High heart rate on hills

[bikerz]

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 ). 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!