I don’t usually wear a heart rate monitor, but I had one on today.

I noticed today that my heart rate touched 200 on a couple of steep climbs.
I don’t think I could of gone much/any faster really, so is my max HR 200, or would it go higher on a proper test?

Depends on your age??

Depends in many factors and is only really known when tested in a sports lab ramp test, and is specific and accurate only for you.

Though it’s not that accurate for non trained athletes 220 minus your age seems to be be the lay figure.

Roughly 220 – Age (plus or minus 20)

As above. There are tests but thrashing yourself up a hill till you feel sick will most likely get your max. If it helps mine is 202 at 34 so the 220 minus age is a guideline

(plus or minus 20)

😆 so **** all use then.

If you finish your ride dead, you’ve probably pushed too hard……….. 😉

If you were flogging yourself to the near limit of what you can do then its a pretty good indication of your max..it does come down though the fitter you get..mine used to be about 200 now its only 185/190 tops

Max hrm is a very individual thing and can only be found by testing and is pretty important to know if you a training to specific hr zones.

Didn’t think fitness affected max heart rate. Yes to threashold, fat burning, resting etc… But not max?

Im pretty sure it does If I dont do much for a few weeks it kreeps back up to 200ish then when im riding allot or training for an event etc it comes down again Suppose the hearts a muscle at the end of the day the more you do the more efficiant it gets (to a point obviously) 🙂

Never used a HRM riding, but can feel the heart pounding and I’ve counted 4 a second sometimes, so that’s 240.

It’s all very individual and not that fitness related as I understand it. Some will naturally have a high rate, some not.

What is more important is the speed it goes down at rest. Not just when you get home, but when you stop on a ride. It’ll still be higher than normal, but should go down significantly given 5 or 10 minutes. Mine used to stay high for ages and also would be at about 80 at home for almost half a day after! With fitness just through riding a lot it comes down quicker and is more around normal at home.

Though had a couple of freaky moments at home recently when I realised it was going very slow. Got the BP monitor out and was down at 40! Soon went back to 50 to 60 which is my normal at home. BP by the way is kept in the normal zone thanks to riding. Used to be borderline nearly into the high zone before (going by NHS levels. In US they’d have you on drugs way in advance of that).

I’ve counted 4 a second sometimes

Aye right – so you can count 4 things in 1 second when you’re at your max heart rate.

[video]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uuqry9SMjQM[/video]

Maybe 😀

But just come to a halt, can hear it pounding in my ears, four beats in about the space of a second for sure. Okay it’s not accurate, but good enough to know it’s pretty fast 😀

220 – age is a pretty useless guideline IMO.

I’m 40 and my max is 194. I have spoken to people in my club who are the same age and very similar fitness and they range from me 194 down to 160.

Best get a ramp test done to be sure.

I have a hrm and with it set to my age etc mine is usually bouncing off the rev limiter at 180 on the climbs 😯
Not sure whether to be pleased I’m still alive or book an appointment with the cardiac consultant
Oh, and I’m 46 and not exactly the fittest

I’ve seen in excess of 190 without reaching the “I’m throwing up” stage and I’m 53.

Max heart rate is genetically predetermined and not a factor of fitness. How close you can get to your maximum, your heart rate at a given level of effort and how quickly you recover is determined by fitness.

You can get an idea of your maximum from doing a ramp test but they say if you’re running for your life being chased by a big bear people will usually find their max is a bit higher than they thought.

Well, 220-age isn’t correct for me, as that would put it at 186.

186 feels like I’m working, but fairly comfortable. 195 feels hard, and as I said above, it hit 200 when I was puffing and blowing.

I’m guessing from that that it might go higher on ramp test?

Mine tops out at about 180 and I’m 26. Everyone’s different.

At 43 my max is about 167. Setting that as my max on my HRM then allows comparisons with friends by comparing %effort, either as % of max or % of range. So eg. when running along with a friend of similar ability and fitness our % effort will be the same and vary in the same way according to effort but the actual rate may vary between us by 15 beats or more.

Like I said, 220-age is the population mean. The plus or minus 20 is the prediction interval. Nobody above has given a value outside the prediction interval. I’m 45, so That’s 175 range 155-195. I should be worried if I can’t go above 155, and pleased if it sees 200.

There are some corrections for covariates, but at a population level, it’s not a bad descriptor. Also the slope is -1, so 1 bpm per year decrease, and that is also subject to variability.

Except me.

The highest I’ve regularly seen is around 194-195 – but that’s just me pushing it hard on a hill somewhere, not a true Max HR as defined in a test (which I presume would be higher?)

I wasn’t arguing just pointing out how the info can be used.

People worry that their heart may explode or they keel over trying to find their max but that’s nonsense. It’s just an efficiency thing, the heart will go faster up to the point where it can’t pump enough to make a difference then you feel it and ease up because you have no choice.

I’m 39, my max is 210 and I can sustain 180. The 220 minus age is a guideline based on an old study IIRC.

Except me.

It’s a 95% prediction interval. Welcome to the top 2.5% 😉 .

Mine was 195+ or so when I was 30.

No idea now!

I first found out what max felt like with a ice hockey coach who wouldn’t end any training session until someone puked, one of his classic exercises was a sprint to the other end of the rink carrying another member of the squad.

Since then my choice of sports has changed and technology has progressed to allow heart monitors. Anyway my I’m about to puke limit is 199 and I’m 46.