DiabloScott

I wore one of these things for a week when I complained of dizziness. There's a button to push any time I felt dizzy or chest pain. It records everything like an ECG but when you push the button it flags that event for observation.


It was glued on and they gave me some glue remover and a mailing envelope when I was done. Then I got back a report that said nothing's wrong with me... I guess that's a good thing.

MinnMan

Been there, done that last year. I had weird recurring chest pains and trouble getting my HR down after hard efforts. Extensive cardio workups found nothing at all. I was relieved, but also felt foolish for complaining in the first place. But of course, it's better safe than sorry.

MinnMan

It's widely known that those charts have no meaning for any particular individual. Lots of us have MHRs much higher than predicted for our age.

Your riding style is up to you, many of us try not to max out our HR on every ride. Normal training wisdom has it that one should vary hard rides with easy ones. This is actually one of the most useful reasons to wear a HRM. I can set a goal to have an easy ride where I keep my HR below, say, 120 BPM. If I get carried away with too great an effort, I can see on my Garmin that my HR is going a little higher than I want, and I ease off. Before I used the HRM, I would resolve at the outset of a ride to keep it nice and easy, then get too involved in the riding, and as the ride went on gradually and unintentionally increased my effort (and maybe raced to drop a Fred or two).

wnl256

Don't believe the charts. They show averages. Everybody is different.


Yeah, that's what I thought until the day I almost died of a heart attack. A healthy heart isn't going to overcome an artery that is 100% blocked. And you probably won't know about the blockage until it gets very near 100%. On the plus side, my recovery was quicker and easier because my heart was in such good shape.

MinnMan

Glad that you recovered so well.

when I had all that cardio work up last year, I also had an angiogram. My Ca score was zero, which means my arteries are clean. phew....

47p2

Yes I've been through the angiogram procedure too, not a nice experience but good to know everything was all clear in there

wnl256

Excellent! I didn't seem to need something that intrusive so of course it was never considered. My cholesterol was safely below 200 without statins, and a stress test showed no problems. So my PCP said "nothing to worry about."

Of course things would have gone a lot smoother if I had had the brains to head to the hospital when the symptoms first started.

Ugh.

fietsbob

I do , without technology, I decide to get off and Push when the rate goes too High, and rest more on the way Up.

John_V 

Like an American Express card - I never leave home (for a ride) without it.

jppe

I wear a HR monitor on every ride. It's a great indicator of how I'm riding if you're conscious of all the variables associated with heart rates.

It sounds like your 160 bpm is equivalent to my 180 bpm. My HR is well documented to be higher than average. If you're okay with that assumption, that would mean your 160 is about 93% of your MAX HR. That would make your Max around 172. HR depends on a lot of variables such as stress, rest, hydration and training. For this discussion let's just assume that for your Florida group ride all those variables are in the normal range. If you're riding at your normal conversational pace I'd expect your heart rate to be about 70% of Max or about 120+/-. However if folks push the pace and you're riding harder than a conversational pace it might be 75%-80% of Max or 129-135 bpm. For situations where the pace is higher than normal a HR monitor is really useful data to have to keep from burning out too quickly.

MinnMan

Another instance where I keep a close eye on my HRM is on a fast-paced group ride. If I'm pulling and my HR is staying below 170, I know I can stay on the front. If I see my HR creep up to 174 or so, I know it's time to get off the front (my MHR is 180). Similarly, if I'm drafting in a group that is mostly stronger than me and my HR isn't below 160, then I know I had better not allow myself to get on the front or if I do, to stay just for a very short time. Otherwise, I'm in danger of blowing up and, eventually, getting dropped.

lenticular

Of all the numbers I could display on my ancient Garmin Edge 305 hear rate is the one that I care about the most. It is like a tachometer on a car as far as showing how hard my engine is working. It is fun to play with different gear and cadence combinations to find how they impact my heart rate. I usually try to optimize for around 155 bpm since that is when I'm cruising well without panting. At 160-170 bpm I know that I'm at a good, sustainable exertion. In the 170's I'm either climbing or trying to push really hard. On steep climbs I sometimes pop into the low 180's.

Even after decades of riding I find that I often have to relearn things. For instance, I fell into the trap of trying to go faster by pushing a higher gear rather than spinning a low one. This would usually put me in the mid-150's. About two months ago I started working at spinning easier gears and was not only faster but saw a higher pulse rate (in the 160's).


