The most commented post here on Training4cyclists.com so far was my question: What is your lowest heart rate ever? Maximum heart rate is often calculated as 220 minus your age, but there is a standard deviation of about 10, which means that 95% of us would fit into a formula: 220 minus age +/- 20 beats. Thus, as you’ve already experienced, this formula does not have any practical usability for a serious endurance athlete.
But back to the topic, what is your highest maximum heart rate ever?
I’ve been testing in the morning before I get out of bed and my lowest has been 47. The highest I’ve ever had it go was 240, this might have been a bad reading as I was going 40 mph down a hill, it is a hill I do quite often so it wasn’t scary. I typically spike at 181, but have seen it go to 194 during steep climbs.
My most recent total max hr measured on a monitor during some sort of training or racing activity is 189. I’m a 38yr male so the 220-age formula would give me 182.
Max of 194 this is my running max. My cycling max varies from 184 (unfit) to 194 (fully fit). As a 37yr old male I have a predicted max of 183.
in the mornings i have 45-47 bpm wen im in good shape and my max is 202 even some day i reach 214 in a sprint, im 31 and my predicted max for my age is 189
Recently I took part of my first competition and my heart rate went up to 198, I am 20 years old.
Did a conconi test when I was around 18 years old. It went up to 213. My coach at that time told me it was the highest I have ever meassured… And he have been a coach for the national danish mtb team…
205 bpm in a sprint at the last 100 feet of a marathon.
I have two very different levels in spin class my heart rate tops out at about 187. On the road I am consistantly 10 to 15 beats higher, does anyone know why???
Thanks
Min 41 (when conditioned and unstressed) / lowest ever 37
Max 191 (after a couple of all-out sprints in a group ride on a 4% uphill and VERY WELL conditioned)
Once I saw 204 on my HRM during an intense mountain bike ride (with the goal of hitting my max HR.) Funny thing is, I think I was 16 at the time, meaning that 220 minus you age formula actually had it right!
But other than that day I don’t remember going over 196.
202-203 also during a good condition
I got a 225 on a sprint downhill, im only 14 though
i got mine up to 204 running up a hill with a bag of sand, i knew someone who got it up to 211
Occurred during a “lactate threshhold” swim practice in high school when I was 17. Was 5’11” and 170 lbs at the time. Did 5 x 200 yard free on 4 minutes, each one at an all-out race pace. Holding 1:46.00 or better throughout the set, my HR was between 215-220 BPM at the end of each.
After number five, the electronics and manual pulse checks both got me at 224 BPM :D. Highest I’ve had with in the last few years on my bike (I’m 23 now) was 202 BPM. I would be scared to even try and hit 220 these days, I’m not in good enough shape to take that kind of punishment anymore :P, plus I’ve grown taller and heavier since!
at 48 i hit 196 on an indoor trainer. now at 53 i am blowing up at 175-180. 169 is good, just 2 higher than the formulae. comfy at 146 for distance and speed.
In a 10 mile time trial my heart rate average is 163ish with a peak of 175bpm. In the finishing sprint of a road race I’ve hit 185bpm.
I’m 62 years of age!
Recently, I wiped out on my bike I had my HR monitor on. After the crash, I was bandaging myself up and thought it would be interesting to see my highest heart rate for the day and it was 232!!
53 years old. According to monitor, hit 222 today playing squash. Previous max was 192 on monitor. Avg was about 160 for 45 minutes. Wondering if 222 is dangerous.
I’m a road cyclist. My highest ever HR was 202, with my “normal” max around 200. While I’ve not formally tested my max in at least a decade, I’ve not found it to have decreased much, if at all in the past dozen years since I started using a monitor. I’m now 51 years old, and still frequently get into the mid and occasionally high 190s on really hard efforts. it seems that even with +- 20 bpm, the age-related formula doesn’t apply well to those who stay fit.
i have only hit 173. this is durring races and self tests. i am an experienced rider and push my self hard. i dont understand why its so low. i am 30 years old. resting hrt 29-38.
Highest in the last 10 years was while pushing my bike thru deep snow in a winter race – 174 bpm while at age 43. Lowest was 37 bpm at age 42. Highest this year (age 48) was 162 bpm, lowest was 45 bpm. I wish my rev limiter was set a bit higher (without a loss in pumping efficiency!).
I wonder how high heart rate gets during a maximum lift. If your body is working anaerobically and you are holding your breath (like many powerlifters do)- I wonder if the heart rate soars unbelievably high — even though it is momentary, it makes me wonder. I have heard of blood vessels blowing out in the eyes during these times. I would imagine worse things could happen.
I have a medically diagnosed enlarged heart, just starting out in racing, i’ve clocked 227 bpm as my highest on a number of occasions, though i’m not sure whether that has ties to my phsiology/heart size
Just like Bob, the highest bpm I’ve recorded with my Timex Data Recorder is 173 bpm. This is at very high intensities. I’m 28, so this formula really is not working for me. I hope there’s nothing wrong with my heart, since most people on this post have much higher peak bpm. Resting heart rate is about 40 bpm. Does anyone have an explanation for this? Am I just at the tail end of the Gaussian curve?
I have an example where HR very greatly. We (4-person team) were training for RAAM and were all tested the same day at a performance center. 2 were 26yrs of age and 2 were 36yrs of age. All of us were close in our abilities being regular club and distance riders. Riding with a race club every Saturday (50-80miles) and riding the occasional double century. Normal per the charts for the 26yr would be 194 and for 36yr would be 184. This made for interesting training and held true on the road throughout our training. As I was the one with the low 175 max, whether in a pace line, sprinting or climbing I was almost exactly 20 beats different than the other 36yr old.
1 ”“ 26 age HR = max 211
2 ”“ 26 age HR = max 190
3 ”“ 36 age HR = max 195
4 ”“ 36 age HR = max 175
I am 65, 178 lbs, 5’10” and not a racer – highest maximum I have hit = 181 bpm for about 15 seconds of all out effort. I found two cardiac max formulae online – 220- age = 155bpm; more complicated formula using age, weight, gender = 172bpm. As 153-155 seems to be my maximum sustainable HR, I am guessing the second one is more accurate.
Hi
I’m 62 have a resting heart rate of 42 (lowest a few years ago 39)and a max of 183 in a road race sprint finish this year.
I’m 44 yo male 215 lb, 6’1″ and getting into shape. My max today during 4-on-4 basketball was 205 with an average of 156 over a two hour and twenty minute period. I bicycled to and from the gym with a 38 minute ride to the gym HR Max 160 Ave 143 and returned from the gym with a 52 minute ride HR Max 161 Ave 138. I used a polar heart rate monitor and measured 27% fat on the bod pod four days ago. It was my first day wearing a mouth guard (worn for the entire riding and playing period) and am wondering if this somehow contributed to the higher max reading. My previous four basketball work-outs had a maximum heart rate high of 181. I think my max is supposed to be 189, so the 205 is 116% of the expected max.
I checked with a dietician/certified trainer after the work-out, and she did not seem concerned. I am planning on calling the nurse tomorrow to see if I need to be concerned with this reading.
