Heart rate questions

thedoc46

thedoc46

thedoc46

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So according to this, http://www.webmd.com/heart-disease/heart-failure/watching-rate-monitor?page=2

Anything over 80% of your of your max heart rate is apparently not good for you.

In their own words

Be careful not to exceed your target heart rate. This increases both cardiovascular and orthopedic risk and does not add any extra benefit. Instead, slow down until your heart rate gets into the proper range.

Cos I'm nearly 43, that means my heart rate should never exceed 150 ish... I like to push myself every morning and go out for a cycle. My average HR when really pushing myself is around 168bpm. When I push myself but like not to the max its around 155ish. (19mph average) I feel i quickly recover and well after a shower and drive to work, i'm 100% fine.

Cutting to the chase.. Am i doing more harm than good pushing myself to the max everyday? Expert opinions please.
 
As I understand it with my limited knowledge, the heart is a muscle, when you exercise muscles regularly, they become stronger. Therefore pushing yourself regularly should make for a stronger heart.

Probably wrong though :D
 
Heart rate is unique to the individual. The 220-age = MaxHR formula is nothing more than a very rough guideline.

I'm in my mid 30s, yet a sprint finish to a few miles run will push my heart rate over 200. I can sustain 170, supposely 92% of the maxHR according to the classic formula for over an hour without feeling adverse effects (other than getting a bit warm and sweaty).

Resting heart rate is a little under 60 for me.
 
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Its totally individual. Ignore that crap on WebMD. If you are in any way worried go see your Doctor. HR depends on so many things. I use a HRM for cycling and I have learned a lot about my body and its limits from doing so. I am 44 reasonably fit but I am not blessed with huge CV capacity. I make do with what I have and it does ok. 170bpm is my ftp/threshold/TT effort level at present. I can sustain that for 30 mins. Last Saturdays 64 miles at 18mph was average 156bpm. Comparing to yourself is fine but don't compare with other people.
 
Exact figures will be different person to person but its the same with most things - extremes are bad for you - can do as bad things to your health over doing it as doing nothing, only you will really know your limits but they key to long term health is to regularly push and build on your limits but not to regularly exceed your limits.
 
Freefaller said:
Your average is 168? Or your peak is 168? An average of 168 is quite high no?
Click to expand...

Yes 168 is my average during the cycles where I 'REALLY' push it. When i go easier as in not trying to beat my circuit time its more like 158ish. According to the new calculation of 210 minus half your age, then subtract 5% of your body weight in pounds. Add four for a male and 0 for a female. My max is supposed to be 185bpm. Which makes better sense, and a number that is not so alarming.

So that means I'm spending my rides at 90% of my heart rate max on my bike.

Which feels about right to me... As in I'm going at it, giving it 90% of my absolute max over a sustained period. I've been cycling for yrs and yrs. nothing competitive just for regular exercise. Bought myself a heart monitor last week, out of curiosity (& have an apple watch on order) so started taking a little more note of what my heart rate is... It actually surprised me that it was so high on a bike. When i go to the gym, its more like 150bpm on an elliptical, using the built in sensor. I guess being out on the open road on a bike makes me want to push harder than being in a gym on a stationary exercise machine.
 
thedoc46 said:
According to the new calculation of 210 minus half your age, then subtract 5% of your body weight in pounds. Add four for a male and 0 for a female.
Click to expand...

All these formulae give nothing better than an estimate. That formula makes 0.6 bpm difference for me for MaxHR compared to 220-age and is still way off my measured MaxHR.

World class athletes will run a marathon at 90-95% of their MaxHR for 2 hours. That's way beyond what most of us are capable of.

If you're concerned about pushing limits discuss with your doctor.
 
Not really concerned as such, more curious that by the general consensus i wasn't doing more harm than good, by pushing it. After looking at WebMD, it made me stop to think ! I've always thought pushing yourself was good for you.. Seems that its fine to an extent.

I seem to have done ok on it.. As in never really fallen ill my entire life. Never spent a day in hospital. My ticker is fine I had one of those ekg's or whatever they're called a couple of times in my life and the doc said you're in good health !
 
Freefaller said:
If you want a definitive answer and if you're concerned, I'd see a cardiologist and I wouldn't recommend you listen to anyone on a forum.
Click to expand...

This.

I'm seeing one in June for an issue that's basically stopped me doing any strenuous exercise. Because it hasn't been caught in action I'm hoping further tests can give me a diagnosis and possibly a cure/fix.

Don't mess around with your heart.
 
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