Caffeine and heart rate
03-10-09, 12:02 PM
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Caffeine and heart rate
I know caffeine and other stimulants affect your heart rate, but how much can a few cups of coffee raise you're max? I usually top out around 195 bpm, but I've gotten up to 205 when I was really, really wired hitting a big climb.
Does that sound realistic? I haven't really experienced radio interference with my HRM in that area before, but it could be a bad reading. Also, is something that raises your real-world max HR by 10 bpm even safe?
Does that sound realistic? I haven't really experienced radio interference with my HRM in that area before, but it could be a bad reading. Also, is something that raises your real-world max HR by 10 bpm even safe?
03-10-09, 12:26 PM
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Go out and do a real max HR test with and without caffiene and tell us the results. The hr you hit going really hard on a climb is not likely to be your true max. I don't think caffiene should change it.
03-10-09, 12:27 PM
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You can't change your max heart rate, it is a true biological physical limit. It will go down with age though. It seems like you are calling the highest number you've ever seen as your max - obviously it wasn't (assuming the 205 was a valid reading -and that probablly wasn't your max either).
I suppose it's possible that a big dose of caffeine could help you get closer to your max.
I suppose it's possible that a big dose of caffeine could help you get closer to your max.
03-10-09, 01:09 PM
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Caffeine doesn't change your max heart rate. Caffeine (and other stimulants) merely raise your current heart rate to a rate closer to your max...
03-10-09, 01:11 PM
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My Max HR is somewhere above 216 w/o any stimulant help. Coach had to back off a test and call it good cause it kept going up, lol!
03-10-09, 01:16 PM
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I had my tested at a lab. And my guess was spot on. 184.
Even with 2 gallons of coffee that's about where I max out sometimes. Cocaine is a different story.
Even with 2 gallons of coffee that's about where I max out sometimes. Cocaine is a different story.