My normal max is about 195 (I’m 43 years old)
Last year during a couple of weeks I have been overtrained and I could not get my heart rate over 170.
3 years ago about a month before I was hospitalized with a unknown viral of bacterial infection, during a steep climb my heart rate went up to 229 in just a couple of seconds, I stopped immediately being afraid of an arrest.
I was having some problems riding consistently. The Doc had me ride with a hospital supplied heart monitor, and I had a max heart rate of 248 bpm. This was repeated again on the treadmill for a stress test. I was diagnosed with Atrial Flutter and had to have two heart procedures which were only partially successful. I have to take medication every day and when I exercise I am now limited to a max heart rate 165. I am 47 and have been competing in one sport or another since I was 5.
If you think you have a problem see a Doctor!
In 1983 I was 45 and trained for the first Ironman in the continental United States. (May 1…Ricoh Ironman in Santa Monica) My highest heart rate after spinning would hit 210. Am not sure what it is now…maybe 155+/- Nowadays my lowest sometimes is lower than 50, but usually 54-56. Depends on what you ate the night before!
I normally run 4 miles on mondays and fridays and 2.5 on wednesdays. during the winter in below 30 temps my time drops and and when jumping through 3 feet of snow they drop even more. 🙂 but my heart rate on my watch/chest band runs avg 144 and I peak at 164-168 (I have 4 major hills I run up on my cross country track I run) I finished my 4 mile and was by my car looking up this nice 75 foot maybe 65 degree hill and thought I would see if I could run up it. well this 51 yr old made the run in less then 11 seconds but my hp monitor peaked at 240 and it was at 111 at bottom before I started. funny I felt winded but did not feel the high rate. took me off guard to see such a high number.
im a soilder in iraq im 21 i cycle and i hit 210 and maintained it for under 3 min. and i felt fine breathing was fine and state of mind was good. not dizy faint or shakey
I am a 40 year old male, so my max would be around 180 bpm. Yesterday while traing for the Argus Cycle Tour I hit a max of 194 – was sucking a lot of air at the time but nothing too serious.
Got home and told the wife, she freaked and told me to slow down…
When I was racing at 25, I hit 208 pretty often. in a crit I maintained over 200 for over 5 minutes. My max is now 200, can do it running or in an uphill sprint. i’m 38, been riding/racing since I was 23. In season, LT is around 190-192.
36yr male. Spinning RHR 55. MHR 220- age method = 184. Highest ever 188 = 102% of MHR. highest ave 85% = 156 for 45 min.
Today in a swim sprint I hit 198. Today was the first day I had a heart monitor and I know I’ve gotten it a bit higher during more intense sprints on other days. I’m 38 with a target max of 182, so I started to research this and what I’ve seen here makes me feel a bit better about this rate.
I was running the pacer one day, While using my heart rate monitor. Right before I stopped I looked at my heart rate. 214 BPM and id say my resting heart rate was around 45… not sure on that one though. I am a 15 year old male. My MHR is 205.
well i thought i was getting spik reading from electric fences or something as seconds after a hill climb on mtb i can sipk up over 220 had mesurements up to 226 (last year, didnt feel like i had come to the end) then it dives fast after only 20-30 sec towards average curving off as come back to average.
This week started using pulse meter when waight lifting spiked a 208 today didnt feel like i was pushing it too hard
Does this mean that all of us that are getting these readings should be training at a higher bpm?
33 year old male with a heart of a -6 year old
oh year isnt it 210-(age/2)=max heart rate for us that have been pushing it long time? That make my heart -32 coool
in an MTB race when i was 21 y.o i hit 211 on a slippery, muddy 200m steep incline that i chose to ride instead of walk like everyone else.
i paid for it once i hit the top though.
just today (at 36 y.o.), just getting back into cycling after 14 years away i did a VO2 max and got up to 189 to exhaustion.
I’m 22 years old. 220-22=198. This is incorrect for me. This is the maximum that I can maintain for any period of time. Went out riding the other day, a shorter sprint ride where I was hitting some of my favorite hills. Stayed above 200 for a good period of time…peaking at 248. It does seem a bit hight, but it’s still early in the season though. It will come back down, I’m used to seeing maximum values in the 220’s when I ride this route.
I’m 26 220-26= 194 this is close as my max recorded is 195 which was whilst I was rowing rather than cycling. Highest on the bike is 188.
I am 22; I reached 210bpm on a long steep climb on my mountain bike.
In my swimming years, would often reach 220-240; now, at 51, will hit 180-200 on occassion – max this year 204.
220-age = bs
!!
i’m active duty, and have hit 224 during a prt on an elliptical at 20 y/o. now after a heart attack 7 months ago (long story) i reached 212ish (manual count) on a bike.
I am 42 year old and have been cycling more seriously the last 3 – 4 years. I was releived to find that so many cyclists have experienced high maximum heart rates. My highest recorded Hr was 226 during a 50 mile ride. I have hit 215 more often since the 226, but routinely hit 200. My average HR is 167 when cycling and I feel very comfortable at this rate. I can hold an avg 175 BPM for hours. Concerned that my numbers were way off what is considered normal from my age I did go see a cardiologist for stress tests etc. Results were I had normal sinus and the doc said I had an athletic heart. This is all fine and good, but I thought my HR would drop as fitness improved. This has not happened. In any event after reading everyone’s post I am a little less concerned about cardiac arrest during cycling.
I thought I was high. I have had 189 bpm and am 47 years old. I ran the Los Angeles Marathon last month and maintained above 165 virtually the whole race. I feel I am dogging it if my heart rate drops below 165. My resting heart rate is mid 50’s. It doesn’t take long after very hard workouts for my heart rate to drop low which is what I understand is the important determiner of health.
Jim
I am a 51 year old male and hit 194 at the end of a 5K.
I am 30 and mine reached 226 today on my HR monitor, whilst punching mits with a trainer in boxing. Not sure if it’s accurate and if so if it’s safe.. I reached 213 last week doing the same activity.
I’m 46 years old. Just started monitoring 2 days ago. 14 minutes of Motocross. High 198. average 185. Is this dangerous?
203 on a steep hill. I’m 21 so it’s within the formula’s range.
My Garmin 705 recorded a max heart rate of 208 on my last long ride, (79 miles). Honestly I never thought it was any where near that high.. I was never ‘that’ out of breath……..weird.
I’m 41 so according to the charts I was way too high, but I felt great.
JIm
Just bought a heart rate monitor and went for a mile jog.
my average heart rate was 170 – 200.
my highest was 217, did’nt even had to sprint for this.
i’m 21 so does this mean i’m very unfit.
It depends how long it took you to run this mile 🙂 I would not be worried. When I was young (16-24) my maximum heart rate was 230-240. As I’ve done a lot of sports and aged (41 now) my maximum heart rate is down to about 195. If you plan on doing a lot of sports it is always advisable to have a yearly check with a sport physician. No matter how high or low your heart rate is.
