Max heart rates

[montage]

What would be deemed as a high max heart rate?
I know that the max heart rate does not increase with fitness, but does decrease with age, though the 220 - age equation is a myth. Does having a higher or lower max heart rate make somebody more suited to any particular discipline?

I'm not sure what my resting heart rate is now, but when I used to measure it a few years ago and I was pretty fit, it seemed to remain in the 60s which I thought was odd considering my level of fitness compared to others with lower heart rates.

I've been riding with a heart rate monitor for some time now, and have noticed my heart rate has always seemed pretty high .... for long climbs of 15-20 mins or so that I was pushing it up, I'd very rarely see my heart rate drop below 200bpm, and today during a 2min interval recorded a heart rate of 212bpm which seems pretty high.

My theory on heart rates has always been that it means diddly squat...interested to know if anybody thinks otherwise and how their heart rates (in particular at the higher end of the scale) have changed with fitness when exercising

 

[lukesdad]

MHR only usefull for calculating training zones. RHR.....aint going there !

 

[GrasB]

MHR only usefull for calculating training zones.

+1.. it's a number so you can work out how hard you're pushing. What that exact number is has little or nothing to do with physical fitness.

 

[amaferanga]

It means not very much. Someone with a low MHR might be able to push big wattages and vice versa.

But 212 bpm does seem awfully high for a 2 min interval given that you'd expect HR to take a good few minutes to go from normal levels up to what must be quite close to your maximum HR.

What HRM do you have? If its a Garmin do you have the link to the activity in Garmin Connect? I'm wondering if maybe you're getting some kind of interference or perhaps you just have a dodgy heart.... rate monitor.

 

[Norry1]

It's all basic maths isn't it?

The real question is how much oxygen gets pumped into the muscles. So ideally you want:

A heart with a large volume
High BPM ability
High ability for muscles to utilise available oxygen

But you can't look at one factor in isolation.

Or have I got this wrong?

Martin

 

[JonnyBlade]

I would say that if you are topping 200 then you are pushing too early and need to build up your fitness. Build your exercises gradually.

 

[totallyfixed]

You have an incredibly high max there, the top x country skiers rarely top 200bpm.

 

[Crackle]

I don't think it means anything Montage, never seen any research which indicates that differing heart rates have different predilictions. Do you know what your Max HR actually is? I only use it to roughly know my training zones, not that I actualy aim to train in them but I at least know how hard I'm going. Mind you, i did an HR test a few years ago and I've a sneaking suspicion it's changed but don't feel like doing the test again

 

[HLaB]

A heart rate is a good thing cause it means its still beating and you are still alive! Max heart rate

 

[montage]

I would say that if you are topping 200 then you are pushing too early and need to build up your fitness. Build your exercises gradually.

The thing is, I can happily (but painfully!) push it up several 15/20 minute climbs in a ride and not see my heart rate drop below 200, so I don't consider it a huge issue - I was just a bit shocked when I started to see these numbers a month or so ago.

Having a very high heart rate doesn't point towards any health deficits does it?

 

[zoxed]

...not see my heart rate drop below 200...
Having a very high heart rate doesn't point towards any health deficits does it?

200 sounds pretty high to me, but not impossible. What is your resting HRM ?
Also is the HRM reading correct ? (compare HRM reading versus a manual pulse check (at rest: not when cycling !!)).

 

[amaferanga]

I'd try a different heart rate monitor.

 

[Flying_Monkey]

It does seem high. Okay, you are young, and maxes tend to drop. I'm close to 40 and 170 seems to be about as high as I get when pushing it in intervals (based on only one session, mind you, I don't usually bother measuring). My resting heart rate is apparently rather low though, in the high 40s (it used to be in the mid-40s).

 

[steve52]

sounds high to me i clas 17 as pushing and 180 has never quite been seen and when compared to people fitter than me my hart rate is higher for a given task

 

[montage]

Not sure on my resting.... but I reckon it will be in the mid 60s - roughly one beat per second.

Regarding the HRM, I've tried a couple, and used the ones in the gym, all are very similar in results...guess I just have a heart rate that operates on the higher end of the scale... interesting but thats about it