Heartrate trend

[Briguy]

Tuesday I went out and did a hard 10 mile ride in 95 degree weather. I hit my max heartrate of 180 four different times with a peak of 185. Yesterday I did the same exact ride with the same amount energy and reached my max once with a peak of about 181. Noticed on the second ride that I stayed around 160-170 range yet on the first one I hovered around 170-180 range more frequently. What can I tell from this? I typically ride 2-3 times a week but this was the first time I went hard back to back.

 

[RickF]

Tuesday I went out and did a hard 10 mile ride in 95 degree weather. I hit my max heartrate of 180 four different times with a peak of 185. Yesterday I did the same exact ride with the same amount energy and reached my max once with a peak of about 181. Noticed on the second ride that I stayed around 160-170 range yet on the first one I hovered around 170-180 range more frequently. What can I tell from this? I typically ride 2-3 times a week but this was the first time I went hard back to back.

There are so many factors that can affect heart rate and performance on any given day. Hydration status is the first thing I would suspect to explain how two back-to-back days are so different.

I do not know what the humidity is like in Kansas, but in North Carolina, if the temperature is 95 degrees, the heat index is usually above 105, and hard riding is going to put a lot more stress on the body than the same ride would if the heat index was below 90.

 

[Briguy]

There are so many factors that can affect heart rate and performance on any given day. Hydration status is the first thing I would suspect to explain how two back-to-back days are so different.

I do not know what the humidity is like in Kansas, but in North Carolina, if the temperature is 95 degrees, the heat index is usually above 105, and hard riding is going to put a lot more stress on the body than the same ride would if the heat index was below 90.

Hydration and Humidity was about the same for both days. Food intake was actually similar. Strange.

 

[RickF]

By hydration status, I do not mean how much or what you drank during the ride, but what your status was before you started. Did you weigh yourself before each ride? My weight can easily fluctuate by two to three pounds per day. That equates to a difference of about 1 to 1.5 liters of fluid. That difference is enough to have a major effect on heart rate during exercise.

 

[Briguy]

By hydration status, I do not mean how much or what you drank during the ride, but what your status was before you started. Did you weigh yourself before each ride? My weight can easily fluctuate by two to three pounds per day. That equates to a difference of about 1 to 1.5 liters of fluid. That difference is enough to have a major effect on heart rate during exercise.

That makes sense.

 

[frenchyge]

Tuesday I went out and did a hard 10 mile ride in 95 degree weather. I hit my max heartrate of 180 four different times with a peak of 185. Yesterday I did the same exact ride with the same amount energy and reached my max once with a peak of about 181. Noticed on the second ride that I stayed around 160-170 range yet on the first one I hovered around 170-180 range more frequently. What can I tell from this? I typically ride 2-3 times a week but this was the first time I went hard back to back.

Overland Park in da house! Woot!

A couple beats' difference is within the tolerance that you should expect for day to day HR measurements. Slight differences in wind or temperature could easily explain that difference, as well as stress, amount of rest, or whether you were fully recovered from your hard Tuesday ride.

HR comparisons are useful for observing increasing fitness over several rides/weeks, but normal fluctuations can skew single day-day comparisons.

 

[Doctor Morbius]

I hit my max heartrate of 180 four different times with a peak of 185.

Congratulations, you've just discoverd that 180 BPM is NOT your max heart rate. Adjust your zones accordingly.

 

[friedmikey]

An aside... I'm very new to training with heart rate, but if you peaked at 185, wouldn't it make sense to say your MHR is 185, not 180 as you stated?

* Edit *: Damn Doctor Morbius beat me to it.

 

[frenchyge]

Congratulations, you've just discoverd that 180 BPM is NOT your max heart rate. Adjust your zones accordingly.

Don't you just LOVE it when your heart decides to set a new personal best without your consent? Just when I was feeling good about my training, I have to revise all my zones upward and suddenly realize that I haven't been working as hard as I should have been all along.

 

[Doctor Morbius]

Don't you just LOVE it when your heart decides to set a new personal best without your consent? Just when I was feeling good about my training, I have to revise all my zones upward and suddenly realize that I haven't been working as hard as I should have been all along.

Don't ya hate it? I haven't gotten around to my annual max HR test this year. I don't want to adjust my zones upward any more than I have too!

