666

I'm looking for data of MHR vs. age. Trying to (informally) confirm that those who maintain fitness see less of a drop in MHR as they age compared to sedentary folks. Of particular interest would be anyone who took a hiatus from riding (became sedentary) for some years, then resumed riding and has long term data. Those who have been riding for many years and have tracked their MHR will be my new best friends. The more data the better.

Thanks!

chinarider

I'm not sure if my record keeping is rigorous enough for you, but I'll give you the benefit of my experience. In '94 (age 42) I had my MHR measured in an exercise physiology lab. They got me up to 207 & said my LT was 191 (which I never believed). In a self test I got to 203. Anyway, at the time I was a runner. Doing 1/2 mile repeats I would get my HR to the mid 190s. In '97 I hurt my hip (avascular necrosis) & stopped running. I didn't see any drop off in HR between 94 & 97. In subsequent years I alternated between being fairly sedentary & fairly active-- using weights, elliptical trainer, a rower & some biking. I used my HR monitor but didn't get near maximal efforts. The last few years I've gotten more into biking. This summer I've been riding 100-150 miles per week. While I have been pushing harder I haven't tried to get to max. I get into the 170s routinely, 180s at times going up hills & have seen low 190s a couple of times. I'd guess my MHR is still around 200. Hope this helps.

Dan

Jet Travis

You're maximum heart rate for biking and for running may not be the same.

BTW, I'm 54 and my MHR on the bike is 180. But I never tested it until recently. I'm told that MHR is more or less set by genetics and does not neccesarily change or affect performance on the bike--but I'm no expert.

666

Yep, your max rate on a road bike will be 10+ beats lower than running b/c of the supine position. Probably 5 bats lower on a MTB.

chinarider

I agree. I think it's easier to get the HR up running than biking. So maybe my MHR hasn't changed at all.
I also agree MHR has nothing to do with performance; it's just an individual variation. The % of MHR you can sustain (trainable while MHR is not) does say something abour performance.

byte_speed

At age 58, I've been recording my heart rate on rides for about the last 15 years. My lifetime maximum recorded heart rate on the bike is 160 BPM (in 2004). My highest this year (on 2 occasions) is 158 BPM, so I can't say I've seen much of a decrease. (Note: this year I got a Garmin Edge and it catches peaks better than my previous manual method.)

I do notice that it seems to be harder for me to ride at high heart rates for extended periods now, I just don't seem to have the fire (pardon the expression) of past years. Also, my average speed has dropped 1 to 2 mph over the 15 year period in spite of riding more miles nearly every year. Some of the speed drop was when I started treatment for hypertension, some because I used to not log recovery rides, and some because I am just not quite as fast now.