A few years ago when I first started cycling, I could easily get my HR into the low 180s. I am in much better shape now, and I feel like I must destroy myself just to hit the low 170s. I am 37 yo.
I haven't seen 180 in a long while, even though I am much faster now, and ride pretty hard. But I am sure there must be benefits to reaching a max HR once in a while. Perhaps similar to the benefits of "maxing out" when weightlifting.
Any ideas on the best way to hit a max HR? Steady warm up for 20 minutes at, say, 150 bpm, then go super hard? Or a gradual HR increase all of the way up to max??
It's quite possible you're hitting your max at 170 instead of 180 these days as max HR tends to drop with age.
I hit the highest heart rates by climbing a four to five minute hill as hard as I can and then getting out of the saddle and sprinting full out over the top.
Some feel there's a benefit to hitting maximal cardiac output in terms of increasing VO2 Max, but that's not exactly the same thing as hitting maximal HR unless you also reach maximal stroke volume and that typically takes three to five minutes of work in your VO2 Max or L5 power range.
yes, everyones hr is different. a while back i read an article where tom steels, the old belgiun pro had a hr in the 160's for max. or it was something very low as far as a high hr. then he said he takes a 4 minute test and that test he is way way up there in watts and hr. i think it was 90-95% of max. so he's at 150bpm, but thats 90-95% of his max. it was very interesting reading , cause i thought all those young pros would be 200+ for a max hr.. i forgot all the exact details. everyone is different though. i am 55, and when i do my 20 minute very hard interval on my trainer, i'm at 167 bpm for the first 4-5 minutes and it goes to 180bpm at around the 7-8 minute mark and stays there till the 20 minute mark. i think my max is still very close to 200, + or - a few beats.
Find a really gnarly steep hill that's at least 5 minutes long.
Go really really hard for the first 4 minutes and then ride the last minute like you're being chased by an axe-murderer who just discovered you'd be having sexy-time with his wife.
In all seriousness, I believe a big part of it is an over exposure to a sedintary lifestyle. A few years ago when I got back on the bike, hitting 175 was like an end-of-life experience. Now it's hard but nowhere near as bad. 190bpm - now, that's outrunning the axe-murderer territory. Maybe that'll change after my first real block of threshold training planned for the 1st of next year... Who knows.
