Heart Rate Zone

[cyclist2]

The doctors are just being nice & making the ego feel good. Its like when a 200lb woman asks if they look fat in this dress, does anyone really tell the truth. Besides my father 67 was told a couple years ago he was in pretty good shape for his age, well he just had a heart attack (triple) had a hip replaced & is a diabetic At lest a few years ago the doc stroked his ego.

I feel like a 21 year old ,though she wont have a bar of it

 

[BullGod]

Taking 220 minus your age to get your max HR is not very accurate at all. I know many people with higher rates than that formula suggests. I have been cycling for 15years & max HR has been the same since day one. I am 40 & max HR is 210-212, I can hit these pretty regular in training or racing. Do you have any suggestions to why this is?

Elite endurance athletes and moderately trained individuals will have a HR max three or four beats lower than a sedentary inividual. However, as already stated, this is only true for young athletes - well-trained over-50s are likely to have a significantly higher HR max than that which is average for their age.

220-age is a rough guide but in a highly trained individual usually the rate is lower than the result that this formula comes to. A 25 yr old elite cyclist might estimate that his max HR is 195 but in reality it's more likely to be around 187.

I am 27, Cat 1, and my max is about 180, but I know guys 20 years older than me who can get over 200.

Here in Europe on some bike race Tv coverage they show the riders heart rates as a % of their max HR. The max HR rates seem to vary from 175 - 205.

I have read that differences in HR are also affected by stroke volume per heartbeat. The larger the stroke volume (ie the bigger the heart) the less beats per minute are required to oxygenate the blood during intensive exercise. Smaller hearts have to beat faster.

 

[OscarC]

Hi James, thanks for trying to clear things up but I believe your formula 220-age is old. I'm 39 which means 39 my max HR would be 181 according to the formula you are using. But I know better that my true HR max is 193. I believe 220- age would be ok for someone who is just starting and out of shape and more for safety reasons. I think a truer formula is 230-age. My Dr. who is a cardiologist agrees. With all due respect, it doesn't take degrees and scientist to see that most cyclist here in this forum probably exceed the 220-age formula. the number are what they are and you can't argue that. For someone who is new to cycling and wants to learn about training in the proper heart rate zones, the 220-age formula is going to cause confusion. For a new guy that is a bad and confusing start. I'm 39 years old, I've been cycling for 20 years, I'm 5'7 and weight 142 lbs. Those are my credentials. Please, for the benefit of newbies who don't know any better, explain your self a little clearer so they don't encounter the same confusion I did when I started years ago.

Hey Everyone,
My name is James Ralph and I am a personal trainer through the National Academy of Sport Medicine-thats right we are the trainers that work with 24 Hour Fitness and the US Olympic Team.
I have been reading over the threads and have found that many people are confused as to how to best train their heart. I am posting this thread is a hope to make it very easy.
To begin, you must first find your cardio efficiency or maxium heart rate. This is very simple-take 220 and subtract your age. So a 23 year olds maxium heart rate is 197 beats per minute.
There are three zones in which you need to train. The first zone is targeted to keep your heart rate at 65-75% of your maxium. So for the 23 year old this would be 128-148 beats per minute (BPM). Zone two is 80-85% of your maxium so 158-167 BPM. Zone three is 86-90% of your maxium so 169-177 BPM.
How do you know which zone you need to work out in? Well you first need to see what zone you are in. This is done by completing a Rockport Walk Test. This is simple...get on a treadmil and walk a mile as quickly as possible. Take your heart rate upon completion. Complete the information at http://www.exrx.net/Calculators/Rockport.html. You will see a poor, fair, or excellent rating. If you are poor, you need to start working out in Zone 1, Zone 2 is for the fair and Zone 3 is for the excellent.
You can click on the rating to see examples of excercises you can do, however, training the heart and cardio is very easy. Always do your zone workout for a minium of 30 minutes. Slowly increase the distance you travel within the 30 minutes or increase the weight. The goal is to slowly increase you heart rate. So week one you are at 128 BPM for 30 minutes. Ok now in week 2 try for 2 138 BPM for 30 minutes,l ect...

I hope this was helpful. If you have any questions, please feel free to ask me at www.TrailheadPerformance.com or [email protected].

 

[Carrera]

130 is about as high as I get. 130 seems pretty fast to me when I get there - either after a set of high rep squats or a bike sprint uphill. At this rate I can still walk about and keep my composure but I certainly feel the stress.
I sometimes squat with a runner-sprinter and I did notice he seemed more "out of it" than I am after hard work. He would be breathing harder and take some time to get himself together.
The 200 mark would feel high for me. My resting pulse is merely around 58 at the present time.

 

[SolarEnergy]

130 is about as high as I get. 130 seems pretty fast to me when I get there - either after a set of high rep squats or a bike sprint uphill. At this rate I can still walk about and keep my composure but I certainly feel the stress.
I sometimes squat with a runner-sprinter and I did notice he seemed more "out of it" than I am after hard work. He would be breathing harder and take some time to get himself together.
The 200 mark would feel high for me. My resting pulse is merely around 58 at the present time.

Well it's a bit unusual (at least for me) to see HRMax relatively low, and HRMin relatively high.

That somehow goes against certain pre-formatted thoughts I had about HR.

Throughout the life time, how have these variables evolved for you?

 

[Carrera]

I figure 52 isn't so good for a cyclist. I can bang my HR up either by doing a set of high-rep-squats to failure or by sprinting on the bike, although both of the effects on my heart feel different.
Still, I don't go much over 130 if I do a manual test but the feeling is it's pretty high. I can just about communicate and walk around, taking deep breaths.
After training my pulse stays quite high the whole night.

Well it's a bit unusual (at least for me) to see HRMax relatively low, and HRMin relatively high.

That somehow goes against certain pre-formatted thoughts I had about HR.

Throughout the life time, how have these variables evolved for you?

 

[tdl123321]

The forumula is terribly inaccurate. Donald Kirkendall, an exercise physiologist at the University of North Carolina tends to agree. Please see the link below......

http://www.nytimes.com/2001/04/24/health/24TRAI.html?ex=1159070400&en=e6c6da99565a8c81&ei=5070


"If you're trying to improve their aerobic fitness or to train for certain endurance events, then you want to know with a reasonable accuracy what intensity you're exercising at," Dr. Seals said. "If your estimate is 10 or 20 beats too low, then you're pretty far off."