You would think that it would be easy to gauge how hard your heart is working just by the strain of exertion, and I usually have a good idea of where I am. But there is nothing like looking down at the computer and getting an instant readout.

Juan Foote

Back when I got the Garmin, and the whole HR stuff mattered, I was riding to within percentages of my max and all that goodly training stuff. I blew a massive hole in the back of my residual limb and found that I could not continue riding like that, and do other life stuff like work and go to the grocery store.
Since that time, I moved to a hilly area, don't ride much as I should, and mainly only to keep off weight and boredom. I don't ride to any particular percentage of my ability any more, so at the top of the hills my charts indicate just how close to that heart attack death I am really coming.

fastcarbon

I always use one and review the curves on Garmin Connect and Strava after the ride.

wthensler 

Jeez, I never thought I would get all the insightful comments back from the cycling audience. I am more curious now than ever and will either find the old one or buy new. I 'settle' pretty well, so my guess is in the 130's and over 160 during strains, this on rides of 30-40 miles, my usual ride - but time will tell. Thanks so much, everyone!!

ltxi

I have an HRM but only use it as an occasional "brain calibration" device. Many years of routine exercise and I'm day-to-day good with listening to my body. HRM also be good for a diag tool if something feels too far off.

jhglaw

I am 66. My max HR is 176 which I sometimes hit at the top of THE HILL. If I try a little harder, I start to feel faint. If I keep my HR at 160 - 165; I am working hard, I cannot talk, my legs are hurting, but I am OK. I can keep riding, slowly on the flat at the top of THE HILL but I am panting like an exhausted cheetah for several minutes. My riding buddy has done THE HILL twice in the same time and can talk. I ride THE HILL twice a week. My kids have promised to spread my ashes on the hill when I die. JHGLAW

scott967

When I was on a beta blocker my internist wanted me to keep HR < 130 so I was using a Polar chest strap / wrist watch combo. What I found with the beta blocker it was hard for me to exceed 130. If I did my legs gave out before anything else.

scott s.
.

scrming

I just added a power meter to go along with the HR monitor... Adding he PM sure makes things more interesting!

TCR Rider

I've used a HR monitor for many years on almost every run or ride. It took on new meaning a few years ago when I developed an arrhythmia (ventricular tachycardia) I had an ICD implanted and since then I've had two ablations and the second one seems to have resolved the issue. The point is I don't really rely on HR when training, as long as it doesn't get wonky, but I do rely on a power meter. The PM gives me more useful information than the HR Monitor as far as training is concerned.

woodcraft

I have no idea what this means, but I hope it worked out OK..

jeromephone

I use the mio fuze and have a whole lot of spin classes and rides on it. If you use Map my ride one of the screens will show you the elevation changes of the ride with the heart rate on the same chart. In the electronics section of this forum HRM were discussed and there is a lot of good info there.

FlashBazbo

I use an HRM and a power meter on every ride. If the ratio of HR numbers to power numbers is off in any direction, I know to diagnose the problem before hitting things hard. (Most commonly, it's a problem of dehydration or some minor illness.) Over time, I use the ratio of HR to power to check my training progress. If my power numbers are going up (over time) for a given heart rate, I'm growing stronger. If the ratio becomes stagnant or goes down, I know it's time to change training routines.

Reynolds 

I use a HRM every now and then, mostly for checking out 1 and 2 minutes recovery time. My MHR is higher than standard (189 at 65yrs old) but my cardiologist said it's not to worry, something else should fail before my heart does!

digibud

As you can see there are huge variations from person to person which is why so many have said something like "we can't tell you...". The fellow that is 59 but can hit 192 is unusual. Most folks would fall over dead before getting to 192 at that age. One of the great things you'll learn as you use one regularly is how to extend your distance. Percieved effort is useful but keeping an eye on HR will let you keep it 5 beats lower than you usually do and you can use that to move from ... 40 to 80miles...or from 60 to 100miles... There is always an inverse relationship between effort and distance. The harder you ride the shorter the ride will be and if you learn you can hold 135 for a few hours you'll know you can hold 130 for longer... My longest ride (I'm 65 with two heart attacks under my belt) is 132mountainous miles and I am sure I only did it because I forced myself to hold my HR to 125 and didn't give in to my enthusiasm. I find days when I'm breathing hard at 135 and others when I can hold 150 for a bit without gasping. Things do vary but a HR monitor gives you the best information you can get regarding what your effort is, short of a power meter, which is much, much more useful but more expensive.