littleArnold

So when on stationary bike my heart rate is around 134 to 137. When I do wind sprints on the bike that jumps up to like 157 before i tire out and resume to normal pace. What should my ideal heart rate be?

Wileyrat

There are probably thousands of web sites that will tell you what you want to know.

Do a search on aerobic heart rate.

caloso

There is no ideal heart rate. There is your resting HR and your max HR. Somewhere in between but closer to maxHR is your threshold HR, which is roughly speaking the highest average HR you can maintain for an hour. Once you find that, you can set HR zones to help calibrate your training efforts.

These all vary from person to person based on genetics, fitness, age, etc. Your threshold HR might be the same as my max or vice versa. So you have to test it for yourself.

Orlando

I would also caution you about hanging too much importance on HR. It can vary quite a bit from day to day for the same effort depending on your level of fatigue. Secondly, these new fitness monitors can sometimes be in error. I'm 75 years old and I've been cycling for most of those years. In the 'old days' we checked HR with a finger on the jugular vein for 6 secs and added a zero. Crude and quick but gave a valuable estimate of HR within a few beats. With these new gadgets the ones that use a strap around the chest work best I think. The fitness gadgets on your wrist can be off quite a bit. For example, I use a Fitbit Blaze and a TACX Neo trainer. When I'm Zwifting, Zwift will show my HR at, say, 110 bpm and my Fitbit will be reading in the mid-nineties. (I have a low HR, an enlarged heart, and I sometimes get an irregular heart beat when I push myself too hard for too long) I also recommend reading 'The Haywire Heart' - it has some pretty useful, interesting info on latest findings for endurance athletes. Always build a good endurance base BEFORE you do any hi-intensity drills. The latest coaching trends seem to promote HIT training for all and sundry. Personally, I think you need to be careful with HIT training. Science has improved training methods dramatically in the last few decades but it is a mistake to believe that there are 'short-cuts' to fitness. You can hurt yourself, sometimes seriously. Ride on!

ThermionicScott 

Somewhere north of zero, generally.

mcours2006

As a relative beginner, and it sounds like that's what you are, I wouldn't pay too much attention to HR data. Just ride. Try to push yourself a little harder every week, a little farther each week, then back off for a week, and repeat, just going by perceived effort/exertion. If one day you reach elite level in the sport, then perhaps HR data would help you eek out those few seconds of performance.

Shimagnolo

woodcraft

As mentioned, threshold heart rate is what can be maintained for an extended time,

and above that, effort can only be sustained for a few minutes. Your 157 BPM could be an example of over threshold.

Spending time at or slightly below threshold is a good and common training technique.

For instance, you might try (warming up and then) 3 minutes at 150 BPM, then 5 minutes at 135 BPM, repeat.

sdmc530

Please don’t put too much stock in the internet in numbers. The rule of thumb is 220-your age to find your max. So for me it’s 220-37=183. But a max of 183 is actually too high for me. This is a good guideline but listen to what your body tells you. If your really concerned see a cardio doc and they will tell you. Any seasoned cyclist has a lower than average resting HR so a max will naturally will be a bit lower too. My resting HR is 50-52. I had the week long monitor heart test done. It was really interesting. My doc says my max is actually 174 according to the tests. For training purposes I set my max to 170 on my head unit to alarm me. so I know when to not push so hard.

littleArnold

True. Don't know how reliable heart rate monitor on stationary bike is anyway. Got on tonight cycled at usual pace could talk to wife while cycled but it said 180 heart rate which didn't make sense. So re-adjusted hands on bike and heart rate reading jumps down to 133.

sdmc530

Chest strap is super accurate. Forearm straps are good but they leave tan lines and need to be in a more precise location. Wrist monitors are ok but at higher numbers they are known to be less than accurate. I have a chest strap and wrist tracker. Wrist is ok but over 160 numbers seem a bit wild sometimes. Machine monitors like the handle ones are usually pretty poor. Somestimes they do ok and next check will be off by 25 beats? Not reliable. Chest is the way to go while training. However I am tempted to stop using it when it dies being you get a pretty good feeling from using it over a long period of years.

Iride01 

Don't get bogged down by HR numbers.... It's an individual thing. As long as your doctor says your heart is healthy and you are okay to exercise then don't worry about what it's BPM is compared to others.

Learn what your HR numbers are for different phases of your cycling. They can help you know when you will or won't have some energy remaining to perform well on an upcoming hill or sprint.

But don't fixate on them. If you watch your HR constantly and ride for a specific HR, then you'll limit yourself. HR needs to be pushed at times to improve.

Also, unless your doctor is a biker, don't get into too deep a discussion of what it should and shouldn't be. They won't know the physiological demands of cycling so there info will not be appropriate. Doctors are people too and will make up things just to sound intelligent on a subject.

Road Fan

I would not expect your cardiologist to test you to HRmax and then tell you what your max is. When I asked my doc whe sent me to a cardiologist they gave me the formula-based number. Then they tested me on the treadmill to assess the health of my heart and its abilit to sustain stresses, but the protocol took me nowhere near max. I asked what HR they tested me up to and they said "about 95% of predicted max," which meant 95% of teh formula. They are interested in assessing your health, not in preparing you for an athletic activity.

