Max heart rate

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Alex321

Veteran
Location
South Wales
I've always thought your max heart rate was just that - a personal maximum. The highest I ever regularly record mine (typically when struggling up steep hills) is roughly 13bpm higher than the 220-age formula. I'm not too worried by that. That may not be my absolute max, but it's the maximum I get when out cycling. Maybe I could go higher in some kind of lab test I don't know.

Yes it is a personal maximum. And the maximum is mainly a result of genetics and age, though it does tend to reduce more slowly with generally fit people.

It is mainly useful to know in order to know where the various "zones" are for exercise.

Mine is way higher than the 220-age, or even the slightly better (for over 40s) 207 - (0.7 * age), or the adjusted for fit people one of 211 - 0.64 * age. Those give 157, 163 and 169 respectively, and I'm sure mine is in the high 170s. I actually hit 179 on the road last week, at which point I got off and pushed - that was after a few hundred yards of over 20% gradient.

Two years ago, I regularly went over 170, but now I'm fitter and more experienced on hills, and the ones that would have been around 172-174 are now done at around 165-168, and it is quite rare I go over 170 - but it does still happen on occasion.

And once I reach level ground, even while still cycling, it will drop back by around 20bpm within a minute or two.
 

Dogtrousers

Kilometre nibbler
One fairly obvious question is "who cares?". Why is your MHR interesting?

The only answer I have (there may be others) is that this enables you to define personal zones.

And why are zones interesting? They enable you to do HR based structured training, and also enable you to more easily get numeric feedback on your effort level so you can make decisions like "this is a very long ride, I'm riding in a zone that's not sustainable, better back off". And lastly, if you have recorded your HR you can look at how much time you spent in zones and think things like "I thought I was taking it easy but my HR was higher than expected. Maybe something's wrong. Oncoming cold or something "


But you can still do this stuff if your value for MHR is not strictly correct.
 
I'm 53 and been cycling fairly regularly for a few years. Before then I didn't get a lot of exercise. Nowadays, while not as a fit as I should be, I reckon I'm fitter than the average middle age bloke with a sedentary job.

The formula to determine the max seems to be 220 minus your age, which would put me around 167. The problem is when I'm cycling I spend long periods up in the 180s. As soon as there's a hint of a hill it goes right up there and often doesn't drop below 160 until I stop. Some hills I simply couldn't get up without going over 170 even in granny gears and keeping below it would pretty much rule me out of cycling as I'm surrounded by them.

I also have a mild form of atrial fibrillation, but it's not all the time, just occasionally. Usually times of mental or emotional stress or just random. It does not usually come on when exercising. I'm not on any medication and when discussing with the cardiologist he didn't advise taking particular care not to let it get too high. His general feeling was a bit of cardio would be a good thing.

I've just got an ebike (Orbea Gain) and I've not noticed any reduction, I'm just faster up the hills! :laugh: I feel like I've got to keep spinning to get the assistance so might as well dig in.

So should I be dialling it down a bit, or is it ok just keep within what feels comfortable?
In a nutshell there is no "scientific merit".
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steveindenmark

Legendary Member
I am 64 and like to ride long distance. I hope to ride the Pan Celtic Race next year. When I ride, I try as hard as possible to keep under 150bpm for the entire ride. It means slowing down, especially on hills. My average for a ride is about 135bpm for a ride. Its not easy trying to keep your heart beat down while trying to surge ahead. It takes discipline. But I read somewhere that to ride far, you have to slow down. I find that by concentrating on the heart beat monitor, it helps to make you concentrate on keeping a low heartbeat. Take your eyes off it and it climbs rapidly..
 

berty bassett

Legendary Member
Location
I'boro
another one for not taking much notice of formula . if you ride all the time with hr data then only you will know what pattern you are capable of . takes some time to look at data and get what you want out of it but its doable
ie long rides set display to show av and you should know the number you can maintain , same with short rides . on hilly rides I keep an eye on hr make sure it doesnt go above certain number then I know I can maintain that effort till top
short hills waste of time with hr as they are over before you get data so I just go for it up them and rest a bit at top if I want
personally I use the data just to see how hard I was trying and means nothing to anyone bar myself
this all depends on whether you feel good in yourself and not got a cold or something , better than average speed as that can change with the wind and rain and traffic etc in my own opinion
then you can start with power meter and really get confused :wacko: but worth it
not worth mucking about with AF - you ain't got a back up ticker , I have heart issues and that's why I keep an eye on what its up to (a bit ) I should listen to the experts who get paid to keep people alive more than people like me ^_^
 

Sharky

Guru
Location
Kent
Some hills I simply couldn't get up without going over 170 even in granny gears
What gear is your Granny using and what gradient?

Dropping to very low gears isn't always the best as it puts the stress on the heart and lungs. Whereas a higher gear will put the stress on the arm and leg muscles. The trick is to find the balance where stress is equally apportioned.

