Normally people suggest the ‘cardiac stress test’ approach, is this the best way? I heard someone suggest that you could also find it out by a different method, where you exercise at less than full effort and then extrapolate?

Any ideas?

Thanks!

anything extrapolated is likely to be less accurate than somethign measured?

unless there’s health reasons stopping you going for a stress test it’s probably best to do that?

Half mile level road sprints in slightly too low a gear should do it!

My Garmin edge 305 records Max HR on a ride, and seems more reasnoble than the polar one which records interferance as well (so can claim 250bpm!). Its not exactly a cardiac strss test, but I’m sure on a ride I must hit almost 100% on short sharp sections of climbs.

unless there’s health reasons stopping you going for a stress test it’s probably best to do that?

Sounds silly, but I think ‘What if I have an undiagnosed heart complaint?'(!)

Probably unlikely though, or else I would have conked by now – I push myself fairly hard on group rides.

You are probably right though, from what i’ve read peoples HR varies a great deal so no simple equation is adequate.

I’m sure I read a post on here that Lance Armstrongs old coach used an extrapolation method though, and if so I might trust that a bit more.

Find a big hill and run up it, works even for cyclist.

well, I seem to fairly regularly get to 185bpm on my rides so I tend to think that even if my max HR is a 190 or so I’m so close as to make no difference. If you use the 220-age method I’m over my ‘max’ by 10bpm already.

If you’re regularly getting to quite high numbers on rides then a stress test is probably notgoing to be a problem?

Find a big hill and run up it, works even for cyclist.

My understanding is that the Max HR will be different for different activities, don’t know why though.

I used to use the “find a steady gradient hill and ride up it until you start to see stars, and feel sick” method.

What Dibbs said, you’ll know when you’ve hit it, itf you “think you might have” then you haven’t.

Ooow. That sounds like hard work.

Just ride around for a couple of weeks with your HRM on

the highest figure you ever see – that’s it 🙂

Find the local road hill climb race.. and enter 🙂

When you can taste blood and your whole head has a pulse then your probably there 🙂

Finding max HR is always hard work, for me I use a spinning/indoor cycling class. Encouragement from the instructor, plus if I do collapse immediate first aid – better than the local deserted 1 in 4 hill lol!

Paul’s definition sounds about right 🙂

Disagree totally with idea that Max HR is easy to measure and more accurate than extrapolating. Really hard to get an accurate reading of max, as by definition once you’ve hit it you’ve maxed out and it’s not something you can maintain for any decent length of time.

Get a copy of any training book, they will have instructions on getting your max heart rate. The Mountain Biker’s Training Bible or any by Chris Carmichael have instructions.

Disagree totally with idea that Max HR is easy to measure

I disagree with your disagreement. Thats what the Max HR number on your HRM is, the peak that your heart hasn’t (and therefore if you’ve pushed yourself as hard as you can, can’t) be higher than.

Running might be a better way as you will be working your arms as well as your legs and hence demanding high blood flow over more of your body.
Riding off the saddle may not be too far behind though.

Can’t we apply the same theory that some people use for bolt torque? Until it snaps and then back it off half a turn?

run a cross a bulls field wearing a red suit. keep running until the bull chases you. your max HR will be achieved at some point…

I use 220 – age – works for me – never got my HR over 185 in the last 2 years or so 🙂

Just go outside and sprint 200m, 100m would probably do it even. I used to do both back in the day and after a race I couldn’t even speak. A few timer after doing the 400, which I didn’t normally, I would see stars!

I’ve just Googled “max hr for running and cycling” and come up with quite a few results saying that the Max HR for running is higher than the Max HR for running and if you use your Running Max HR for cycling you risk overtraining.

snakebite – Member
run a cross a bulls field wearing a red suit. keep running until the bull chases you. your max HR will be achieved at some point…

Mythbuster, bulls are colour blind.

Dibbs – Member
I’ve just Googled “max hr for running and cycling” and come up with quite a few results saying that the Max HR for running is higher than the Max HR for running and if you use your Running Max HR for cycling you risk overtraining.

