Heart rate, strange case and questions ?

[stefs]

Hi all, I bought a Polar HRM some month ago. I'm 37 and cycling for many years.
With HRM come new questions of course.


This winter a trained on a roller and with a sprint got my heart rate to 181 (My theoric max is 184).

I train outside for 4 weeks now and I was climbing a hill of 3 km long this week at a really good intendity, breathing hard, couldn't get my heart rate above 170. Going fast on flat couldn't go over 170 either, like if my leg cannot push more, but my heart was able to stand it....is it possible?

Do we really need to max out to get the heartrate go to the max?

**********************************************
Next, what about resting heart rate? Depends of the definition.

When I wake up at 6 AM these days it's around 50-53.

If I wake up at 3 AM or 4 AM, half asleep it is usually around 45-50.

And at one time it was even at 42....geeeez, I was almost panicking not used to see it so low. ( Have been on a Holter I was told that when I sleep it goes down to +/- 35.

I wonder about pro cyclist, if they have a resting heart rate of 34, what could be their sleeping heart rate, does any statistic exist on that?


Maybe all this means nothing, maybe I was always like this and before buying the HRM I was just not aware of this.

 

[Brizza]

Your max heart rate will fall as you improve your fixness and your performing heart rate will also fall (same speed and power output with less effort on your heart).

Don't be concerned about your max falling, but be aware that it does move.
I found my max on a given day was a good measure of my fitness. A high reading indicated that I was out of form, and a low reading that my training that week had paid off.

 

[frenchyge]

Do we really need to max out to get the heartrate go to the max?

Yep. I've only seen my Max HR one time, and as soon as I sat up I thought I was going to black out and fall off the bike. It's almost a difficult trick to get it there without your legs giving out first, and probably requires some external motivation (like a competitor).

Max HR is used to establish the lower HR targets/zones that you would be using to accomplish specific training goals. It is not something that you should be trying to reach during every ride.