Kees
I am an average cyclist, runner, triathlete. I am 55 years of age. I usually get dropped with the strong riding group but can keep up with the B team. I recently went and had a cardiologist stress test performed on me back in May 09. When I asked why I wanted the test done, I replied that my max heart rate had hit 188. The doctor said that there must be something wrong with my monitor. On the test, I asked to stop when my HR hit 189. Tests were all ok. Last weekend, I set a record, max hr 191 in a nike race (in the main straight sprint home); This means I am more than one stand dev away from mean. Any views whether I am doing anything dangerous at these sort of HR?
Well my heart rate is fine now but a couple of weeks ago I hit a rate of 315bpm at a hockey which I play 3 to 4 times a week. I ended up in hospital for 2 weeks trying to figure out problem but have not received 100% answer. I know have an icd implanted in my chest in case this happens again because iwas told i should not have lived through this and will not live through it again. Just wonderin if anyone has ever heard of someone getting heart rate this high as well as living to tel about it.
70 year old sprint swimmer – regularly hit 220 – 240 heart rate on repeat 100’s with no apparent ill effects – heart rate drops about 100 beats in a minute to about 120 or so – have felt about the same when sprinting for many years. If I push beyond 240 to 250 I do feel winded and maybe a little dizzy – but never sick – but definitely need to take it easy for awhile. Had a physical last month and doctor would not believe my reported heart rate – said he had been taking heart rates for 30 years and had never recorded a heart rate above 200.
I’m 17 years old. My highest HR during a mtb race was 205 bpm, but I was shocked when I once reached 212 bpm up the hill on the training ride and I didn’t feel exhausted as I was during the race when I reached 205 bpm.
I’m 45, used to be active and recently started cycling regularly.
While it’s crucial to get a physical checkup before starting an exercise program, the advice I’ve read from a number of sports physicians is that you really can’t hurt yourself increasing your heart rate just from exercise. Your heart won’t tire out or strain itself. (Dave’s case seems to be an exception, but there must have been a cause other than the exercise that caused the unusual heart rate.)
My max aerobic heart rate seems to be in the 180’s, but it hits 195 at the end of a sprint (anaerobic exercise). When I was 20 my heart rate would often be 210-220 at the end of a race or when doing sprints.
There’s a lot of individual variation, so don’t be concerned if your max heart rate is “too high” or “too low.”
Hi Watford,
I am also average club cyclist My max pulse was 189 on a club ride yesterday, I was using a Garmin edge 705, see you posted in November, any further info on why our heart rates can be so far over the average for our age?
I’ve been athletic all my life. Just recently got into the heart rate measurement thing. Have done it the old fashioned way recently (hand on jug and counting with watch). Just went out for a run and hit 218 on a straight away and on a couple of hills. Didn’t push anywhere near my max either. I think my MHR may also be in the 220-240 range. I just purchased a heart rate watch. Still in the mail. Will have to see what a more accurate reading is. Glad to hear it is not completely uncommon for some other athletes. Was thinking I am a super athlete for a bit there. haha Oh.. ps my resting heart rate is currently around 54-58.
I’m 24 and got my heart rate up to 203 yesterday. I’ve only been cycling for a season, and I don’t think I’d gotten my HR up past 192 or so last year. I was a little worried and wondering if my HR monitor was off, but after reading the comments above I realized it’s not uncommon for heart rates to get so high.
I’m 23, in the army and work out nearly everyday. My resting heart rate is currently around 52. About a year and a half ago I had been running 3-5 miles daily and on one occasion tried to keep up with a superior who was in much better shape. I ran my tail off for about 3 miles till I felt like I was going to pass out, then decided to stop. While walking back, immediately after stopping, I counted my heart rate at between 28 and 32 beats per 6 second period. Could hardly count that fast. Which adds up to about 280-320 beats per minute. Couldn’t believe it so I checked several times, hence the variance. Was totally fine after and my heart rate returned to normal about 20 minutes later (I tend to keep breathing hard for a while after I stop running, allows me to control my rate of recovery, breathing hard will keep my heart rate up in my target zone longer, so I think I can get more out of the workout). From what I found out later, bpm of around 300 are extremely dangerous, so I wonder if maybe I was counting both parts of each beat, especially as on exercise bikes I rarely get over 150 when working out hard. but I don’t think made any mistakes. Most of yall look pretty typical from what I know, though. People talk about “max heart rates” and think that literally is the fastest your heart can go without dying or something, really its more like an average/safe max heart rate. If your higher than that it just means your pushing yourself really freaking hard.
I am 55 this year and hav been a cyclist riding to and from work since 1994 and never checked my heart rate other than resting which in those day around 40 – 50 rode every day until 98 then new job and off the bike other than weekends. Got back on again a few years ago to loose some weight and rode weekends and after work. December 2009 brought heart rate monitor and worked out my maximum for age and weight which was 163bpm. Been riding most day since and ride for 17.5k’s in 42 – 43 minutes with an average of 116 bpm and a max of 149 to 163bpm, however the other day went 187 then the next day 179bpm On Friday 23 April 2010 pushed up a hill with 2 younger riders no more effects than other days as I ride the same hill everyday only thing different my mobil rang and I spoke on it for about 30 seconds. did not feel any different a little out of breath at first, as it was dark I didn’t notice till I got home that my maximum rate had hit 235.
I will see what happens next time.
I used to bike with some guys in their mid to late 60’s (they kicked my butt)..none of them used HR monitors..the reasonable explanation was that due to the way they calculate, if you are older your max rate is too low to be useful/realistic if you are pushing hills, etc..the funny explanation was that they are only useful to pinpoint time of death….the relavant point is that for older athletes the max rates were not realistic…(not sure if they had the “ownzone” feature.
Might as well chip in; just bought a heart rate monitor and my resting heart rate is around 53 but my maximum heart rate is around 220 (I’ve tested it 3 times since I got it). I’ve been riding hard for my own enjoyment since I was at school and suffered no ill effects so far. Guess it’s another aspect of my weirdness….
15 years old, 250 bpm on a run in the heat (i have tachycardia though so it’s not as bad as it sounds)
The max heart rate is something you are born with some have it some don’t. If it is high then it gives you a lot more room in which to train yourself. I am 55 and mine is about 195. I can sit all day with it above 180 and not fell at all strained.Its great when at 50 you decide to cycle by yourself through all of China or do some other mad thing you should have done years ago.
My HR on my ride today got up to 193. It was hot but not too humid. I’m 43 and my HR has always been higher then those I ride with who are all in the same age range. I had a check up 3 months ago and everything was fine. I guess it’s all individualist.
Hey I’m a 16 year old female that runs half marathons. While training my long runs would get up to 12 miles. Farther and farther into the run my heart rate would jump up to 240 bpm, that was the highest my heart monitor would register, This was due to dehydration and stress to the body mostly. I’m really healthy so I know it isn’t health problems. I have always had a high heart rate so this isn’t uncommon to me.
im 15 and just went for a 50m striding, and saw heart rate soar to 220.
I’m glad to see the responses of high rates. Some of the guys I train with tell me that my peak sustainable HR (for about 30-60 seconds @ max effort) of about 215-220 is dangerous and I am a few weeks from 40 yrs of age. I maintain a HR of about 170 for about 5-5.5 hours when I ride centuries. Thanks all for sharing your info and helping me to feel like my HR is not that crazy after all.
