that it would come down with exercise, your heart is like any other muscle, it works better the more you exercise it. Your heart rates are a little higher than most here would see (especially those who cycle more), but that's to be expected, everyone is slightly different.

I'm presuming that you are posting here because aside from the recorded HR track you've not noticed any other adverse effects like nausea or light headedness during or after cycling.

Ultimately though, as has already been pointed out upthread, the only way to be sure you are OK is to go and see your GP and get a referral to a heart specialist, if you remain concerned after reading this thread, then you must do that.

 

[Ajax Bay]

on a 20 mile ride averages around 170 with max 190

Going for rides, especially putting some effort in, as these rates suggest you are, can do nothing but good. Stop sharing the Strava data will sort your boss's concern about your heart rate range: his/her opinion is likely based on shallow knowledge (unless you know otherwise). Received opinion on this is reflected in the comments above. I will restrain from resting HR / max HR braggadocio, but during my stay in Yeovil ICU after my recent 'off', I had to get the staff to reduce the low HR alarm 'level' on the cardiac monitor to avoiding it disturbing the peace every few minutes, and reassure them that sub-40 was 'normal'.

 

[PaulSB]

This is pretty useless advise to be honest,

Which is precisely why I said “so all of the above is me, irrelevant to you.”

It’s an example of what someone else experiences and not advice. The point is we are all different.

 

[si_c]

Which is precisely why I said “so all of the above is me, irrelevant to you.”

It’s an example of what someone else experiences and not advice. The point is we are all different.

Sorry I didn't mean you whole post, simply that little bit that I quoted. It is often passed around as a guideline, when it is anything but applicable to the general population. Physiological differences between people mean that it is important to establish your own baselines and work from that.