High heart rate on hills

I know there have been some other posts about heart rates lately, so I'm hoping to get some help with mine too. As soon as I start going up a hill my heart rate and breathing both go out of control even though I don't really feel like I'm putting in a huge effort. This happens when I'm biking or hiking. If I stop to rest it comes back to normal quite quickly.

Two relevant points

- I need practice on hills in general. I tend to choose the wrong gear and lose momentum quickly. Obviously figuring that out will help with this but it happens when I'm hiking too, and long before I feel like I've really put in a lot of work.

- I had some heart problems about 10 years ago. When I was 19 I had an arhythmia that seems to have sorted itself out. Then when I was 22 I went to the hospital for an asthma attack and the emergency room staff told me I had damage to my heart that indicated I'd had a recent heart attack. Nothing else was ever said about it so I have no idea if I did have a little one or not. I'm 29 now and hadn't thought about my heart in a long time until I gave up on a hill recently and noticed that my heart rate was well over 200.

Is there anything I can do to help keep my heart rate lower while I go up hills?

If you ride with a HRM that has audio signals you could set it to beep at you when you get to a certain HR. I have mine set up this way - both to beep if I get too high and if I get too low. I usually only use it this way for the first half of a long (century+) ride. That way I make sure I'm working hard enough, but not too hard.

When my HR gets too high on a climb I sort of soft pedal, usually that's enough to bring it back down. If it doesn't, I may slow my cadence or downshift, if I still have anything to go down to. Sometimes I may decide that it's all right to be a beat or two over and I'll ride with it beeping but not put out any more effort.

I'd probably go get a check up since you have had some heart issues in the past. Just for peace of mind.

V.

Hey there - what kind of gears to you have?

My HR can get high going up hills, and it would get very high when I started out, especially before I got my super-duper hill gears. Now I have a mountain cassette in the back and a very small (24) inner front ring, and these gears allow me to spin easier and climb very slowly (and that takes excellent balance, you know :p). On some hills I am only doing 3-4 mph, and this really helps keep my HR lower. On days when I feel stronger, and as the season progresses, I can push harder gears and go a little faster. But the climbing gears made a huge difference getting myself uphill without sending my HR through the roof.

The other thing that helps is to keep my hands on the bar tops so I am more upright, and that makes it easier to breathe. Then I sometimes just try to breathe more calmly (see my sig line :) ), and think about keeping my HR down. And finally, trying to focus on form: pedaling with good smooth circles, engage the core, shoulders down, elbows in, etc. all help get more power out for the effort in.

I'm sure others out there will chime in with advice. It might be worth discussing this with your doc, to see if they think some tests are in order, given your history. I also have occasional irregular heart beat (PVCs) but they haven't affected me in cycling, at least as far as I can tell. Good luck!

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Originally Posted by bikerz

Now I have a mountain cassette in the back and a very small (48) inner front ring,

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You mean 28, right? :cool:

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Originally Posted by jobob

You mean 28, right? :cool:

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BikerZ is a strong chick with a 48 inner ring!

V.

I third seeing a cardiologist. I know I wouldn't trust any Internet advice if I had a possible history of heart attack at such a young age!

One thing I wonder though (and that would be helpful to tell your doctor as well), is it only hills? What happens when you sprint on the flats? Maybe you aren't breathing properly on hills. I know a lot of people unconsciously hold their breath when they climb stairs, maybe something like that is happening to you?

As far as HR conditioning, there's another thread going on here someplace about the best way to do intervals. But if I were you I would definitely get it checked out.

ETA: bikerZ and her sig line reminds me of a sort of mantra I used to have for hills in my touring days. Chanted in rhythm with my cadence, "Take it easy, take it slow, stay cool, what's the rush, don't push."

First- go get a stress test. They'll hook you up to an ECG (to watch electrical activity of your heart), put you on a treadmill (or sometimes a stationary bike), and have you work until you're close to your age-predicted max HR. They can look for arrhythmias and indications that you are currently having heart problems.

If everything checks out, then just practice, practice, practice. You'll get better as you figure out gearing, pedaling circles, learn how to pace yourself, learn when to sit/stand, etc...