Road Fan

To expand on another response: your ideal heart rate is above zero and less than max. If you're reading this the first condition is met. How do you know if you are below max? If your mind is working, you are not nauseous, not seeing stars, and you are still pedaling, you are below max. When I tried to reach max, things became quite difficult. I have not attempted it again, it ain't worth it.

To have your heart beating at a rate above the formula value does not mean you are at max. It means that for you at that moment, your true max exceeds the formula value.

sdmc530

Yes,maybe? But I will disagree because it’s what my guy said. I did a week long monitor test, 3 stress tests. I had the mask and all the electrode things on it was like from a movie. I felt like that Russian guy from Rocky with all the stuff going on during the test. Two of these tests were balls out corkers that were very intense. So I will listen to what my doctor told me.

Ride on!

Road Fan

I should have suffixed my comment with "YMMV" because clearly, different doctors will do different things. What mine did need not be what yours did, and why mine did what he did need not match the conditions they saw you facing.

I meant to argue against the idea that when asked, a doctor will generally give you that kind of comprehensive testing. Mine saw a potential medical condition and gave me testing for that specific medical condition, even though it was not what I asked for.

This all begs the question of, do we really need to know our true max HR accurately? My opinion is that I don't need that, as long as I can set up training based on lactate threshold or other sub-maximum conditions. Again, your opinion may vary.

sdmc530

I do agree with this. I think we worry about an actual number too much and don’t listen to our bodies enough. It’s tells us when we have had enough if we are smart enough to listen to it. Training can be as simple or complicated as we make it.

Bald Paul

Pedal like crazy and record your heart rate at the moment you have a heart attack, then multiply that number by 0.8.
No, don't. Just kidding.

If you're not sure, and really want to know, consult a doctor. A real doctor, not an internet Google search doctor. There are too many variables - age, weight, physical condition, potential hidden heart issues. A medically supervised stress test will give you a more accurate answer.

Iride01 

If you are healthy, you can run your HR at max. You'll run out of energy before you do it any damage.

My only caveat will be make sure you are hydrated properly as you always should be. When you are not hydrated sufficiently, I believe your blood plasma will be thicker and that makes your heart strain more to pump blood. Of course that will be true at any HR level. Thicker fluid=harder to pump.

Branko D

Well, I'm a rank amateur, so I never did a controlled max HR test and just ride with a strap to see what my heart does vs perceived effort.

Pedalling as hard as I can, I get up to 172 HR before I start listening to my legs shouting "please stop". According to "formula" max HR for me is some 186, which might be right; I should practice ignoring my legs more to see just how far can I get.

How do these stress tests work?

caloso

IANAMD, but as far as I know, if you are healthy, there's nothing preventing you from finding your true observed MaxHR. Go out and ride as hard as you can, ignore the pain, ignore your internal governor, keep going until you start seeing spots or a pink tunnel.

On the other hand, there's no real training need to find your MaxHR. You could do a 20min TT and use that as your LTHR, which is much more useful.

In either case, ignore the charts and formulas. They might fit a large population of untrained persons, but for individual athletes they are useless.

Iride01 

But just like the rest of us, I'm certain you must watch an actress/actor on a TV medical show. That should be qualification enough. Right?

jitteringjr

The rule of thumb doesn't really work for me. I am 46 so my max should be 174, but its nothing for me to hit the mid 180's. Last week I hit 194 and 195 on different sprints captured while using a chest strap. My resting HR according to my vivoactive HR is bouncing around the high 30's and low 40's. I have had recovery rides where I didn't go above 120 and I have spent 2 hours averaging close to my theoretical max at 175.

Iride01 

The formulas can't be relied on. Some they work for, others they don't come close. I read that someone that does activity that keeps their HR high routinely don't see much of a drop as they age. Might be part of the reason I'm about to be 60 but still see low 180's when I'm really pushing.

aplcr0331

Your max HR is typically set by your genetics. There is no ideal HR.


I did the 220-age thing and got 174. That's not even my LTHR! My LTHR is 178. If I went by the stupid 220 thing, I'd never get anywhere. A doctor can't "tell" you your HR unless they perform some tests.


If you're reasonably healthy and don't have heart conditions just go hard until you see some stars and feel like you'll lose control of your bike (I guess I better put ***on the trainer*** so the spastic autists on the forum don't scoff themselves to death). THAT is close to your Max HR.


My max HR is 195. My resting is 45. Those numbers are almost meaningless. What counts is the highest HR you can maintain for the longest time at the highest power output.


Max and resting inform training but they certainly don't define it. Even the finger prick LTHR results that you get from a Dr. or exercise physiologist can be different. I had one of those done and it gave me a range of 160-165 for LTHR. But I rode 75 minutes at 169. And again my highest 20 minute FTP last year was done at 178.


Ideally you'll want a power meter plus your HR monitor to get some good zones. And they are zones, not hard and fast lines in the sand.


Once you start training all those catch all heart rate charts are worthless.