 

[Briguy]

So as far as setting max heart rate I need to set it to what I have peaked at. See. I am new at all this. In fact my highest recording was going up a hill dragging my kid behind me in a trailer in the saddle. My heartrate then peaked at 193bpm. That is not a normal situation so my thought process is I should set it to 185bpm which is typically what I am going to max out at. Any additonal comments are welcome.

 

[frenchyge]

So as far as setting max heart rate I need to set it to what I have peaked at. See. I am new at all this. In fact my highest recording was going up a hill dragging my kid behind me in a trailer in the saddle. My heartrate then peaked at 193bpm. That is not a normal situation so my thought process is I should set it to 185bpm which is typically what I am going to max out at. Any additonal comments are welcome.

I was just about to write a flippant remark like "193 it is..." or something like that, but I should qualify that a little bit. Sometimes my HR data shows a big spike right at the end of a hard interval. I typically observe those spikes in the instant my interval timer shows :00 as I quickly let off the gas and sit up on the saddle, and they can be in the +7-10 bpm range (up from 170 or so during the interval). I can't speak with authority on this part, but my hypothesis is that there are some rapid fluctuations in the beat-to-beat timing in those instances that the HRM interprets as a spike in HR. I've seen that some of the top end HRM include a feature for "R-R variability" and maybe that has something to do with it, I don't know.

Anyway, long story - short, if your HR showed a nice steady rise to 193 as you climbed the hill, then you max is *at least* 193 bpm. If your 193 showed as a blip at the end of that long pull, then I'd question the validity of that single data point vs. the ones just before and after it.

 

[RickF]

My heartrate then peaked at 193bpm. That is not a normal situation so my thought process is I should set it to 185bpm which is typically what I am going to max out at.

Maximum heart rate should be the physiological maximum, and not the maximum you get under "normal" riding conditions. A cardiologist would use a modified Bruce protocol, where the speed and incline on the treatmill is increased until you either have ST segment depression (a sign of insufficient blood flow to the heart) or you cannot go any farther. The maximum heart rate on that test is the maximum you are physiologically capable of achieving. That is the value for maximum heart rate you should be using.

 

[RickF]

To add to what frenchyge said, you can determine a reasonable value for your maximum heart rate by warming up at a reasonable pace for 15 to 30 minutes, then go as hard and as fast as you can for five minutes, drop back to a reasonable pace for ten minutes, then go as heard and as fast as you can for five minutes. The highest sustained heart rate during either of the two five minute sprints is a reasonable value for the maximum rate. (Of course, you need to do a reasonable warm down after the final sprint).

 

[davidbod]

This is one of the biggest problems with using MAXHR for your workouts. Your HR on the bike can vary greatly with temperature and your body condition (recovered vs not recovered and hydrated vs not hydrated). I've been tracking my HR during rides for the last several years and have noticed that during Winter my usual MAXHR is around 175. In Summer on a good hot day I can get it up to 195. On moderately hot days it will usually stay under 190. This is the reason that people have gone to using power and watts to track their workouts and fitness level.

 

[huhenio]

Congratulations, you've just discoverd that 180 BPM is NOT your max heart rate. Adjust your zones accordingly.

How to find your max heartrate?

Go up to the biggest hill as fast as you can ..... When your head feels like it is going to explode, that is your max HR

 

[Doctor Morbius]

How to find your max heartrate?

Go up to the biggest hill as fast as you can ..... When your head feels like it is going to explode, that is your max HR

Why reply to my post? I know how to find it.

 

[ric_stern/RST]

How to find your max heartrate?

Go up to the biggest hill as fast as you can ..... When your head feels like it is going to explode, that is your max HR

going up the biggest hill as fast as you can may not get you to your HRmax...

For e.g., on our local biggest hill, which takes ~ 20+ mins to complete at my maximum sustained effort up the climb, my average HR is about 15 b/min below my HRmax, and my peak HR on the climb is about 10 b/min below my HRmax.

I'd have to use an easier and shorter mountain to really wallop up it and get my HRmax.

Ric

 

[bryanquinn]

Don't ya hate it? I haven't gotten around to my annual max HR test this year. I don't want to adjust my zones upward any more than I have too!

hehehehehe...

 

[camhabib]

My resting is around 95bpm and my highest I have seen mine is around 250bpm. Maybe I need to not be so nervous all the time and take an easy.... When I ride my pulse is constantly in the 200 range, no pain or faintness ever experienced, only occasional nausea in which case I stop and rest for a moment.



-Cameron