I agree that you should see a cardiologist if you have a history of heart issues.

This being said, hills are THE hardest thing, for both running and cycling. It's where my fitness seems to leave me first when I don't exercise as intensely for a while. How experienced are you as a cyclist and as an athlete in general? How much have you trained before? If you've been doing this for years, you're hitting hills every other day and it feels the same all the time, then I'd recommend investigating your condition more. The good thing is that hills are also where fitness gains are the fastest and most noticeable.

I agree with Oakleaf's advice to mind your breathing. Also, try to take the hill as easily as possible, even if it's really, really slow, so slow in fact you might fall over :D You can go as slow as 5 kmh without falling if you have a triple. :eek: Focus on your breathing and heartrate, keeping everything under control. If it's not under control, go slower, or stop for a few seconds, then start again.

Good luck. And, yeah, see a cardiologist. Don't let your family doctor tell you not to worry about it, request a reference...

OMG! :eek: :eek: :eek: 48 inner ring! Yikes! Clearly I hadn't quite had enough coffee yet!

No, good catch guys, my inner ring is a 24! (I edited the original error :o)

(In fact, in the interest of full disclosure, my gearing setup is: 11-34 in the back and a 24-38-52 in the front, thus permitting the "carry on" portion of my mantra!)

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Originally Posted by Veronica

When my HR gets too high on a climb I sort of soft pedal, usually that's enough to bring it back down.

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What do you mean by soft pedal? I like the idea of being able to bring it back down without getting off the bike.

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Originally Posted by bikerz

what kind of gears to you have?

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I have a triple on the front. I'm not sure of the numbers but sometimes I'll shift to too easy of a gear so that I can't spin fast enough to keep my momentum up. That's the weird thing about all of this. I don't feel like I'm putting in a lot of effort. I just get this jackhammer pounding in my chest.

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Originally Posted by OakLeaf

One thing I wonder though (and that would be helpful to tell your doctor as well), is it only hills? What happens when you sprint on the flats? Maybe you aren't breathing properly on hills. I know a lot of people unconsciously hold their breath when they climb stairs, maybe something like that is happening to you?

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Sprinting on flat ground is just fine. Even trying to sprint into a headwind doesn't bother me.

I'll keep working on the skills, try to find the right gear, and focus on keeping my breathing under control. Hills are relatively new to me. With my old bike I always just had to walk up them so it's only in the last month that I've been trying to bike them. Would the Evil Coach Troy hills video help, or would it just kill me at this point?

Soft pedaling is kind of like easy pedaling, you're not putting in as much effort. Your legs go around, but without as much force.

Oh and I think ECT videos are great.

V.

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Originally Posted by Grog

How experienced are you as a cyclist and as an athlete in general?

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Complete newbie compared to everyone here.

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Originally Posted by Grog

How much have you trained before?

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Never deliberately trained. I've had periods where the bike has been my only form of transport and I unicycle for fun but it's only in the last nine months that I've really started to ride a lot, and only since I bought my Jake last month that I've even attempted hills. I want to bike the Highwood loop this summer - highway 40 through Kananaskis - so I need to be able to climb.

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Originally Posted by Grog

The good thing is that hills are also where fitness gains are the fastest and most noticeable.

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I like the sound of that.

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Originally Posted by Grog

I agree with Oakleaf's advice to mind your breathing. Also, try to take the hill as easily as possible, even if it's really, really slow, so slow in fact you might fall over :D You can go as slow as 5 kmh without falling if you have a triple. :eek: Focus on your breathing and heartrate, keeping everything under control. If it's not under control, go slower, or stop for a few seconds, then start again.

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Will do. That's exactly the sort of advice I'm looking for. There's a hill near me that I'm planning to practice on because it's fairly short and very low traffic. I'm just waiting for some of the ice to melt.

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Originally Posted by Grog

Good luck. And, yeah, see a cardiologist. Don't let your family doctor tell you not to worry about it, request a reference...

