What is your Max HR?

[roadiechick]

Hi

Just wondered what other women's maximum heart rates were. I have trouble getting mine over 180. How high have you had yours and how long can you keep it at that rate?

RoadieChick

[Veronica]

My max is 202. On a ride I typically average out to between 155 - 160, but that includes time off the bike. Doing a long climb - 10 miles, 3500 feet climb my average seems to be around 173 - but that's only counting time on the bike. (I love my Polar and it's software - makes finding this info easy.)

Remember though that max heart rate is a very individual thing. Many of the people I ride with are always suprised at how high mine is and think I should be having a heart attack when I'm just tooling along.

Veronica

[doctorfrau]

http://www.healthchecksystems.com/heart.asp

http://www.healthstatus.com/calculate/thr

http://health.discovery.com/tools/calculators/hrc/hrc.html



Here are a few sites that offer a target HR calculator. They each gave me a slightly different answer, but for my age (nearly 41), my MAX (not target, but MAX) is supposed to be around 179 bpm. Target HR is supposed to be between 60% and 80% of Max, which for me is in the 150's.

I don't know how old you are, but 180 sounds a bit high. Are you sure you're not confusing target range with Max Heart rate????

[roadiechick]

Veronica - 202 is pretty impressive!. Can you hold that for long? I love the Polar as well but sometimes is hard to work out what to do with all the data that you get from it. Have you found that your Max HR has increased with time, or have you always been able to get it past 200?

doctorfrau - thanks for the links, handy to have. when i originally wrote the post I was interested in seeing what women's Max HR are, not so much the target rates but your info is great never the less. my question rephrased I guess would be 'what is the highest you've seen your heart rate go to on your monitor ?

[annie]

Highest I've seen my heart rate go on the monitor is 195. On a moderately fast-paced ride, it usually hovers around 160-165, higher on hills. In a time trial (8 miles) I kept it at about 180 with a couple spikes in there for inclines. When I know I need an easy, recovery ride, I try and keep it 130-140 range.
Max heart rate is such an individual thing. All the charts can do is give you a starting point, but I don't believe any chart can tell you what your own max really is. I've got to get going now, later I'll find the site that tells a way to find your max heart rate while out on a bike ride. (Or if you live somewhere where they do testing, lucky you!)

annie

[Veronica]

202 is my estimated max. The most I've seen on my Polar is 197. I analyze the info after the ride.

Last year I went to the UC Davis Sports Medicine Clinic and had some tests done - more out of curiousity than anything else. I ride because it's fun - but at the same time I do want to get better. It was good to have the tests confirm that I am working out in the proper zones for what i want to accomplish.

Veronica

[skibum]

I have a pretty basic HRM so I can only give you a rough idea. The highest I remember seeing it go was 183. I was doing a tough climb and was breathing hard and really felt my heart pounding in my chest. So I imagine that's a little higher than I want it to go on a regular basis.

Usually, I'm around 160-165 and then going up into the 170's on the hills. I can't say that I've seen a change in how high I can get my heart rate. It's more that, as I train, I can keep it at a training level for a longer period of time and I recover more quickly when I'm done.

[fultzie]

funny this thread should come up just now!-- i went to the Dr. a few days ago for a basic check-up, but i was really worried about my HR at the time.
I had been out on a ride with a couple of the guys, and was really pushing it (for me). my HR popped 201 on my monitor, and the guys started to get worried (as worried as "the guys" get :p) i ended up turning back early, but one of them called me later to make sure i had made it back okay. apparently they thought my HR was really freakishly high... i guess it was! :D :p that's the highest it's been since grade-school gym class (212 then...) i guess it makes since... 220-your age to estimate Max?
i thought that maybe i was anemic (mom being anemic and my not eating a lot of meat), but it turns out i just have a really high exercising HR (iron's at 13- woo hoo!). my resting is between 70-80, normal activity hovers at about 90, but on rides it's easily between 160-180. climbs it generally peaks at 190. i try to keep it under 180, because i've noticed a correlation between asthma and my HR. ew :p

[doctorfrau]

WOW!!!

I want to be you guys when I grow up!!!!!

I was pretty proud of myself that I was actually performing at better than my age range says I should -- but 200+?? Weeee HAAA!!! Guess I need to stop being such a wimp!!:D

[Veronica]

But so much of max heartrate is genetic. I'm more pleased with how low my resting heartrate is and how quickly my heart rate can drop when I stop exerting. Those are really the true indicators of cardiac fitness. Or so I've always thought. :)

Veronica

[annie]

I am with you, Veronica, in that resting heart rate and recovery time are excellent indicators of what kind of shape you are in. Max heart rate is mostly genetic. It's what you do with the heart rate you have that is important.

I found a website that gives a test for max heart rate. They say on the page that it's a very strenuous test and they mean it! Don't do this unless you are well-rested. Don't do it on a day that you feeling not quite up to par. It won't turn out correctly and you won't feel very well afterwards.:rolleyes:

http://www.cruciblefitness.com/etips/lactate-threshold06.htm

Here's another one:

http://bicycling.about.com/library/weekly/aa012499.htm

Have fun.......... :p

[aka_kim]

I thought VO2 max and lactate threshold were the measurements to try to maximize through training, not max heart rate?? My heart rate will actually zoom to the 220s (highest I've seen is 228) if I do a hard effort without warming up. This is not something to strive for since it's grossly unpleasant (and the hypochondriac in me thinks it's a sign of a heart problem). Like fultzie said, "220 - your age" is probably a good starting point at determining your max HR, and from that your training zones.