I would imagine very difficult to overtrain, if you cant work out yourself you max HR. Not dedicated enough, unless doing 14 hrs a week at tempo/threshold.

I hit 201 fairly consitently whilst racing the French EnduroSeries. If I only got to 196 I knew I hadn’t given it my all 😉
So…go as hard as you can on a slightly rising singletrack after going pretty damm hard for 20 mins before hand (with a solid warm up before that).
Hard as you can means standing up, elbows out, sprinting, mouth WIDE open, vision blurring, lactic hell. Oooh. The thought makes me excited 😉

Lie down till the feeling goes away..

Seriously though why do you want to know your MHR? As a means of measuring fitness its not all that relevant & is easilly influenced by external factors.

You would be better off doing a Maximal Effort Test (Max sustainable power output (W) over a given time say 30 mins) and a blood lactate test – this measures the amount of lactate in the blood over a period of time against effort. Its not a hard test as it stops when the its gets hard, the Maximal Effort is somewhat different though..From the blood lactate test HR zones are worked out.

Link to BL Test

My understanding is that the Max HR will be different for different activities, don’t know why though

Basically it depends on the number of limbs involved – more limbs, more blood needed HR goes up. Likewise HR goes up when you are out of the seat as the top half of the body is no longer supported so it needs more blood etc etc.

At least thats how I think it works – Im sure someone will be along soon to correct me. 😉

not that I have any experience of measuring heart rates but I ewould have thought the way to measure your absolute max would be to complete say two minutes of constant burpees as fast as you can putting maximum effort in for the last ten /twenty seconds. You’ll probably feel a bit dizzy afterwards and won’t be able to walk in a straight line for a couple of minutes… to find maximum sustainable for cycling I’d have thought the long hill method should work.

Kev

Seriously though why do you want to know your MHR?

For limits for training I’d guess.

I disagree with your disagreement. Thats what the Max HR number on your HRM is, the peak that your heart hasn’t (and therefore if you’ve pushed yourself as hard as you can, can’t) be higher than.

thisisnotaspoon my disagreement is based on the amount my max HR varies when I try and measure it the hard way.

Also it seems odvious if you can take an average over 30 minutes of constant effort it’s going to be way more accurate than comparing the odd spike.

Just because it is easy for a HR monitor to show you a max, doesn’t mean it is accurate.

220-age is a very very general guideline (If it applied to me, I would be 9). I think it applies to the general population, and if you cycle regularly you’re most likely fitter then a random person.

Also it seems odvious if you can take an average over 30 minutes of constant effort it’s going to be way more accurate than comparing the odd spike.

Are you saying you can keep your heart rate around MHR for 30 minutes??

Max hr isn’t really that useful for training anyway. I normally work on % of threshold heart rate/power

1g cocaine should do it.

go to zoo

put heart rate monitor on

jump into a dangerous animal encosure (any will do)

attack said animal

That should do it

(I favour punching baboons)

Max HR is different in different sports.

It’s also fairly hard to measure, since you think you’ve found it, then you do something harder and you get a higher reading!

Best method I’ve found for reliably topping out though is find a really long hill – ride up it steadily as hard as you can, then when you’ve been on the rivet for a while start sprinting as hard as you can.

Ideally you want a long long steady climb with a sharp steep technical bit at the end. Like Tal y Maes aka the Hermitage in the Black Mountains.

ac282 is right tho. You should base your zones around your threshold hr/power, which is effectively your average for a 10 mile TT

Also it seems odvious if you can take an average over 30 minutes of constant effort it’s going to be way more accurate than comparing the odd spike.

If you average over 30 mins you’re not finding your max, you’re finding your threshold. I can keep up 184 ish for 30 mins, my max is about 196 ish – the point in flat out effort where I simply cannot continue.

Are you saying you can keep your heart rate around MHR for 30 minutes??

RealMan haha no … see what RepacK says about a max effort test that is what I was talking about.

This allows you to find your threshold, you can then extrapolate from your threshold to your max HR with a bit of simple maths … I think that answers molgrips point too.

kingkongsfinger – Member
Find a big hill and run up it, works even for cyclist.

Follow my back wheel 😆