Max Heart Rate on commute

[dhague]

So much for "220 minus age"... riding home today, I decided to go up Priest Hill, from Old Windsor to Englefield Green. Get some hill training in, practice spinning, that sort of thing.

On the plus side, I made it all the way up without getting off the bike (a pannier-laden, 7-speed hub-geared Giant hybrid). However, near the top my heart rate hit 203 bpm . Not the kind of personal best I'm keen to beat at age 41, but at least I now know my max HR, and can set training zones accordingly... FWIW, I usually target 150-160 on my normal commuting route.

Do you commute with a heart rate monitor? How high have you gone (and lived to tell the tale)?

- Darren

 

[Greenbank]

Buses send my HRM bonkers, I've seen 250bpm freewheeling down a hill next to a bus.

In reality (away from buses) I can get 205bpm if I push it but I'm a spritely 33. Much harder to get there on the bike though, I rarely get above 190bpm on the commute, but I go over 200bpm every time I play 5-a-side football.

220-age (or 210-age, or whatever) is a best fit formula. It works over the average population, but will be wildly out in plenty of individual cases. If you've seen 203bpm on your HRM (and it wasn't freak interference) then use that as your HR_max. If you see higher, then use that. Remember that HR_max drops (on average) 1bpm per year, so do remember to adjust it every 6 months or so based on experience.

 

[dhague]

Definitely not interference - it was steadily rising as I went up the hill, and it's in the middle of the countryside (well, as near as you can get to countryside that close to the M25). Funnily enough, I had my max HR down as 198bpm a few years ago from a balls-out effort on the rowing machine. I guess I'm just that bit more motivated to try hard on the bike.

- Darren

 

[Plax]

I once managed to get 201 bpm on my HRM on the way into work first thing in the morning. I think I must have been tired or something as it beeped like mad at me a couple of times on the way in and it's predominantly downhill, but then I do pedal like mad down that particular hill trying to beat my max speed of 41mph. No matter how hard I try I never manage to get more than 41mph! The next day it only beeped once at me (190 something - I have my Garmin set up to beep at me if I go into my Max HR), and it has never beeped at me since (no interference I checked my pulse the old fashioned way to make sure it wasn't going do-la-ley).

On average, my max HR during a commute tends to be around the high 160s, low 170s bpm. My average HR tends to be around the 140s. My resting HR is quite low though, it fluctuates around 50-53 bpm.

 

[Greenbank]

My resting HR is quite low though, it fluctuates around 50-53 bpm.

They're two different things. My resting HR is about 45bpm at the moment, but I can still get up to 205bpm. A low resting HR doesn't mean a low max HR.

My morning HR plots are very different to evening HR plots, I'll grab some graphs when I get a chance. It takes me a full 5 minutes to get above 150bpm in the morning (usually at the point where I cross Putney Bridge), but I can get up to 150bpm within 30 seconds of the commute home.

 

[Plax]

They're two different things. My resting HR is about 45bpm at the moment, but I can still get up to 205bpm. A low resting HR doesn't mean a low max HR.

My morning HR plots are very different to evening HR plots, I'll grab some graphs when I get a chance. It takes me a full 5 minutes to get above 150bpm in the morning (usually at the point where I cross Putney Bridge), but I can get up to 150bpm within 30 seconds of the commute home.

Cheers for that (learn something new every day!). I have noticed that my HR in the mornings tends to be higher than when I'm going home. Maybe I'm just not a morning person (or is that the other way around and you're not the morning person?).

 

[janm399]

The highest hear rate I got to was 185 in a 10 mile time trial. And it was pretty hard work, too. Max HR is different person by person, but in any case, maximum HR should be maximum effort. If you can sustain it for say more than a minute, then it's not maximum, though it may be very close to it.

And, interestingly, my morning HR is about 10 bpm lower than my evening bpm.

 

[jimboalee]

Heartrate monitors.

They show you your heartrate. It goes over the 220 - age advised limit.

You start worrying.

Your heartrate is higher when you repeat the exercise.

You worry more.

Your heartrate gets even higher.

You worry even more.

Your doctor tells you to throw the thing away.

You worry for a few more rides and then realise you arrive home alive, so everything is OK.

You start enjoying cycling.

 

[dhague]

No, I'm definitely not worried about it - while I won't be pushing to beat this particular PB, it's good to know my max HR, and it's saved me the stress of actually performing a formal max HR test. The only thing that worried me was hitting my max HR on a local hill, using the minimum required effort to get up it (32.8" 1st gear, but 72kg rider and 25-30kg of bike & luggage, meant 60 rpm and 203 bpm, instead of a desired 90 rpm and 170 bpm).

I'm thinking that my soon-to-be-purchased road bike will have a 50/39/30 triple up front, with a 12-27 on the back (29.7" 1st gear)...

- Darren

 

[Panter]

The highest I've ever seen was 183, and that definately wasn't substainable

I'm 35.

 

[J4CKO]

I just work on the fact that anything above 0 is good.

 

[Panter]

I just work on the fact that anything above 0 is good.

Fair comment

 

[Davywalnuts]

Interestingly, my HRM and speedo, Polar CS200, loves a good bit of interferrance, be it a bus too or my mobile! Am now over the initial shocks of it saying my hearts pounding away at 240+bpm!

My ave commute is prob about 130bpm, anything longer cycling about 140bpm. Max i've done was about 180bpm. Going up Egham Hill it can get close to this.. I just prefer to fly down Priest Hill instead!

Am also noticing a corralation in my ave bpm being less in the morning that of the evening..

 

[garrilla]

Interestingly, my HRM and speedo, Polar CS200, loves a good bit of interferrance, be it a bus too or my mobile! Am now over the initial shocks of it saying my hearts pounding away at 240+bpm!

My ave commute is prob about 130bpm, anything longer cycling about 140bpm. Max i've done was about 180bpm. Going up Egham Hill it can get close to this.. I just prefer to fly down Priest Hill instead!

Am also noticing a corralation in my ave bpm being less in the morning that of the evening..

I use a CS200 and I only get interference when I go over bridges over train lines.

On my commute I tend to AVG 158, and Max 176, although today it was bloody windy for about 6miles and my max was 182 - but thats all good as I cained a few more calories for the effort.

 

[GrumpyGregry]

Heartrate monitors....

You start enjoying cycling.

you really don't like 'em do you? Did an HRM kill your puppy or nick your bike or something?