Originally Posted by Camilo

A max is a max. You don't get a new max. How did you determine that 187 was your max? Did you use the "formula"? Because they are worthless.

There are a lot of guides out there how to determine your own max. It is very, very difficult to achieve a true max on your heart beat, plus it will be different for running vs. cycling vs. swimming vs. skiing, etc.

I've always used my lactate threshold as a benchmark instead of max. HR, and then design workouts around that instead. I've never done a LT blood study, but have used the average I get during a full effort race for 45-60 minutes.

I also know what my "marathon race pace" is - My average for 3-5 hour marathon type ski events is very consistent and I can use that as a benchmark for whatever workout I'm trying to do.

If you haven't already, you might consider reading a couple of books on HR training - they're very interesting. There are some variations in methodology, but you'll get a good idea.