Maybe we need another thread, "What is your resting HR?" to see how low we can go :).

[kimba]

Originally posted by aka_kim
Maybe we need another thread, "What is your resting HR?" to see how low we can go :).

I had to go to the hospital for some reason or another- it may be because I got blood poisoning from a cat bite - BTW- if a cat bites you go to the doctor right away- had I waited overnight I would've been hospitalized- it was that serious- Oh yeah- I remember it was after my attempt to ride in the winter - I was slowing down to go up my driveway, and I even had my foot down in case the bike slid... it hit a patch of black ice, I went down HARD - and quicker than I could imagine! It was a dumb accident-
I thought I'd broken ribs- I couldn't "spread out" when I went down and jammed my arm into my side.
Anyway- while I was waiting for test results the doctor did the usual test things - including listening to my heart.He asked if I was an athlete - I told him I'd been biking alot.
He said that made sense because my resting heart rate was 50.

Kimba
getting to the heart rate the long way

:D

[MM_QFC!]

I agree with you too, Veronica - full on true that each person's max heartrate is a setpoint and very individual - not something that you can strive to increase or train to make it higher as if it's better when it's higher. There is a great little book that I used to learn more and do my own max HR test at home, before I had it done professionally. It's by Sally Edwards and I think the title is something like Heart Zone Training. There is a "step test" that was very accurate...only 1 beat off from what I got as a max when I was tested for my max heartrate on my bike professionally. She also has sport-specific information for cyclists, triathletes, runners in other books and the heart rate cycling book has some good workouts too.
I usually refer more to my heartrate than any other cycling data now while riding...it gives plenty of data for how the training is going, and how I'm feeling is reflected in the percentage of max hr and average, etc. during each ride...I think it's really an interesting window inside and a great indicator of improvement, fitness, etc.

[hibiscus09]

My resting heart rate is 60bpm. I've never noticed what the highest is I've ever gotten my heart rate up to -- my maximum heart rate for exercise is suggested as 178bpm according to the calculators linked above and my maximum training rate is suggested as 154bpm. I do notice when I'm riding my bike, my heartrate usually averages around 157 or so and drops down pretty quick once I stop exercising.

[cyclechick76]

it really is all relative. my resting heart rate first thing in the morning is 42-43 bpm, if i'm starting to feel overtrained and not recovering between workouts it will be as high as 46-48. I do my long climbing repeats right around my LT 153-157 bpm and time trial 165-170. the absolute highest i've ever seen my heart rate is 174.
the charts might be a decent place to start at for most people - but they are not the gold standard. a fitness test, your perceived level of excersion and paying attention to your breathing patterns will help you determine at what heart rates you are using your different systems to power you down the road (or trail).

[ausgirl]

I'm not sure what to think about my max heart rate now, because I'm only 23 and about 6 months ago I had a VO2 max test and my max heart rate came out at 173bpm, although in racing since then I've seen it go to 176bpm which has been maintained around there for up to 10min. I've never seen it any higher. I've got a VO2 max test complete with skinfolds an blood lactate levels scheduled for tomorrow, so I'll see how it goes. One sports scientist has told me that your max heart rate only matters so far as determining your training zones, and if you use it for this correctly it doesn't matter whether your max is 170 or 200, because using these correct zones you will get results from your training.

[roadiechick]

The whole HR debate does get a bit complicated sometimes. I guess my main frustration is that when I go on organised training rides I keep (eventually) getting dropped when I get to the 180 mark, the same time that the pace steps up a notch higher. When I asked a couple of the riders in the bunch what their heart rate was the responses were varied. For example one guy was only at 155 when I was beating at 180, however another girl was at 187 when I was at 180. The problem is that they are not getting dropped, they can keep up, where as I am left to complete the ride on my own. :(

So I wonder is it my heart and lungs or my legs that are the problem, or both??? Am I ever going to be able to keep up??? Maybe I need to work on my leg strength?? Any ideas would be welcome. :D

[annie]

roadie,

ausgirl is correct in that heart rate numbers only matter inso far as determining your training zones and working with your numbers to get where you want to be. When you hit 180, you could be close to your max. It is difficult to stay close to your max for very long and that's probably why you are getting dropped. It sounds like a matter of more training. You won't up your MHR but be able to ride closer to it for a longer time. Also, as you get stronger you may find that you can pick up the pace without your heart rate going so high. I am NOT any sort of an expert on this. Maybe someone else could you give you some ideas on how to train to achieve what you want. Otherwise, there's lots of books out there. Check out www.roadbikerider.com. It is a wonderful site. Lots of info and also books that are available for purchase. Good luck. Keep working at it and you'll only improve.

annie

[ausgirl]

I agree. It does sound as though 180 is pretty close to roadie chick's max HR. But roadiechick, the thing for you to understand is that if you put in a block of base training - lots of kms in your E1 (65-75% of MHR), this will often make you able afterwards (say, in a few months time) to go on the same rides and do the same pace while working at a lower heart rate. This means that because your body is doing less work for the same results you should be able to maintain that pace for a longer period of time.

IMPORTANT - this is only what worked for me. The training that you need right now MAY be different. I did this over summer and it worked wonders for me, I am a stronger rider than ever before.

I advise talking to lots of other riders about it, but the problem with this is everyone has different ways of doing things, so you'll probably get 5 or 6 different answers and it can be confusing.

[roadiechick]

annie and ausgirl

thanks very much for your reply and the words or encouragement. I guess I just have to put in the extra kms on the bike and eventually my day will come. :D

roadiechick