Hit new max HR - didn't feel so good
 

Since starting about a year ago, I've never hit higher than 187 HR and lately I seem to hit it less often over the same courses. 15 mins into my ride today, on one of the steepest climbs I have nearby (it has a 1/4 mile section in the 12-15% range), I looked down and saw I was at 190. Was feeling kind of crappy too. I don't know my theoretical max but through some very non-scientific methods I came up with 192 (I'm 44). I've never felt bad at 187. Can those extra 3 beats make a difference? I was feeling a bit off today anyway and it's been 3 days since my last ride so that might explain it too.

Is being able to hit a high HR a good thing? Or as I've gotten into better shape should I expect my max to get lower? I am able to ride at near my max HR longer than before (mid 180s for a couple minutes). Since I felt kind of crappy around that 190 mark, I guess I'm just wondering if I was somehow pushing harder than before and getting closer to vomit zone, or if I'm loosing conditioning since I'm not riding as much as during the summer.

How often have you broken your max HR record?

You're supposed to feel like crap at your max heartrate ;)

And no those theoretical formulas are a bunch of rubbish and are the least bit accurate.

I didn't use a formula. I can hit 187 and not pass out so it's not my max. I added 5. Why 5? I have no idea but it seemed reasonable and I have yet to hit it 192 though got closer today. Maybe my max is 195 :)

I don't think you're "breaking" your max HR ... I suspect you're getting closer to discovering what your HR is. And yes, you will feel really awful if you ever hit it.

And, from what I understand, as you age, your max HR will drop.

The highest I've seen is 197 in my early 40s. And that was running, not cycling.

It happens a lot to me to get near the "vomit zone" on hard climbs. I get to a point when I feel my HR very hard in my head and feel pretty bad. I always tell myself it's the last step before losing consciousness (I may be wrongbut I like to see it this way) , so I usually take it easy at the top and let my HR go down a little.

Your max hr is your max hr, not 5 beats above it. If you hit 190 that's your max. You don't pass out when you reach your max hr.

Mine is 246. My Garmin told me so. :P

I think mine is around 199?

most people won't ever see their max. Their bodies have things, such as feeling awful, tunnel vision etc., to tell them to back off. I'm one of the few that don't have these indicators and need to wear a heart monitor. I'd be damn sure in college to back off around 210 and now back off just below 200 since I'm 15 years older. I collapsed in high school while running because my hr skyrocketed and I just kept on going. I had a stress test and can't really remember but my hr was ridiculously high when the doc told me I was done.

I'm not sure I agree with this. Previously I never saw above 187 so by this thinking my max is 187. But today I hit 190 so 187 isn't my max. Did my max HR increase or did I simply get closer to my true max? I'm guessing the latter. People don't usually see their true max. I don't know what my true max is but I'm betting it's above 190 though probably not much.

I never want to experience the pain I went through when I got to my max heart rate... all to get KOM on Strava lol

+230 here... when u are a kid u can continue pushing, when u get middle age u cant do that no more and pretty much u keep them high enough to just continue with the afford.

One master 45+ rider stop ride the cyclocross I go to today because he heart was go too much faster.

The highest HR I ever saw was 209. I was in my late 30's and my normal max was 195 or so. I was sick (had a cold). If your max HR spikes more than a few bpm, there's probably something wrong with you. Back off.

I'd say this also. I'm 41, and the highest so far is 192. However, the other day was on a hill pushing pretty hard. Got up to the 192, but felt rather OK, so it probably could've gone a bit higher.

As long as you're in good health, and don't ignore obvious warning signs, I wouldn't worry too very much about max HR. It is what it is.

If you're relatively new to cycling or are increasing your training significantly it's not unusual for your MaxHR to increase. Your MaxHR is not simply dependent on your heart but on a complete system including your muscles and the energy transport mechanisms. Most people have a different MaxHr for various exercises, i.e. running Max will be different than cycling Max which is different than cross country skiing max.

At the end of the day it's a pretty meaningless number that has limited value for training.

My usual heartrate while riding is ~170s. 180s when I am pushing. I got up to 237 once while sprinting up a climb once, my head started spinning and I started blacking out. i just stopped and poured water over myself to cool off.

Most sources say that, if anything, max hr actually decreases with training. The numbers you see on the monitor are likely to increase with training, because of the confidence and ability to push your HR that high. Even in a clinical setting, where the point is to get people to VO2max (and max HR), untrained people will rarely actually reach this point. It's damned hard work.
Yup. cc skiing >running >cycling> swimming.
+1. OP, the only thing this is really needed for is for doing submax estimates of VO2 max, which really aren't very useful at all.

I didn't know you could break your max HR - if you see a new HR that is higher than you have ever seen before that becomes your new max. However - I got a stress test to see what or how hard I should push it. if you do it and it doesn't feel good I think your body is telling you something. I use my HR to judge how hard I can push it and still be able to go the sdistance - too hard = too spent too soon for me. I have specific rates for the distances I wish to achieve.

Your real max - probably not. But few people see their real max. I was referring to the max you've seen so far. When I first started I didn't have a hrm, but I would stop and check it after hard efforts and it was usually in the 160 range (probably dropped some before I could check). When I first got the hrm last Dec, my max was 175 and then a few rides later I was up to 182 and then a month later 184. Hit 187 the first time in Feb and then 190 yesterday. So I broke my max seen several times. In other words, the better I get the more I'm able to push closer to my real max - or at least that's my interpretation.

The "doesn't feel so good" point varies for me. Sometimes it's right at previously recorded max (189) and sometimes it's not even close. The lowest I've encountered lately it is about 175.

I guess that goes with what I was thinking real max +1 beat = 0 or heart failure. :eek: My HRM downloads into my computer so I have a historical basis to look at with different activites to see what my highes recorded HR is and where I preform the best. I can look at my HR and compare it to my output or results at that point and see what I need to do or plan for in the future.

I do know if I fly too close to the sun I risk blowing up.

That assumes your HR is limited by your heart. It isn't.

I absolutely know what you mean :twitchy:

HRmax formulas (formulae) are bullsh-it.

And you are supposed to feel crappy at or near your max HR.

Ride more, worry less...but if you are coming within 5% of your max HR you need to back off if possible.

At 51 I hit 192 on a short steep climb. It took me a good hour to recover. Now I start backing off once I hit 180.