Cheers,
Vic
wow, I finally feel “normal” coming here and reading all these replies!
I am a 32 yr old female and I have been active all my life. The only time I took a break from sports or working out was with my second pregnancy and about 11 mos post-partum while my son was getting up several times a night (sorry no energy left to work out consistently!)
Now that I am back into the game trying to get into shape, I have started training for triathlons. The weird thing is during my swims and rides, my heart rate stays within normal range, but if I try to run after a bike ride, my HR is through the roof, even at an easy pace.
I also pushed hard on a 2 mile run to see how long it would take. Sadly It took me 17:45 to run 2 miles. My heart rate was 240 when I stopped and I pushed so hard that I wanted to puke! I read that it is possible I have a weak aerobic base and that I need to train for several weeks in the slower zone so that my body is more efficient at processing and utilizing the oxygen. I have done this for a couple of weeks hoping to at least see some progress but NOPE, nothing.
I guess I would be ok with a higher HR as long as it was not affecting performance, but clearly it is…
I’d like to add my personal info which may be interesting to others who experience higher that normal heart rates while exercising. I am somewhat frustriated by health professionals who repeat the old heart rate calculation formula(s) and tell me that I should never push my heart rate over 200. My interest in this started when I purchased a heart rate monitor about 2 years ago – otherwise I would have never known I was unusual.
Here are my stats:
– age: 54
– level of fitness: I am somewhat active. I try to run about 40-50 kilometers per week (unless I am injured), have completed two sprint triathlons this year, and enjoy running 10k recreational runs. I am not an exceptional good runner ~47 minutes for a 10k.
– resting heart rate: 56 bpm
– anaerobic threshold heart rate: 185 bpm (heart rate after 30 minutes of a 50 minute hard run at maximum sustainable pace)
– maximum heart rate in training (practical): 195 bpm (this can be achieved by running 50 minutes in a hard run with some cardiac drift ~2 bpm / km)
– recovery heart rate: ~20 bpm / minute (heart rate drop after stopping hard exersion)
– maximum heart rate after a break from training: 210 bpm (heart rate for the first hard 50 minute run after a 4-5 week rest)
There is no discomfort when my heart rate is high (other than the fact that I am physically limited – oxygen uptake and muscle fatigue.) There is no history of heart problems in my family that would concern me. I have a recent ECG which I guess was normal since I was never told I had a problem. I have never done stress test.
Who knows if this ok? I certainly wouldn’t have stopped exercising before I had a heart rate monitor (I was in blissful ignorance) and I am not about to stop now. If someone is doing research on this I would be happy to be a guinea pig.
as far as I can see I am the only one one here to report a very low max HR. I am 49 years old, and an ex international/pro cyclist. I can barely get my HR to 150. My resting HR is high 30’s. I cannot find anything on the internet about why my Max HR is so low. I had 20 years away from the sport and started again last year
Im 12,I went for 220,on a heart test in a hospital.That was in 20 minutes
Started cycling in April this year. Trying to keep fit since a 2 level lumbar fusion op in December last year (L4/L5, L5/S1). High heart rates of 192, 232 & 242 recorded over past few months for about half an hour to one and a half hour each time it happens. Cardiologist said SVTs, pending further investigations and other tests in the coming months. Normal resting HR is between 45-55. During cycling, very hard for HR to go above 140bpm, even during intervals where I hit speeds about 40km+ per hour, possibly due to the fact that I am on high blood pressure medications. These high heart rates register only after I had been cycling more than 2 hours. From exercise range of 120-140, HR would spike to 190 to above 240. Stopped to count manually with fingers on wrist to confirm each episode. High HR would return suddenly to my normal after about half an hour to 1 1/2 hour by itself while I am still exercising. Feel light headed, floaty but otherwise ok. After I stop exercising, my pulse would return to below 100 in about a minute and back to 45-55 in an hour. Had cycled 4000km+ since April 2010. No other adverse effects. Coming to this website, don’t feel I am that weird anymore. Thanks for all your comments.
Ok I’m back for a quasi update. I posted back in March about my heart rate and was waiting for HR monitor to come in the mail to test if my peak was as high as I thought. Well unfortunately about a month after I posted I tore my achilles tendon. At that time my HR monitor only registered up to about 193 but I wasn’t trying to push my max yet. Well I have finally started running again over the past 2 months albeit slowly. I went out for a run the other day and had to truck it to get back in before a thunderstorm came. My HR peaked at 202 towards the end and I know I had more umf left in me. This makes me think my MHR is about 210. But I will have to see once my leg gets stronger and I can try to push that MHR safely.
HI I am comforted by the posts as I thought my heart rate was too high but felt no bad effects. I am coming up for 55 years and my heart rate peaks at 197 bpm (measured on Garmin Edge 500). My typical 2 to 3 hour cycle has some steep climbs 15 – 20% and my heart peaks on these about an hour into the ride at 195. Typical average over 3 hours is 146 bpm and recently in a race I clocked an average of 172 bpm for 4 hrs over 80 miles. I have been pretty fit all my life and swim regularly to give a rest to the legs (-:
Hi, i’ve been somewhat encouraged by what i’ve read here about High Max HRs. I am 35 and twice, once using my HR Monitor I hit 240 bpm while running 1 mile in under 20 mins. I just started running a few weeks ago with a group and purchased the monitor because of the concerns of trying to keep the heart rate at certain levels to lose weight. i am considered overweight and my BMI classifies me as “obese” although i know that i am not. I try not to overdo it when it comes to running. I keep a relatively good pace and make sure that I can still “talk” while running. When my heart gets to that level I am not out of breath, I just sweat more which I think is a good thing! Anyhoo, I just wanted to know if it is okay for me to continue running at the pace that i am at in order to get a decent workout without harming my heart. Is 240 bpm really too high for an overweight female who runs 3x a week for at least 20 minutes each time and doesn’t get out of breath and doesn’t feel like she’s about to collapse?
Thanks 🙂
Not so fit but played charity hockey tournament today. Hit 233 bpm max and 212 bmp average for the peak 2 minutes…after first 10 minutes things settled down and I did not exceed 193 for the next 2 hours of games. Also, took me about 30 minutes for the body to recover to reasonable resting bpm afterwards…
Heyyy, i have Sup-ventricular Tachycardia and mine was almost 400..:D
Whao. Was lucky to find this site (bookmarked!!)
I just came back from a MHR check workout on road (4x 500m all out with 100m slow intervals plus warmup jogging. I hit 235 as max. My min is 48. My HR meter is a bit old Nike Triax C3, but it’s calibrated with the built-in meter on my elliptical machine. I thus assume it’s accurate.
I was already aware that the results should be much higher than expected, but I came back thinking I was some sort of freak of nature, lol.
I’m 48 and run long distances. My heart rate got up to 253 today. Here are the details: http://connect.garmin.com/splits/57198722
I have my Garmin take a split every mile, so it shows the average and maximum heart rate for that mile. After a 9 mile run this morning, the average heart rate was 204 with a maximum of 253 bpm.
