Viewing 13 posts - 1 through 13 (of 13 total)
  • Help/advice on Heart Rate Monitors please
  • DickBarton
    Full Member

    I've got my hands on a Lidl wireless bike computer that does normal bike stuff but also includes a HRM – seems pretty basic but allows me to set an upper and lower level – I'm guessing this is only useful if I'm looking to loose weight as I could set the limits to be in my fat-burning zone (whatever that is!). Anyway, it's more to give me an idea of how I'm doing fitness-wise and not just relying on how I'm feeling at the time. I'm not looking to use it as a training guide as such just as an extra indicator of how fit I am.

    So I'm needing to know how to work out my max heart rate (I've read 220-age but not sure how accurate that is? I've played with an HRM before and I have regularly hit 207bpm with no issues – I was fitter then so suspect it won't be as high as that but I do seem to have a high bpm anyway. Whilst exercising I seem to sit between 150-185bpm. I'm looking for some websites that explain this stuff in simple terms and give me an idea of my training limits – I'm looking to shift some weight and get fitter – fitter the primary aim.

    Any recommendations please?

    Thanks.

    gavtheoldskater
    Free Member

    hopefully an expert will answer better than me, and there is loads on google, but…

    220 minus age is standard easy way to get your max rate.

    to get your exact max rate you have to go get tested.

    or polar used to have a graph on which you draw a line between your age and your av resting rate to get your 60/70/80% etc. if i can find a copy i can scan and mail over if thats any use.

    DickBarton
    Full Member

    That would be very helpful, thanks. The age thing I'm not following as that would suggest my max heart rate is 186 but I was sitting over that today without any problems…if I can find some more info on it that I can understand then I'm sure it will make a lot more sense.

    Thanks.

    dirtygirlonabike
    Free Member

    I think the best way to work out your max heart rate, is to warm up, find a hill, do hill repeats as hard as you can and the highest reading should give you your max hr. To work mine out, I just went as hard as I could up a hill both running and riding, and mine is/was 201 running and 200 riding – so the 220 – age thing doesn't work for me. Find the hr thing interesting – when i get to 193/4, i started to feel a bit sick, but if i control my breathing/legs turning, i can push through it to the 200 mark.

    I'm looking to get VO2 tested at some point, so will be interested to see how my max hr compares in a test to "just a ride".

    crazy-legs
    Full Member

    220-age is rubbish, it's used by gyms cos it gives a massive leeway and means the fat giffers who sign up in January are less likely to have a coronary – it's also easy enough for most of them to understand.

    Max HR tests as DGOAB says or using a KingCycle (or equivalent like a bleep test).

    HR training kind of took a back seat a few years ago to power training and wattage from PowerTap cranks or hubs. Polar do a similar thing as well, a sensor measuring torque on the chain. In fact there have been hardly any new HR Training books since about 2000 as everything has moved towards power.

    Best bet is probably just to use the thing and get used to what your HR is at various efforts, it'll give you as good a guideline as any as to what you should be aiming for.

    hh45
    Free Member

    crazy-legs is right.

    220 – age was way out for me. I think max hr declines as you get fitter but a lower max is not a bad thing in its own right.

    after riding with a hrm for a few years i could predict / tell what my hr was in ay given situation and as crazy-legs says now use that to determibe my effort.

    jond
    Free Member

    There's some info on this link of where the 220-age thing came from – it was never intended to be anything more than a vague indicator. But it's at least a start point without a stress test (which I guess for a gym would probably mean asking the customer to get their heart checked over first)
    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heart_rate#Formula_for_HRmax

    *Resting* heart rate decreases as you get fitter, I'm not aware max HR changes other than with some degree with age, and it will vary between activities.
    I found that after finding my max HR (from a stress test like that of DGOAB), and getting an idea of what the aerobic/anaerobic threshold felt like vs how hard I was working, I didn't use my HR monitor much afterwards. (I originally bought one 'cos I seemed to be blowing up about about 30-45 mins cycling, after a layoff of a few years, couldn't work out why. It turned out I was working mostly anaerobically, so I guess no real surprise..)
    BTW – the aerobic/anaerobic point is another approximation – I found the simple %age of maxHR way too low, nearer was taking the percentage from resting to max but that still seemed a fair way off. To find the real point you need to get a VO2 max test done.

    DickBarton
    Full Member

    Thanks.

    Drac
    Full Member

    220 minus age is standard easy way to get your max rate.

    Utter rubbish.

    As said Crazy-legs has it, you have to get yours by using the tools you have not a formula found on Google.

    gavtheoldskater
    Free Member

    Utter rubbish.

    i was trying to be helpful to someone who asked a question and at the time no-one had replied, so please refrain from being a tw"t!

    gothandy
    Full Member

    I've read a few books with methods for getting to the magic number (any by Chris Carmichael who was Lances coach) they also seem to recommend avoiding doing the "go mad up a hill until you die" approach as there is a pretty good risk you'll do just that. Instead they favour doing a long stint at max capacity and then multiplying up to get the max heart rate. Anyway my advice is if you want to avoid going someone to get it done try a book.

    Drac
    Full Member

    i was trying to be helpful to someone who asked a question and at the time no-one had replied, so please refrain from being a tw"t!

    Oh dear me took that a bit personal. It was meant the idea is utter rubbish which it is, same as this blood pressure is a hundred plus your age. I'm blunt about it as we get students coming out on the road who believe this ti be true when there is barely any truth in it.

    big_n_daft
    Free Member

    my 2p's worth
    the "fat burning zone" stuff only really works if you are training early am with no breakfast etc, otherwise you are on carbo stores and will probably be eating/ drinking on any long ride and essentially be on carbo rather than "fat" or just bonk

    it's not worth it for rides <2 hr long

    for anything <2 hr ride as hard as you feel like doing, the calories used will be higher and hence the net benefit will be higher, eat as required sensibly, eat protein at end of ride with some carbs

    the big thing with a HRM is to monitor your condition, increase in resting hr, drops in maxhr,slowness to react to exertion,etc, are a good indicator for tiredness

    obviously all the above could be tripe

Viewing 13 posts - 1 through 13 (of 13 total)

The topic ‘Help/advice on Heart Rate Monitors please’ is closed to new replies.