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Maximum Heart Rate during commute

by ta2dwez
Mon, Oct 20, 2014 22:09
12

So i have just gotten a Mio 305 HC and i have it all set up correctly as far as i can tell.

I used it for the first time today http://www.strava.com/activities/209735227 and was surprised to see my heart rate at 190bpm. According to the Mio my max heart rate is 190bpm, so why would my heart rate go up that high if im only commuting and not even pushing myself? Im not an unhealthy person and cycle as much as my life will allow me.

If my heart rate is reaching 100% work rate during a commute then how would i go about training using heart rate zones?

Is there anyone out there who could explain this in detail as i would really like to fully understand the science of it and obviously be a better and stronger rider.

Thanks

If you're new please join in and if you have questions pop them below and the forum regulars will answer as best we can.

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12 comments

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Cooperdan | 10 years ago
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Check the contact points: my garmin used to have haywire moments at times. When I was a runner, aged 34, I had a max HR of 200 so that formula definitely wasn't correct. I need to do another HR test to ascertain what my max is nowadays - 7 years later!

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fenix | 10 years ago
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I think you just have a naturally high hr. Nothing wrong with that.

Your hr doesn't spike anyway.

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ta2dwez replied to fenix | 10 years ago
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fenix wrote:

I think you just have a naturally high hr. Nothing wrong with that.

Your hr doesn't spike anyway.

I think you may be right looking at the data the heart rate although high, doesn't spike.

I'll have to go for a longer ride and have a look at the data then. If there is no spiking then I will have to see if I can manually change the max heart rate and go from there.

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3cylinder | 10 years ago
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Two possibilities:
1. Monitor is giving a fake reading; if you looked at a plot of HR through time it would have spikes, and you might also see on the display sudden jumps such as straight from 170 to 190 and back to 170 within a second or two. I have an old castelli jersey that freaks out HRMs like this.

2. Your max HR is more than 190. This is totally possible since the 220-age (and all the other methods) are a reasonable population estimate, but individual MaxHRs can be much higher or lower, yours may be well over 200. (If so 190 would be 'hard' & possibly anaerobic, but not outrageous if you like to push hard up hills or sprint away from lights). Therefore if you are going to use HR for training it's a good idea to get some idea of your max and threshold HRs.

I'm not a diesel. In my early 30s my max was ~208, now in my late 40s I can still see just about 200 every now and then, and can average 189 for an hour TT. It doesn't mean I'm fast unfortunately.

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mtbtomo | 10 years ago
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I tend to find that most formula's are inaccurate, even the ones that are more complex than 220-age normally result for me in a similar to 200-age.

I'm 35 but can barely get past 180 even in a sprint at the end of a race.

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ta2dwez | 10 years ago
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No I'm 32. I did have a look to see which formula it could be.

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redmeat | 10 years ago
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Are you 30? The most common formula is 220 - age and it is notoriously inaccurate.

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sm | 10 years ago
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My HRM sometimes goes into overdrive depending on the jersey I'm wearing - a build up of static electricity will pump up the bpm. Stop the jersey flapping about or wet the HRM strap more and this soon stops.

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redmeat | 10 years ago
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Your HR monitor isn't working properly.

Unless you feel like your dying you haven't reached anywhere near your max.

Edit: I'm guessing your Mio worked out your max for you based on age or some such formula? It's wrong.

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ta2dwez replied to redmeat | 10 years ago
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redmeat wrote:

Your HR monitor isn't working properly.

Unless you feel like your dying you haven't reached anywhere near your max.

Edit: I'm guessing your Mio worked out your max for you based on age or some such formula? It's wrong.

Yeah you input your age and weight and it gave me a max of 190bpm. I did look to see what formula they use but found nothing.

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ta2dwez | 10 years ago
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Thanks Simon, I now have some reading to catch up on! Will keep you informed of any updates

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Simon E | 10 years ago
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Firstly, is your device working correctly? Try to compare with a HRM that you know records your heart rate correctly. Go for a ride using both devices and compare the data.

As for your max HR, the '220 minus age' formula is useless. To establish your own max HR you should run a ramp test or similar e.g.
http://www.timetrialtraining.co.uk/S6MaxHeartRateTests.htm
http://doctorholmes.wordpress.com/2008/11/24/determining-maximum-heart-r...
You should only do a max HR test when you are 100% healthy, well rested and fully warmed up. Leave a suitably long time after eating.

However, Joe Friel and others recommend establishing training zones around LTHR, rather than your absolute maximum:
http://www.trainingbible.com/joesblog/2009/03/heart-rate-and-training.html
http://www.trainingbible.com/joesblog/2009/11/quick-guide-to-setting-zon...
A very similar approach from the coaching team at PB Science:
http://pbscience.com/index.php/training-articles/factsheets/54-heart-rat...

Recently I've seen more people recommending that training zones be based on lactate or aerobic threshold instead of your absolute max HR as it's more relevant. IIRC this is normally the power (and average HR) you can sustain for 1 hour. More knowledgeable posters can hopefully expand on or correct this.

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