Some times my heart rate does that (usually 2-3 times a month). I have a tendency to overheat and that may be related. After about 3 miles, unless it’s really cold, I feel too warm and that’s usually when the heart rate skyrockets. Plus today’s workout was extremely hilly.
Garmin also shows a graph of heart rate and elevation or speed.
http://connect.garmin.com/player/57198722
I had a full cardiac workup (ECG, stress test, etc) last April before the Boston Marathon and everything came back fine. So I’m not sure what the really high heart rate means. I do feel bad (fatigued, out of breath) when it happens, but I usually just keep going until I complete my run.
I sure wish I knew why it happens and whether it’s anything to worry about. The stress test never made the high heart rate occur, but it wasn’t near as stressful as a 9 mile run on a hilly route with a strong headwind.
I read that heart rate monitors can get electrical interference and if they slip while you’re running instead of making good consistent contact with tehs skin, they can give erroneous readings. However, mine has gone over 220 so often that I don’t think it’s a heart rate monitor malfunction.
i got in a fight with this guy named goku the other week, and my heart rate peaked at just over 9,000
Vegeta: Win comment.
I have Wolff Parkinson White Syndrome. It is an electrical abnormaility of the heart and I was told it is a congenital defect. I was diagnosed with it as a teenager and have seen my heart rate jump to 320 bpm. This was on a heart monitor in hospital. In October 2009 I had a procedure called catheter ablation. Since then I have not had any further episodes. When your heart beats this fast, your entire body beats with it. Your throat closes and you sweat profusely. It is painful and very scary.
I’m the second person here to post a low max HR, I generally train quite intensely and have a varied regime of weights, cardio, kettlebells etc, I use a heart rate monitor regularly and have done so on and off for the past 10 or so years. Anyway to get to the point I’m 33 years old and my resting heart rate is 35-40bpm and the highest I have ever managed to get my HR has been 176bpm and generally I can’t exceed about 170bpm, my training partners at these times are often in the vicinity of 220-230.
As mentioned in the previous post (post#77 by Gary) I can’t find anything on the net to indicate why this might be.
Dear Clancy – at last! – lots of cyclists have an obsession with Max HR. As if it’s some indicator of ability. It has nothing to do with it. I rode world, Olympic and Professional races and only ever topped 181. Interesting that the same people who seem to think High HR is good, are also amazed that when you train with them, for the same effort you are 40 bpm less!!! It’s true that there is virtually nothing on the web about low max HR. I could do with some serious qualified observation about it. Nearest I have ever go to understanding it is large heart size.
I’m 14 years old.
I did run around the house 10 times and got my HR up to 216 bpm, It felt good and i had purchased a very very accurate HRM.
But generally my HR stays around 205 or 208 sometimes 211 when i run.
I am 50 (51 next month). My resting heartrate is 40, and max is 188. I use a Timex Ironman Irheartrate monitor, which works on an FM signal, and the battery is easy to change. I had a Polar monitor before, which works on an AM signal. The problem with an AM heartrate monitor is that when you get near power lines the receiver in the watch will pick it up, and give you a reading of about 220. That’s why I use a Timex. By the way, it works well in a pool too.
@Jim:
Got a max over 230 too. I was using an older Nike that happens to work on AM. I was sure that there was something wrong as I work at an airport (Schiphol, Amsterdam), but I was betting on some radio source. But what you say makes a lot of sense as I did my measurement on a straight road with a high voltage power line.
As I didn’t trust that one I bought a Polar and got a correct reading: 183max and 48 min. Fortunately I got so shocked by the first value that I decided to buy a new one, else I would be overtraining 🙂
I’m 40 years old, 6′ tall, 225#. I exercise 45 min to 1 hour in the mornings doing weight training then I do 30 min of cardio at night. Tonight I pushed my heart rate up to 191 bpm. I was just wondering about the ‘safety’ zone as I want to maintain a healthy heart and not over tax it as any other muscle can be.
57, cycle about 4000 miles a year but have been doing non aerobic activity for a couple of months. Just started prep for the upcoming cycling season, so broke out the running shoes and 1st night out on a 2.5 miles jog hit 196, hit 199 tonight but would expect, that to drop by at least 10 beats as I get fitter.
This is not much different than 10+ years back except once in that time frame under the influence of a virus I hit 235 on a hill climb and didn’t feel bad, just a little different than normal and conerned when I did the count. A few days later the effects of the virus lead to a doctor visit where the (viral) influence came to light. For the next few days after seeing the doctor my quiet (sitting on the couch) resting heart was about 120, more than 2x normal, spooky but all went back to normal after a few days.
I had not strapped on the monitor for a while so I was surprised at the 199 as conventional wisdom says my max would have dropped more than that over time. So here I am and happy to find the posts for the other with high, normal rates.
I am currently 15 years of age, and I have gotten up to 228. I were not completely exhausted, (when i cannot walk, haha), so i guess it’s about 230.
I am 26 years old and like to run half marathons. When I graduated college four years ago, I had a lot of weight to drop and was very out of shape. My heart rate would spike to 205-210 bpm. Now I am much more in shape and exercise regularly. Despite how much I exercise ”“ I have tried several programs to suppress top heart rate ”“ it is very common for me to reach 180-190 in a routine run. I am not a performance runner; I average around 10 minute miles. Like many people on this forum, I fear about the long term effects of pushing my heart to this level, but seem to never find a conclusive medical opinion that what we are doing is unhealthy or permanently damaging to the heart tissue. I have been interested to research the cause of death and age of professional marathon runners and triathlon athletes, who I am guessing would represent the polar extreme. Based on research I have read, I find it likely that regular cardiac exercise as ours can help prevent body conditions welcoming of cancer; however, I wish I had more information from the medical field regarding any potential long-term negative effects of regular and extreme cardio exercise.
I am 15 and my heart soared to a 204 on an elliptical on level 10. I was going fast and sweating like i have never before, i was to the point where i had no feeling of pain, it felt good. However i want to make sure i am staying healthy!. I also can curl/bench 85 and on my torso i use 95 and my legs 165 . Please tell me what i should and should not do, thank you !
Iam 47 years of age and I have not long been diagnosed with COPD.(Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease) I’ve just found out the my blood preasure is 197/95. I am a bit worried as I get horrible pulsing sounds in my ears and discomforting ear pain. I have also put a bit of weight on too. I’m 6 feet tall and weight 15stones and 2lbs
I’m 15 years old and last year when I was 14, I was visiting family in Ohio and had a friend with me. We were sittin on a bed talking and I lost my breath and my heart started racing. My mom rushed me to the hospital and they put me on a monitor and my heart rate was 255. They slowed it down and February of 2010 I had an ablation surgery to fix it. I was one of the doctors hardest cases. The normal amount of “zaps” to fix the heart is 6-7 and I had 17. My heart still has some issues but were going to the doctor a lot to figure it out.
im 16 years old and i reached 200 bpm 95% is that bad?
Im 28 and got it on XC Race 196bpm…resting around 54 but i let it run during sleep and it went down even to 32, 40 and so on…interesting to observe with Garmin edge 800 the sleep pattern of HR…every 30min it jumped to around 90-95bpm…then down to lowest and fluently around 50-60…who know what body have to manage while in sleep…
and i found out when im a bit tired and push it hard on mountain bike HR goes higher than normal 5-10bpm
This is a fascinating thread. I hope we all keep it going so we can keep learning from each other.
