Max heart rate

[Muddy Funster]

A question for all you HRM users, scientists and doctors out there...

What REALLY is your max heart rate? Is it -

a) 220 - Age
b) The ACTUAL maximum your heart will go to?
c) The safe maximum rate at which your heart will go to (objectively)?

If I go on (a) then my MHR should be 186, however when out on rides I am sustaining 190+ and have hit, but never exceeded 202 on the long hilly stuff... I have never felt ill at this point - tired and out of breath yes but before I knew what my heart was doing it never bothered me!

Anyone else go over their formulaic MHR or should I go and see my doctor now?

Cheers

 

[EarlofBarnet]

a) Is just a guide to be honest, some people will be able to reach above it. Sounds like you're doing well being able to sustain that level though! Sounds like an in-accurancy in your monitor to be honest.

I hit 200bpm+ years ago and had to sit down for a few mins until it dropped.

 

[daj]

We spoke about this yesterday last year on the turbo trainer I went to 194 (something around there) My vision actually went VERY spotty and blurry and I nearly fell off the bike :shock:

 

[Muddy Funster]

Thanks for the replies so far...hmmm my super human efforts look more likely to be a guff speedo/hrm then! I will try another one on for size and see what it tells me just to be doubly sure...

The 202 was not sustained for long, and I was hanging but not like you guys have experienced! Cheers

 

[suburbanreuben]

220- your age is ONLY a rough approximation used to set targets for various levels of effort ; 50%, 75%etc.
I've no idea whether the ability to excede it is good or bad though.

 

[Iwasgoodonce]

224 was my recorded record. At the end of a hill climb at university. Went a bit of an odd colour for a minute or two but I'm still here.

It feels like I hit my safe maximum these days climbing the stairs.

 

[saga_lout]

As a gentleman of mature years (AKA old git) 220 - my age works out to 158. I've hit 159 a couple of times recently when I felt as if I was working fairly hard but at about 90% of maximum effort. As has been mentioned, 220 - age is just a guide. The only way to know for sure is to do a stress test.

My resting heart rate is about 55 to 60 so I use 60 to 160 as my "working heart range", it makes working out the percentages a doddle.

 

[kaiser]

If you hit a max higher than your theoretical max use the real one. The 220 thing was a crock and I believe the scientist later renounced the formula.

This is a good book if you can get one

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Heart-Monitor-T ... 0915297256

 

[MikeD]

220-age=cobblers. The only way to be sure is to hit it

 

[Student Bob]

220-age=cobblers. The only way to be sure is to hit it

+1

The old 220-your age was 'developed' in the 70's by a guy called Dr Fox, who is now bemused at how widespread it is (for 'developed' read 'plucked out of thin, but relatively academic, air').

Exercise science now loves the Karvonen Method for calculating training intensities using a HRM, this method says that your MaxHR is the highest number on your HRM at the end of a cardiac stress test, or your HR when sprinting to the SU bar at last orders. Or maybe that's just me....

If you really want a hypothetical MaxHR that you can calculate without exercising so hard you vomit, then the Tanaka Method is considered the least offensive, IIRC it's MaxHR = 208 - (0.7 x your age) but there's still a degree of error of about +/-7bpm.

And finally, there's huge variations in HR between individuals, some people have naturally higher HR and others lower. I've never been able to get near my hypothetical MaxHR, but I do have a recorded resting HR of 32bpm, conversely, I've got a mate who can sit and watch telly with a HR of 110bpm - not sure what he was watching though....