newbie Heart Rate questions

I'm only 17 years and I usually have the same problem. If the heart rate returns an unusually high reading then it is most likely that there’s a problem with the sensor on your chest. I need to use water to wet the inside of the sensor as much as possible to get an accurate reading, if the sensor is dry it tends to have problems picking up a plus and therefore it returns a wrong reading.

Nah - u shouldnt worry too much - there is a possibility that your monitor did get a tad mixed up I guess but it is not at all implausable that your HR did get well into the 200's.

Everybody has there own HR characteristics and the 220 less age HR max is a very unreliable approximation. I am of the same age as you and happily plod along at an average 185 Hr in any given race and have tested my max HR in a lab at 226. My resting HR is 51 so also have a wide range. At first i was also rather concerned/confused but was informed by my cardiologist that there is no hassle nor any hard and fast rules - you may be at the extreme edge of the normal distbn, but probably no need to stress.

An additional comment is that your high HR may be a poor fitness indicator but given your post, that doesnt seem likely

If you hit a high HR for a brief period time then the result is most likely an interference problem.

I regularly get high HR errors from riding past electricity substations and telephone exchanges. Thats even with a polar coded HR strap.

to determine your true Max HR you will need to do a lab or field stress test.

I owned a Vetta V100HR for about a year. I experienced a similar problem. I've had a Polar as well. I'm currently using a Ciclosport HAC4 and it seems to be a little more accurate. You might want to check the batteries. My Vetta used to chew through them every six months. One of the key issues that signaled a dying battery was the HR spiking high. Good luck.

I think this replied to my worries....

I am 40, normal HR before starting the ride is usally 104 ~ 110. My average slow ride uphill is 165, when doing hardcore climbing and it reaches 198, I stopped and get down to walk. I think I still can continue if I want, but because of the indicator, I was worry that I might die if I continue to ride. The HR monitor indirectly affect my performance, I used to be hordcore rider and now scare to die type of rider......
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