Maximum Heart Rate

[permiche]

I am 28 yo, thus according to the 220-age formula my maximum heart rate should be of about 192. I'm using a HRM since one year and I have never seen my HR go over 180bpm, even when I was going to the maximum effort I could perceive. So I think 180bpm is my MHR.

My question is: how MHR in men compares to displacement in engines? In other words, a 28 years old athlete with a MHR of 180bpm is intrinsicly a better or a worse athlete then a 28yo with a MHR of 192, or of 200?

 

[Pimpanolie]

Max heart rate has nothing to do with how good of an athlete you are or how good of shape you are in it's just your biology. Just like you can have a 28 male who is 6 feet tall and another who is 5 feet tall. It's just how your built.

My friend and I are almost identical in age, size, shape, and our physical fitness yet his heart rate is always 20 beats higher than mine while exerting the same amount of effort.

 

[temp3st]

yeah - my max heart rate is over 200 and I'm 31 so work that one out using your formula

 

[Doctor Morbius]

Permiche,

You may also want to take into consideration that MaxHR is sport specific. Your cycling MaxHR and your running MaxHR can often be different.

And Pimpanolie is 100% correct. Your MaxHR, whether it be high or low, is not an indicator of athletic performance.

 

[tomdavis80]

Originally posted by Doctor Morbius
Permiche,

You may also want to take into consideration that MaxHR is sport specific. Your cycling MaxHR and your running MaxHR can often be different.

And Pimpanolie is 100% correct. Your MaxHR, whether it be high or low, is not an indicator of athletic performance.

I agree with the above for the most part because Max HR can't be used comparatively to other athletes. However, Resting HR COULD be used as a measure of overall fitness in relationship to other athletes but it's much better used as a barometer for overtraining, meaning it spikes for a few days or even a week, means you're overtraining.

Another thing to note is that when you're training, your Max HR will change either going up or going down depending on how your body reacts to you becoming more fit. In my experience, my max HR changed from around 198 to 205 in about 4 months of training.

Thomas Davis

 

[Pimpanolie]

Originally posted by tomdavis80
I agree with the above for the most part because Max HR can't be used comparatively to other athletes. However, Resting HR COULD be used as a measure of overall fitness in relationship to other athletes but it's much better used as a barometer for overtraining, meaning it spikes for a few days or even a week, means you're overtraining.


Thomas Davis

Good point about resting heart rate. Allthough like I said my friends HR is always 20 beats higher than mine during exercise our resting HR's are within a couple of beats of each other.

 

[dorkpants]

Originally posted by temp3st
yeah - my max heart rate is over 200 and I'm 31 so work that one out using your formula

i'm 24 and my max HR is 232, perhaps even a little over (i regularly hit 230-232 on maximal sprints after a prolonged climb)... the formula seems to have some troubles

 

[Randybaker99]

Originally posted by dorkpants
i'm 24 and my max HR is 232, perhaps even a little over (i regularly hit 230-232 on maximal sprints after a prolonged climb)... the formula seems to have some troubles

Right on. In fact, it is not really a formula, but more of a statistical observation - pretty much useless for predicting an individual's HR.

The Cyclist's Training Bible (by Joe Friel) has some techniques for determining several HR measurements that are actually quite useful - I highly recommend the book, though it is not exactly a light read.