morgothaod

I had no idea how fast my heart rate was while riding my bike until I recently bought a heart rate monitor (The strap around the waist + watch). My beats per minute was between 140-155. Not sure if that means I'm getting a really good workout or that I'm in bad shape. I'm not going up hills either... just pedaling on a flat surface at about 10 mph.

fietsbob

What does your MD, Doctor, Cardiologist, have to say about that?

jamesdak 

Thats medium effort range for me and I'm old as dirt.....

General Geoff

140-155 is within normal range for vigorous exercise.

What constitutes vigorous exercise, is different for different people. For someone who hasn't pedaled a bike in years, I wouldn't at all be surprised if maintaining 10mph for a couple miles on flat ground raised their heart rate that high.

Retro Grouch 

That sounds like a pretty high number to me. I'd want to calibrate that heart rate monitor with some other means.

I spend about $100 on some Garmin wrist watch thingie (no chest strap). It might be OK for counting the number of steps taken in a day or something like that but I didn't find it very useful for what I wanted. My wife is using it now but the heart rate number seems to bounce around a lot more than sounds reasonable to me. I feel like it was a waste of money.

TimothyH

155 is not high for many people.

Retro Grouch 

For 10 MPH on the flat?

GrainBrain

Alright you have one data point now. How many rides have you taken with the monitor? I don't know if this is forum appropriate but I bet $10 that if you track it for the next month it will decrease. I wonder by how much?

What's your resting rate?

brianmcg123

I've never seen a strap around the waist before. Did you mean chest?

jj1091

Auto-correct, waist = wrist.

Maelochs

Absolutely, when it comes to potentially life-threatening matters like potential cardiac problems ... Ask the Internet!!!!

What's your resting heart rate? What's the highest you can get it by doing sprint intervals? What other effects do you feel (pain, nausea, diziness, gray-out ...)?

When i was young, my resting rate was 45-55.

I refused to see a doctor until I was unable to walk quickly for a couple hundred yards. I measured my pulse at over 220 after 200 yards iof a swift walk and figured ... "Maybe if I don't die before I reach my destination, I might call a doctor."

Doctor hooked me up to all the wires and found ... a resting rate off 145-155. He scheduled emergency surgery.

If I had continued to be hard-headed about doctors ... I probably would have done permanent damage. it was only years of cycling (IMO) that kept me from almost dying sooner than I did.

You might have to ask yourself if you are really concerned, or just curious. if curious, do a lot of online research, do some home-grown stress tests ... make your own call.

If you have any reason to suspect a more serious issue ... spend the insurance deductible. Tear your heart and it will never work right again.

turkey9186

It won't decrease. Your speed and distance will increase though.

kcblair

I'm 71 and in shape. Resting HR 57. During a relatively flat ride at 13mph. average, with some hills, avg. HR is 138. Climbing is another matter. Avg jumps to 157-161.KB

sdmc530

wrist HR monitors are accurate but at high HR they are wildly off sometimes. Some are good. My Garmin HR chest strap and my watch are spot on the same until I hit about 160 during intervals then the watch is always low. I have warn a 48 Cardio monitor and my HR is spot on with my chest strap during work outs.


HR is relevant to health and heart condition. A cyclist and runners who are in good condition will have a lower HR and will have different thresholds when working out compared to a non athletic person. Cyclist who ride regularly and live a 1/2 way decent lifestyle usually as a whole have very healthy hearts.


Bottom line 150 is not a crazy number when working out and a good clip, however if your hardly doing anything then there might be something there. SEE A DOCTOR! That is a good place to see if there is an underlying issue.


good luck!

indyfabz

Strap around the wrist sending to a watch around the wrist?

"(The strap around the waist + watch)"

sweeks

Find your radial (wrist) or carotid (neck) pulse and count the beats for a minute! No special equipment required.
Obviously, multiply a 30-second count by 2, 20-seconds by 3, 15-seconds by 4...
Most accurate HRM has a chest strap sender which measures elecrical activity of the heart.

Depends on a lot of factors: age, general health, weight... always a good idea to check with the MD when starting a new exercise regimen. Also of interest: how quickly your HR returns to normal (not necessarily "resting"). Peak HR declines with age.
I'm 67, 200 pounds... on steep hills I'll touch 180 (about 5 years ago I saw 192 briefly!). Resting is 60. MD has cleared me.

If true, this probably warrants a trip to the MD, who may want a "stress test".

I hope to be like this when I'm your age!
Steve

josh23

I haven't measured my heart rate in a long time, but I used to specifically try and train at about the 120bpm level, which meant very little effort at all. So 150ish doesn't sound outlandish. I could hit 180 sprinting uphill and once hit 200 during kickboxing sparring. I didn't die. Some people just have diffetent heart rates I guess.

morgothaod

Oops, I meant to say strap around my chest. The heart rate monitor also came with a watch. Anyways, my resting heart rate is 70. I'm in my early 30s. I don't feel like I'm going to pass out or anything like that. The bike ride is easy and I have been bicycling for about 2 years, most of the time pedaling for about an hour. I ride 10 miles each time.

I was just curious is all. I'm overweight 5'7" 175lbs 36" waist- slightly husky. I walk a lot for work and I have a physical job.

rob214

heart rates are genetic, my max HR is 145, I was born that way, my dad is that way but my brother is not. I've been to 2 stress test and both times could not get the medical staff to understand that I was not going to get anywhere near their target rate.while I do group rides and everyone talks about HR mine is usually around 110 while others hover about 175ish. mine is always low. in the morning when I wake up or generally resting my HR 38 to 50. once while under antithesis for a procedure they brought me out for fear something was wrong.
at your your age I'm not sure how many in depth physicals you had but a proper medical checkup would hep you understand and help set a base for future medical care.
also by knowing you resting and max HR you can set up HR zones on your bike computer.

Maelochs

I can laugh and joke and waste bandwidth .... (I think i have proven that) .... but if you have any real worry, see a doctor.

I used to be Really fit , then I got Really fat. When I started trying to get fit again i reached a wall, where i didn't seem to be able to go harder without getting light-headed or just not feeling like it. I figured I would keep eating right and just push through it. I probably went three years abusing the carp out of my heart before i finally got the diagnosis I might have gotten three years earlier, and I might have spent three years gaining fitness instead of stressing my heart.

If nothing else, ask your doctor if you get an annual checkup ... if there is no issue, no real loss, and if there is something which can be caught early, no real damage.

If you feel fine and are active and seemingly healthy, then it could be a matter of genetics or the way you train or anything ... something completely normal and right and proper for you.

kcblair

Thanks. My max is 184, when climbing and when I hit 181, time to get off the bike, if the top is not in sight. I do get a phyisical once a year, at the beginning of the cycling season. KB.

sweeks

If there's no traffic, you can "tack" across the road; at right angles to the hill the incline goes to zero. Not always do-able. I don't like to get off unless there's no other option!
Steve

jfowler85

Plenty of internet docs on board as per usual. OP, get off of the internet with this and go to a licensed practitioner. No one here has any idea what they're talking about with respect to medical advice.

kcblair

It has only happened once, so far. Last year, I felt strong and wanted to take on a climb, I had never done. Some members suggested to give it a try. Did it, and won't be riding that long of a climb again. You'll notice a cat. 3 climb in there. All my climbing is in steps, not 5.8 miles. KB

https://www.strava.com/activities/1219549779

sweeks

Well, that's not *completely* true.
But the best advice so far is for the OP to seek "official" advice from his physician.
Steve