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Unfortunately I don't even have a family doctor right now. He had to retire suddenly due to his own health problems and couldn't find anyone to take over his practice. I've been trying to find a new doctor but haven't had any success yet. If I had a doctor I would go.

For me, real hills are WAY better than Coach Troy, weather permitting.

I'll tell you what puts my HR into the stratosphere: standing when climbing. I can only do it for a very short time, and usually only for a brief change in position, or to get up a very short ,very steep hill. I have a really hard time standing in the trainer, so the Coach Troy hill DVDs are not so helpful to me. (But I know V and Jo are all over those videos!)

I am a heavy cyclist, and when I first started riding hills with my generic gear set, I was DYING. People would say "soft pedal" or "spin" and I thought they must be crazy - I was working SO HARD to turn the cranks over. So changing to my current gear set up made all the difference. And everyone is right - nothing makes hills easier than riding hills.

Seriously, please find a doctor before you start ramping up your riding. Women have a much higher incidence of heart attack, etc. than is commonly known. If you were suspected to have had one in your early 20's you MUST get this checked out before you really push yourself.

Please.

(This from someone who has learned such things the hard way.)

+1. Go to a cardiologist!
If you don't have a family doctor, call the referral center of your local hospital and get booked.
Having heart disease does not preclude intense exercise, but if I was told I had evidence of a prior heart attack, I would be getting checked out immediately. What was this "diagnosis" based on? An EKG? A stress test?

My response is pretty much the same as everyone else's....1. see doc. Immediately. 2. maybe you need some pulmonary function tests...may have some exercise induced asthma going on. 3. Are you adequately hydrated? Sometimes if you are even a tad dehydrated it will affect your tolerance. 4. DO you have any other medical issues such as diabetes, high blood pressure, etc that may be influencing your tolerance?

I think that you absolutely need to find out if you indeed had a heart attack all those years ago, that should be first and foremost! Let us know what's going on, ok?

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Originally Posted by kat_h

I know there have been some other posts about heart rates lately, so I'm hoping to get some help with mine too. As soon as I start going up a hill my heart rate and breathing both go out of control even though I don't really feel like I'm putting in a huge effort. This happens when I'm biking or hiking. If I stop to rest it comes back to normal quite quickly.

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Kat -- the ladies are likely right. With a heart health history, you probably should see a doctor to be sure things are okay.

Along with that, I could say that exact same thing about what happened to me while climbing hills last year, until one day when I decided to try going up a hill I'd just come down for a second time. I rode from home to that hill -- a little over three miles. Struggled up the hill, stopping three times in that mile and a quarter climb. Then I rode down, and decided what the heck, I'd try it again. (it was that or follow a garbage truck on the way home) AND I MADE IT! You'd think it would be harder the second time, but by then, I'd ridden closer to seven miles. So, the next time I went out, I rode the long way to that same hill, AND I MADE IT AGAIN! My body needs a bit more time to loosen up before I do the tough stuff. Another day, on another hill that I've battled, I happened to have my bike in the granniest granny gear when I started on my way up the hill for some reason. AND I MADE IT UP THIS HILL! Didn't have that nasty, out of control, scary heart rate and breathing thing. Another day, we were riding with a group, stopped for a break -- for too long, it turned out -- we got to a pretty big hill that I should have been able to climb with no problem because it was still smaller than my practice hills, and I couldn't do it: body cooled down, dang it!

So I always make sure I've ridden 5-7 miles on the way to my "favorite" evil hills, and I make sure I'm in that granny gear when I start. Sometimes, I can shift up to a bigger gear on the way up, but it works really well FOR ME to follow this little recipe!

Karen in Boise

Definitely get checked out to be safe. And try to get clarification on the supposedly having had a small heart attack--occasionally an EKG can show something when that really isn't the case. 22 is awfully young for something like that, especially for a woman--not saying it isn't possible but it does seem improbable. What was the arrhythmia you had? That could be what's going on here. Does the high heart rate start and stop suddenly, or gradually, and is it at all irregular? And some of us just seem to get our heart rates through the roof on hills--I certainly do when running (can hit or exceed 200 at times) so it could just be that as well.