Heart size (growth) and max HR as you become fitter...

[cycloxnut]

Hi, I've just got back into cycling again (for 4 months now) after a long lay off.

For the past 7 years I have been training quite a lot at the gym, cold water swimming, distance walking, some running sprinting and lots of other activities.

I'm almost 46 and 6 months ago my max HR was at 91bpm. Since I've been cycle training again my resting HR has gone down from the late 40's to 40bpm, but the biggest thing seems to be my HR during my training rides is getting really low. Where it used to always get into the 180's, last Saturday it only reached 172bpm and the next day on a very hard and fast hilly route I only managed 167bpm? My times are quite good, I'm not quite as fast as back in 1993 but am getting there quickish...

Also when I started my ride on Sunday it was a steep and long hill which I went as fast as I could up and was definitely pushing it with the legs burning and out of breath. This took me 8 minutes 41 seconds but my Max HR only reaches 134...

I've read that athletes do have lower Max HR rates when training and racing the fitter they are.

My questions are,,,having a lower max HR rate, is this a good thing? and will I be able to get as fit as I was or even fitter at my age now of 46, 14 years since I stopped racing?

 

[RoyalDutchShell]

Welcome back to cycling!

I'm no expert, but for what it's worth, your lowering max heart rate could be due to fatigue. Are you taking enough rest days, enough sleep, etc?
It might be worth watching your pulse drop after hard efforts/ climbs/intervals. ie. see how long it takes to drop from 160 or 180 or whatever to 120 beats-per-minute or less. As you start to get fatigued from training, it will take longer to drop, whereas when you are well trained and rested, it should drop rather quickly (and go up rather quickly- generally be more reactive to your efforts).

There are threads here about fitness and aging, but my take is that unless you are riding at a pro level, the aging process doesn't slow you down very much until you hit 60 or so, and even that depends on your genetics, nutrition, stress, etc. Normally your sprinting, time needed for recovery and high-end anaerobic power will start to fade first. Maybe this is why there are so many 50+ year old time trial monsters.

I'm sure you can get fitter than before. And with current power meter use/knowledge, you also have an advantage over your past.

 

[daveryanwyoming]

Originally Posted by RoyalDutchShell .
...There are threads here about fitness and aging, but my take is that unless you are riding at a pro level, the aging process doesn't slow you down very much until you hit 60 or so, and even that depends on your genetics, nutrition, stress, etc. Normally your sprinting, time needed for recovery and high-end anaerobic power will start to fade first. Maybe this is why there are so many 50+ year old time trial monsters....

+1, sure if you read the exercise physiology literature you'd expect a steady drop off in VO2 Max as athletes age into their 30's and 40's relative to potential capabilities at a younger age. But IME, the vast majority of part time amateur cyclists never got anywhere near their potential capabilities at a younger age and many if not most can continue to see improvement as they age if they stay consistent with well structured training.

FWIW, I rode and raced a lot when I was in my 20's and 30's with mediocre racing results as a cat 3 racer. After more than a decade away from the sport I started training and racing again in my mid 40s but with a much better plan and a power meter to track progress. Within a year I'd taken 8 minutes off of my best 40K time to date and have improved steadily over the past six seasons both in terms of sustainable power for durations of interest and perhaps more importantly in terms of race results in both masters category and cat 3 races. I didn't have a power meter back in the day, but based on race results and day to day training speeds I'm certain I've achieved a much higher level of fitness as I've hit 50 than I ever managed back in the day and the numbers continue to inch upwards with continued training so I don't think I've topped out yet.

...I'm sure you can get fitter than before. And with current power meter use/knowledge, you also have an advantage over your past....

Exactly!

FWIW, my max HR has dropped substantially over the years but is still high compared to most of the published charts for someone of my age. But it really doesn't matter, do the work - don't use HR to limit your efforts, but you might pay attention to particularly high or low days where you either feel like you're struggling more than usual or things feel real easy as a rough way to assess freshness and perhaps progress or the need for more rest. Of course just paying attention to RPE on those days can tell you pretty much the same thing.

Good luck,
-Dave

 

[An old Guy]

Originally Posted by cycloxnut .

Hi, I've just got back into cycling again (for 4 months now) after a long lay off.

For the past 7 years I have been training quite a lot at the gym, cold water swimming, distance walking, some running sprinting and lots of other activities.

I'm almost 46 and 6 months ago my max HR was at 91bpm. Since I've been cycle training again my resting HR has gone down from the late 40's to 40bpm, but the biggest thing seems to be my HR during my training rides is getting really low. Where it used to always get into the 180's, last Saturday it only reached 172bpm and the next day on a very hard and fast hilly route I only managed 167bpm? My times are quite good, I'm not quite as fast as back in 1993 but am getting there quickish...

Also when I started my ride on Sunday it was a steep and long hill which I went as fast as I could up and was definitely pushing it with the legs burning and out of breath. This took me 8 minutes 41 seconds but my Max HR only reaches 134...

I've read that athletes do have lower Max HR rates when training and racing the fitter they are.

My questions are,,,having a lower max HR rate, is this a good thing? and will I be able to get as fit as I was or even fitter at my age now of 46, 14 years since I stopped racing?

You need a power meter to make sense of your numbers. There is a technical definition of max HR. I think you are using a different definition.

My opinion is that your heart is in better shape than your legs. But then your cadence might be wrong for you and your effort.