Been out on the roadie bike today so thought i’d give my HRM a spin.

Now, apparently you have to subtract your age from the maximum rate of 220bpm so that gives me a maximal heart rate of 177bpm.

Checked the thing when i got back & the max heart rate was 191 bpm.

So, am i dead or is this maximal heart rate thing all complete guff?

The variability of this predictive equation is plus or minus around 20 beats per minute, so 191 bpm is within normal predicted range for your maximum heart rate.

No, you’re 29 yrs old.
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Or 220 minus your age is only a guide.

don simon (16 yrs old)

The sensors are also prone to electromagnetic interference from people with tinfoil hats.

Ignore it, it’s a load of crap.

Wish i was 29yrs old again – certain life choices would certainly be binned! 😆

Damn, there’s me thinking i’ve got the heart of someone ten yrs younger than me!

Did you ride near any pylons?
Are you trying to get out of that Audax on health grounds? 😉

Damn – rumbled! 😆

Some of them do ‘spike’ near pylons, especially the cheap ones (HRMs, not pylons!)

Try HRmax = 205.8 ? (0.685 × age)

Try HRmax = 205.8 ? (0.685 × age)

Doesn’t work for me. 😥

I don’t think there is a magic formula which can be applied to everyone.

Try HRmax = 205.8 ? (0.685 × age)

I’m -7.5 years old then.

that formula still comes out at 176.345bpm, only 0.655 off the original maximal rate. So either the whole concept of a maximal heart rate based on some arbitary number – obscure mathematical concept is guff or my heart rate means i’m so unfit i’m likely to die next time i bend over to tie my shoelaces!

It’s partly to do with the efficiency of your heart/lungs. Your actual max heart rate occurs when it can no longer pump the blood efficiently enough to cope with the muscles demand for oxygen. This is also affected by the ability of the lungs to oxygenate the blood.

I, for example, have relatively small lungs for my size (I’m not sayin’ I’ve got nowt but y’know) so I feel the effects of a higher heart rate well before my more well endowed friend of the same age who can happily run a fell race at an average of 185bpm – I feel like I will expire at about 165!

There is another formula proposed by Maffetone which takes into account your general fitness, frequency of illness/injury, etc.

Undoubtedly there will be recording errors – my wrist mounted GPS frequently records my max run speed as in excess of 35mph . . .

Best way of all…take your average heart rate during a cx race…that should be your max hr!!(or the other way round!!)

It’s not possible to sustain your max for kore than few seconds Rosarse.

Best way of all…take your average heart rate during a cx race…that should be your max hr!!

😯

I got my heart rate up to 191 today on a 60mile road ride and i am 55 years old. All i know that when the heart attack comes it better be quick.

I got my heart rate up to 191 today

More important, I think, is how quickly it got back down to normal.

I think that any age-related Max HR formula is an attempt to avoid liability for recommending that people determine their Max HR by way of a maximal effort, but if you really want to know your Max HR then I think you’ve really got to test yourself by going all out, probably uphill, for a couple of minutes. And then do it again, just to double-check that you weren’t coasting first time round.

I don’t really see Max HR as being that important a figure to know anyway. It probably won’t show any training effect – and it doesn’t really tell you anything very significant. “Threshold” HR is probably a more useful figure to work with for training purposes unless and until you feel the need to be doing pretty intense interval training. Look at any of Joe Friel’s books for a really thorough treatment of heart rate zones and HR based training.

As ^ says. Ride/run till yer eyeballs pop then take the highest measurement and do your calculations from that.

My absolute max is 175-6. I struggle to run at a higher rate than about 155. It returns to below 100 very quicky however which is a good sign and my resting rate is low.
Its a personal thing so ignore internet calculaions.

Just to agree further with B Shirley the max isnt important and doesnt really change with exercise. How close you can get to it during efforts and how that threshold is improved is the key to increasing performance.