I'm 45 and have only been into cycling 4 months now. Just bought a Polar FT7 and starting to get some data. Resting HR just after waking but still in bed is 45, normal at rest when up, sitting down and such is 55.

From what I have read max HR is very hard and painful to figure out and is unique to each person. But, going by breathing patterns, 140 is cake, anything less feels like I'm doing nothing, up to 150 I can talk without much problem, at 160 my breathing becomes intense, deep and rythmic, and while I could talk, it would be choppy. Max today was 166 and while I was laboring I felt I could go a good bit harder, at least for a bit, but talking would be very difficult.

Do you guys/gals figure your percentages going with the heart rate reserve formula?

No. Test for your lactic threshold heart rate - LTHR. You can get a reasonable approximation by warming up thoroughly, then switching on your hr monitor and going as hard as you can for 20 minutes. Take the average hr for that 20 minutes.

Then google for either Joe Friel's or Andrew Coggan's hr zones. It doesn't matter which system you use, either will allow you to set appropriate zones for training based on your LTHR.

I use the HRR formula to set my heart zones. But I don't use these for training purposes on the bike.

On the bike I use a very expensive measuring device called a power meter, which measures exactly how much effort I'm putting out. That's what I use for training on the bike. It has a strain gauge (like a bathroom scale) in each pedal that knows how hard I'm pushing, and motion sensors to know how quickly I'm turning the pedals, and together that data is even better than heart rate.

But that doesn't work running, swimming, or climbing. So heart rate reserve it is. And even on the bike, I use the %HRR zones to evaluate the quality of a workout in cardiovascular terms.

This.

Of course if you're not good at pacing yourself then the results from an LTHR test are meaningless. You'll get better at taking the test the more you do it. You don't really want to go as hard as you can (eg burn a match) and try to hold that for 20 minutes, you want to go as hard as you can maintain for 20 minutes.

Last year I pulled away from a pace line into a head wind and opened a gap that was not closed. After turning a corner I backed down and almost puked. HR was 184. Was hooked up for surgery last Thursday and HR was 38. In March when I had a pre-op EKG for a surgery my HR was 32. I'm 65 and don't race, never train just ride 2 to 4 times a week and because of cancer had reduced my riding from March to recently so fitness declined. My numbers are significant for me and meaningless for others.

Yesterday I hit 176 on a climb (11%) and while very winded I did not see stars and did not feel like puking. I don't know how high I can go before that happens but I guess I will find out...

Go sprint up a hill. You'll find your max heart rate really quickly...

For the less experienced, the CTS Field Test is easier to accomplish:
CTS Field Test Instructions and Training Intensity Calculations - CTS