Technique is also a skill to be learned. Knowing when to stay seated and pedal or to get out of the saddle and use more strength. And when standing on the pedals never completely lock out the legs. Once the legs are fully straight, it's just your body weight trying to turn the pedals.

I'm getting on a bit, but it's rare for a hill to defeat me, but have no issue with getting off and walking.
 
OP
OP
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Dadam

Senior Member
Location
SW Leeds
What gear is your Granny using and what gradient?
The hill I have in mind is at the end of my commute home. It's not huge. It averages 4 or 5 % over 1.2 mile with a short section in the middle that hits 9-10%. It's that bit that gets my heart motoring, but it's usually because I'm a bit tired anyway and I've been working fairly hard on the first half of the commute which is pretty flat. I'm also usually carrying a pannier with a laptop and change of clothes.

I've not tried this one on my ebike yet as I've been working from home for a couple of weeks. But on my hybrid it's got 28/38/48 up front and 11-32 cassette. So I'll usually be on 28-32 or 28-28 for the steeper bits.
 

Dogtrousers

Kilometre nibbler
another one for not taking much notice of formula . if you ride all the time with hr data then only you will know what pattern you are capable of . takes some time to look at data and get what you want out of it but its doable
Oddly enough, this is why the 220-age formula isn't so bad. It will give you a decent enough ballpark figure to set up your zones. Then after that you can figure out your own patterns.

There are alternate formulae that are supposedly more "accurate". But why bother? Just ride your bike for a while and you will eventually discover it.
 

Jameshow

Veteran
If
I am 64 and like to ride long distance. I hope to ride the Pan Celtic Race next year. When I ride, I try as hard as possible to keep under 150bpm for the entire ride. It means slowing down, especially on hills. My average for a ride is about 135bpm for a ride. Its not easy trying to keep your heart beat down while trying to surge ahead. It takes discipline. But I read somewhere that to ride far, you have to slow down. I find that by concentrating on the heart beat monitor, it helps to make you concentrate on keeping a low heartbeat. Take your eyes off it and it climbs rapidly..

I find that if I'm exerting myself on a long ride I pushing too hard.

Far better to change down a gear than go into the red.

The only exception is short rises which I'll get out the saddle to climb.
 

Ajax Bay

Guru
Location
East Devon
Mine is way higher than the 220-age, or even the slightly better (for over 40s) 207 - (0.7 * age), or the adjusted for fit people one of 211 - 0.64 * age. T
These are two useful formulae but as others have said; it's personal. I was an early adopter of HRM (Polar, with memory, early 80s) for training and in competition (running). Racing I'd normally finish at over 200 (max 207) and when tested I 'managed' 196. Now on a bike maybe last year I had it over 180 (which is a fair few above 211 - 0.64 * age).
I make no comment about the OP's AF - CycleChat is just that: chat, and heart issues seem above the 'chat' threshold, except for hearing other people's tribulations and resolutions.
See also: https://www.cyclechat.net/threads/heart.225112/page-2#post-4995807
https://www.cyclechat.net/threads/heart-rate-range.281254/page-3#post-6587348
As @presta says, if the recovery rate is good then all is good whatever the top number is, as far as simple HR is concerned.
 
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OP
OP
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Dadam

Senior Member
Location
SW Leeds
Thanks for the replies. To answer a couple of points, I'm not especially worried per se. I just wanted to understand what sort of rate should be avoided at all costs, and what should I avoid being in for too long; when to stop for a rest.

Looking again at my Strava traces, my perception that once up my HR stays at a high rate seems to be because most of my rides are commutes and always end with a steep hill! Other rides it does seem to recover reasonably quick, e.g. a minute or two at a traffic light, or a gentle downhill.

Regarding the AF I appreciate people don't want to seem to give advice but I am just interested in other people's experience especially of similar age/fitness. It made sense to state it though as it can't be ignored; it's the reason I'm more aware of HR. I have regular checkups with the GP practice. I've not had any cardiac tests for a few years because I was discharged with no meds or need for followup unless anything changed, and it hasn't. My perception is the frequency I have perceptible flutters has reduced since starting cycling and being generally a bit fitter. I'm a big bloke at 6'3" and 15 stone, so overweight but not massively. I'm about 1.5 stone lighter than I was when I had all the tests. Trying to shift some of the rest now, hence my buying an e-roadbike to motivate me to get out more and go further. Now I have the option to whack it in max assist mode, change down to an easier gear if there is one and take it easier.
 

Ming the Merciless

There is no mercy
Location
Inside my skull
I just wanted to understand what sort of rate should be avoided at all costs,

If fit and healthy then there’s no particular heart rate to be avoided other than zero. Though frequent high heart rates (for the individual) are not recommended for long term health as it causes chronic stress which leads to the problems. But as you’ve stated, you have AF; your GP is best placed to advise on whether any heart rate ranges should be avoided.
 
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