Zoren – Fascinating about your heart rate sleep data. I know that when I am in heavy training, I sometimes experience during sleep a faster, stronger heartbeat for perhaps 15 seconds, after which I always wake up refreshed and feeling fully recovered. This has happened many times through 35 years of athletics. I have been a swimmer, cyclist, wrestler and runner.
For the 15 year old young lady who curls 65 pounds and does abs with 85 pounds – that is excellent total body strength for your age. A bit of advice from a well-trained athlete: Remember to always balance your opposing muscles. Go for balance and optimize your tensile strength, or strength-to-weight ratio. One more tip: With your core, look up a book The Spinal Engine by Serge Gracovetsky. I learned that a strong core and body is more effective when the whole body is linked in free-flowing moving through the spinal engine. Go for it!
James, thanks for info, I`ll check that book…
It is fascinating for me to observe the progress…i was doing sports from age 6…futball and in school athletics…and rarelly being sick while my school mates was much more often…i think with this extra oxigen we cleanse bodies…
or pressure measured @5am was 80/60 which is quite low but normal for sport people… 🙂
I’m 47 and a runner. I don’t train with a HRM but recently checked my MHR using a Garmin GPS/HRM and got a peak of 245. Resting heart rate is 36.
I’m 21 and I just finished a 45km ride where my max HR was 229 (with an average HR of 159)- Note: I was asymptomatic. I also have a FVC of 6.70L
I`ve noticed that sometimes my HR monitor jumps sky high like 245bpm last time, but im sure it was mistake cause it was in 3rd minute and i hade just gentle warm up… so im not sure if you guys really have such a high HR or its just some bug in measurement… just to let you know that
Glad to find this site. Been worried because my max rate is so above normal standards. Glad to see others are there too. I am 66. My max is 184 as measured by my Garmin. Have been active all my life either swimming or running.
I’m glad to find this site too
I’m 41, 175lbs (79kg), (5’9″)175cm. I cycle about 20 miles/day.
I’ve had a Polar for about 6 years and always tried to ride between 60-80% of MHR. I was always concerned that it took very little effort to exceed 80% of my MHR (80% would be 143bpm if my MHR was179bpm at 220 – my age) and that I would have to be going very slowly to be at 60% (107bpm)
I then read that your MHR is the maximum your heart can reach, not some catch all formula. So I pushed myself hard and found that I could reach 206 bpm. At 206bpm, 60% is 124 and 80% is 165. These feel about right – I can’t sustain more than 80% for very long and ride at 60-80% for about 85% of my ride.
Guys
I’m finishing a 12 week program for a half marathon. aiming for 76mins doing average of 65 miles per week
Resting heart beat is approx 48 from garmin 405 with HR monitor
During initial warm up and start of interval training I am recording max heart rates in excess of 230. This has risen from 195 over last couple of weeks. As each session continues heart rate drops even though session gets harder?
I have raced some really hard 5k races during the training regime and am worried this may have had an affect
Is there a problem with device or with the athlete?
Sounds like your garmin is either on too loose or not making correct contact. Try wetting the plastic leads before putting it on and make sure it is snug.
I’m 51. By biking, I can run easily between 160 and 170 for more than 60 km (42 miles) My theorical MHR is 169. How could i do close to 100% of my MHR for so long? for short period, I can reach 180 and then I slow down intentionnaly just to be safe for me. I have never tried to see what could be my real MHR, I’m a bit scared (Chicken).
I imagine that the 220 minus age is more for unactive people to protect them from themselves.
Also, if contacts are not wet enough, I noted HR from my polar can suddenly increase from 120 to 230 and more. By sweating, contact become better and HR becomes more stable gradually. So, for guys who get higher than 220, big chance is only a question of contacts.
210, 19 y.o
I’m 48, cycle about 60 miles a week and have a max HR of 199, RHR 48. Very easy for me to ride at high hr for extended periods. Last weekend climbed Holme Moss at 196-199 for a full 11 minutes with no I’ll effects. Didn’t look at the monitor on the way up but felt fine. If I ride at a pace I can keep up for hours I’m usually at about 85% max.
I”™m 48 and a half, cycle about 61 miles a week and have a max HR of 199.5, RHR 46. Very easy for me to ride at high hr for extended periods. Last weekend climbed Holme Moss at 196-199 for a full 12 minutes with no I”™ll effects. Didn”™t look at the monitor on the way up but felt fine. If I ride at a pace I can keep up for years I”™m usually at about 85% max.
Some of the people on this forum must have some defective equipment. I’m fairly confident that most people would go into cardiac arrest at heart rates in the 230 level. I do 40 miles a day (every day) on a stationary bike (one hour) and the max I’ve ever recorded is 188 and that was not for more than a couple minutes at the end when I was seriously pushing it. I know that we are all different but…
People have gone to the ER with heartrates over 400 bpm.This is of course unsafe but it happens.For reasons unknown the heart will take off and race usually due to an underlying anxiety but not always.A max heart rate of 230 would never send a healthy person into cardiac arrest or even 300 bpm for that matter.Now an unhealthy person,yes,.They could have a heart attack at 100 bpm depending on how bad they are.If you question my comment then please call an ER doctor and ask what they see.
Interesting stuff…
I’m 46, 6’3″ and currently about 225lbs. During the peak of summer months I ride 250-300km a week, lots of it mountainous, and typically drop to about 215lbs. During the off-season I do weight-training, spin-bike, stair-climbing and elliptical training to stay in shape for biking.
As a cyclist I’m huge – great sprinter but horrible climber. (Great descender though…)
The highest heart-rate I’ve ever achieved this past year was while climbing, and is a true (not a mis-read) 204bpm. It was cycling from Calgary to Elbow Falls and back – the last hill is nearly 4km long and adjusts from 8% to 14% gradient. It’s both my favorite climb (due to the scenery) and my least-favorite (because of the altitude and energy-required to push my Clydesdale frame.)
… I started the hill at just under 170bpm and it kept steadily climbing… I was trying for a personal-best time to the location, so was giving it everything I had… Soon it was in the 180’s, 190’s and then pushed over 200bpm. The max hit 204 as I came over the top.
Until that ride, the highest I’d been is 196.
About 7 seconds after the summit, I puked – so I’m pretty sure that was my absolute maximum. I ended up cleaning my bike and my jersey with glacier-fed water from the Elbow River. Dang, that was cold… and nasty. On the plus side, I did get a PB for that ride, lol.
As a statistical outlier this is a subject that interests me… Regarding Chris’s comment above: (“Some of the people on this forum must have some defective equipment. I”™m fairly confident that most people would go into cardiac arrest at heart rates in the 230 level”).
Whether I’ve used gym equipment or finger on pulse I’ve always (well since age 13 when my PE teacher wouldn’t believe my called out pulse reading “310….. don’t be ridiculous!”. Clearly I’m not “most people”. I’m 44 now – and the last time I checked (about a year ago) I could still hit the mid 250’s. I’m reasonably fit (5’11/180), play football (Soccer) once a week. These numbers only apply at peak exertion (the sort that you can only keep up for a minute or two), and drop off rapidly when I stop. (my resting rate is normal to low)
I know that sports-physio would say lower heart rate when exercising is good…. but something has to limit you the harder you push. The way I view it, in my case I’m motor-muscle limited rather than heart-rate limited. Perhaps there will come a time when my capacity to push blood round my body limits the capacity of muscles to burn fuel.
208 during races, several times. 23 years old
I do understand that people are differrent and that it’s quite possible to get in the mid (or close to mid) 200’s, I’m talking about staying at that heart rate for extended periods of time. I imagine if you had a smaller (physically) heart it would beat faster than a larger heart as a general rule and I’m not trying to challenge anyones integrity. Just that from what I’ve read on other forums and media sources, it would be abnormal for 99% of humans to be able to maintain a HR in the mid 200’s. I’m curious if someone has a link to the 400 bpm person taken to the emergency room?
Great to read all these comments. I’m 47 and 79 kg and 5’11”. I just did a tough 40km into 30knot headwinds here in Auckland NZ. I was using a garmin 305 and I don’t often use the monitor but I got 187 bpm. Boy it was tough today and I was worried that I was going to have a heart attack or something as I was averaging 165 bpm. So good to hear from others here that perhaps my heart rate is ok and maybe symptomatic of good health! Great thread.
I’m 24. 5’9″ and around 190 pounds. Trying to get back down to 180. Swam competitively for 14 years, took 6.5 years off, then started swimming competitively again 6 months ago. I also lift a fair amount, spin, and run. I’ve always had a huge range for my heart rate. Resting heart rate (when I’m in shape) is around 54, but the max I’ve ever recorded (after the main set in a killer swim practice when I was 18) is 288. The highest I’ve hit these days was 276 last week during a long sprint in spin class. During swim practice, I routinely hit the 220-240 range with ease. Even just after warmup, I’ll normally be around 210-215.
@ Tim, Yeh, I figured that heart rates would surely be between 225-250 for athletes when their pushing it.I have been on tennis courts in 110 degree weather with court temps at 132 degrees and I know my heart rate had to be way above 200 for sure.
I’m 14 and when i was really really going for it on a running machine I got up to 223.
41, 173 pounds, 5-10. Bicycle 150m/week. Max was yesterday at 191 racing up 6 mile 7% hill at time trial. Normal training is 155-160 up hills. Try to do tt in thirds, 174, 176 then all out for last 5 min. Using garmin hr at night sounds interesting!
My heart rate always exceeds 200 when I exercise, recent highest was 220.
At 16 I recorded a 230-240 after sprinting the 100m.
I’m 32 and 13st @ 12% bf, race weight is 12st 7 @ 7%bf.
I do short time trials 10-20miles, I’m a natrual sprinter so it’s on the edge of my abilities to go any further than that.
I booked a doctors appointment last week, now I am less worried.
I was worried about my HR today and lead to this website.
I am 39 years old and weigh 134 pounds. My max heart rate ever I observed is 208.
I usually run on treadmill at max of 5 miles/hour for about 30 to 40 minutes. I recently bought Beurer heart rate monitor (model PM62) and wanted to test it out on the treadmill. Our apartment fitness center got a new treadmill, so I thought I will test out this HR monitor against treadmill. When I ran for nearly 20 minutes, my HR jumped to 208 and treadmill stopped suddenly indicating that my HR was way about 90% of resting HR. I believe I have run for more than 35 minutes with the same speed and elevation, so I presume my max HR is more than 208. I am not sure if it is healthy to run with this much HR, I will check with my Doc in my next visit, if others have opinion, please help me out.
I just got a Garmin Forerunner 910XT. I am a 2 year triathlete and am almost 39 years old. I weigh between 136 and 140 at 5’3. I couldnt run a mile in April 08 without the treadmill at my gym shutting off because my heart was too high… it was somewhere in the 200’s. I ran a 10k with a 9:15 pace last fall and am in much bettter shape now after running all winter. I can run a 5k in 26 plus minutes. I ran for the first time with the heart rate monitor on Sunday and was shocked that my average was 184. My max was 36 minutes into the run and was 202bpm after running uphill for 70 feet (gotta love the accuracy of detail of this Garmin).
Distance:9.66 mi
Time: 1:50:47
Avg Pace: 11:28 min/mi
Elevation Gain: 739 ft
The Garmin connect lets you manually enter your maximum heart rate to shift the heart rate training zones to be more accurate. Should I do this? Anyone know??? Should I put in my max heart rate the Garmin shows? I assume if I run a 5k at a 9 minute pace my average will be in the 200’s if a hilly 11:28 pace was a 184. I am going to watch this closely.
To throw another fact in there… I have asthma and am on the inhaler Ventolin… which raises heart rate and cause spikes in heart rate… anyone know a website where I can read about heart rate training when using asthma meds that effect heart rate. Does my fat burning zone change when I have an artificially stimulated heart rate. I know you guys probably dont know this and this is an old thread… but I thought I would throw it out there. _Michelle, St. Louis, MO
I got a 209 during a 11mph treadmill run, at about the very end….
I’ve heard well trained people can get up to 230s at max though they tend to stay at lower rates the more well trained they are. More training improves your max HR as well as lowers the HR you need to keep running at the same speed. .
Mark allen, the famous triathelete in one of his articles claims to have 5 min mile at 155bpm, while prior to serious training he had something like a 200+ hr at 5min mile. Trainings improves arterial desenity, calibur, and maximal vasodilation/shunting/oxygen extraction, which are all factors that decrease Cardiac Output/HR needed to sustain a certain power output. Training also improves coronary and pulmonary perfusion/vascularity which improve maximal achievable cardiac output via increase in HR.
I’m 19, and I easily get 57-60 beat/15 sec at the end of a run: 228-240 BPM.
I’m 45 and cycle about 2-3 hrs non stop at 150 bpm and also run at at the same heart rate for 2 hrs at a go, 2-3 times a week. According to theoretical max heart rate, I am essentially training at close to lactic threshold for 2-3 hrs. This is not possible. My recorded mhr using 3 different heart rate monitor, garmin edge 800, polar rcx5 and suunto t3 is 205. And resting rate at 56.
If I use the actual recorded mhr of 205, then training at 150 bpm for 2-3 hrs seem normal because this is 65-75% zone for me.
The reason I found this site is because I’m looking at some Garmin data for a ride I did at the weekend (65 miles).
Prior to this ride, the highest I had managed to achieve was 194 during a 10mile TT. I believe I can go higher though. The highest in this ride at the weekend was 240 – on a tricky descent. I thought this was an anomaly but a bit later on another technical descent I measured 216.
Has anyone else experienced excessive HR during descending?
I’ve just turned 24 and resting HR is between 48 and 52.
Guys, i think sometimes those Heart rate monitors has some miscalculations and just jump suddenly over 200bpm on quite easy parts…when i checked data on garmin 800 i`ve seen on graph that it was completely wrong reading just spike up and suddenly down… because if you push hard on your bike it would have some momentum, rising and cooling down, but this one is like second shot… if you have graph you can see that it is mistake and it can be false Max HR reading…
46 and around 175 pounds. Starting measuring my HR around 5 years ago and it’s definitely on the low side an dhasn’t changed much. Resting around 38, and max around 165. Never recorded anything higher. Never had a physical, so 2 weeks ago I decided it was about time.
Doc took my pulse and seeing the relative low count decided to send over to a lab for an EKG. He says my heart rate is too low and now he wants me to see a cardiologist/heart specialst for more tests. Never thought much of it, but sure has me worried now..
Work out at least 5-6 times a week, cycling, running, weight training and lots of long walks. Still do half marathons under 1:30 and 10km under 40. Did a 3500 mile bike ride in the states over 5 weeks ago. Never had a problem, so sure hope all is well with the old ticker…
im 16 years old and i once went to 212bpm, while running a 2 miles race.
i was seriously pushing myself to the limit. but i am pretty sure i have gone higher than that when i was younger.
32 yrs old, 6’1″, 229 lbs. noticed RHR between 57-62 been thinking about getting a garmin, atm I have the walmart brand Smart Health monitor. At the gym on a treadmill, I’ve seen 193 on it so far, and thats only at 5 mph, checked finger on pulse, came up 192 so I figured the watch is atleast working lol. I haven’t tried pushing myself yet, but just went to the DR to get a physical, he said your good to go, so im going to push myself a bit more and see what I get it to. I remember back in 5th grade gym class, the teacher didn’t believe me when i said something in the 280,s but when i’m jogging at the gym, i’d barely even be breaking a sweat and it’ll be in the 160-170s. I’ve been smoking almost 15 years, pack and a half a day “really need to quit” jogging helps curb the craving. trying to get back down to HS weight of 205. Used to be a sprinter back in school, finally getting back into it I thought I’d try more endurance style 5ks and such, started walk/jogging again last september after 10 years of mostly just sitting around, now im back up to 3-4 miles/day 4-5 days a week.
Im 12 turning 13 in 2 months i work out doing pushups pullups situps crunches tricep dips, and alot of running. My highest heart rate was 192 but when normal im around 45-60.
While I find this maximum HR thread interesting, I personally am interested in what your typical average HR is over a 1 to 2 hour ride. A few days ago I did a 90 min road ride at 16.4 mph avg (24.6miles distance). I am 38 years old at 190lbs and 6′-2″. On a ride like this my max is around 194bpm but the thing that is odd to me is that my average is 184bpm. I am basically always near my max. On downhill or flats, it only drops to 170bpm range. I am an occasional rider these days but in the past (around 30yo) I mountain biked daily at least 10-15miles of trail. Once during a mountain bike race I finished with a 190bpm avg over an hour and 45min race. After a race I was always so cooked that I could not eat for quite awhile after. I never get lactic acid burn because it seems that my heart rate stops me from pushing that hard. So, this has been going on throughout my cycling life. Anyone have a similar issue?
It may also be pertinent that I use a Polar HR monitor. I have confirmed similar results on a stationary bike with hand type monitors.
40 years old, 5ft 11″, 164lbs.
Thank the Lord I’ve found this thread! I have been genuinely worried about my maximum HR recently after seriously hammering the training on the bike. Being super competitive I always push as hard as I can for the total ride and never ride sedately whether I’m on the road bike or the time trial bike (avg 30-40 mile courses with avg of 2000ft total climb) usually 3-4 times per week with Tacx Turbo Trainer in between. On the rides I am averaging 18.5mph with the road bike and 22mph with the time trial bike (my TT courses flatter obviously)
I recently signed up to the Strava website for monitoring etc with my Garmin 705 and it gives a full breakdown of your HR ‘zones’. My worry is that I am never in the lower zones and 95% of all rides are in the anaerobic zone. My average HR is always 175-180. It has peaked at 220 on a couple of rides, but I actually think they were faults of the Garmin as they were at the beginning of the ride and not at peak effort times, although those peak effort times are around the 200bpm mark on tough climbs and that’s regular. I worry that being in the stiffest zone for so long is bad for my heart, but I always ride this way as I am always trying to beat my PBs. Other people on Strava average around 155 or lower on similar courses and similar speeds – hardly any are around my level. That’s the worrying part.
I am fit and have never had any heart problems though (supposedly had a heart murmor when I was born according to my mother so she makes me worry too!)
Great to read other peoples stats as it makes me feel a bit more more assured.
Ozarkmtbr, you sound very similar to me. I think the difference maybe that you are also pushing yourself for the duration of the ride as you are in a competitive race, thus you are in your anaerobic level almost entirely.
I am 40 years old and can get my HR up to 205 but that is only when it’s hot and I’m pushing up 23-24% grades on my bike. Above that I attribute it to an anomaly. If I’m cruising down a mountain at speed it sometimes shows a HR above 250 but I attribute that to wind buffeting my chest and the sensor picking up the vibrations. All the HR strap does is pick up vibrations. Tap it rhythmically with you finger with it off your body and see what I mean.
My profile as follows: 53 yo, height 5-10, weight 195.
Diagnosed with lone atrial fibulation.
History of being elite athlete re vo2 max and race performance.
Both mtn biker, runner and swimmer.
Resting heart rate (RHR) in bpm: 55
Maximum heart rate in 90 degree heat at 24 degree climb: 230 bpm
Question: am i at risk of stroke at 230 bpm with lone atrial fibulation?
44 year old male. 6’4″ 205ish. My resting heart rate is 39-42 although I have seen as low as 29 during deep relaxation. Keep in mind that I measure my RHR AFTER 3 cups of coffee and a healthy dose of nicotine (Copenhagen). I normally observe 180s during my training runs and into the 190s when doing speed work. During a half marathon, I sustained around 185 for the duration of the race. The highest that I have seen since monitoring my Max HR was 202.
As a runner I would do full 2 hour practices with my heart rate in excess of 185 +. I have never seen my heart rate above 206. No matter how hard I push my body basically limits my heart rate. – 17 years
I too was worried today when my heart rate hit 225.
I’m above average fitness and a few years back had a resting heart rate of 35, so was a bit worried. This page has helped me to understand that it is normal. Thanks
I did a maximal stress test 3 years ago – at age 62 – & reached 214bpm with no ill effects. This was to clear me for scuba diving. I now cycle regularly – 100+ miles each week – with arrythmia & can’t average over 16mph though I raced regularly until I was 21 then stopped for 42 years! Methinks I’ve left it too long as I’m dropped on the hills by an 84 year old, though he did ride 3 tours of britain.
I did a Fast Paced Ride for me Being new to cycling averaging 16mph over 40 Miles and my heart rate Maxed out at 233 in 38
Average 208 n’ Max 251 ! I’m 48 Yrs old ..Iwas a Bmx rider for 28 years street rider ? , Love spinin’ 😉 .
I am 71, regularly cycle on my MTB and often exceed 200 on a steep climb, max so far 210, only had a smart watch for couple months. No shortness of breath or chest pain, mentally alert. Resting heart rate 50 or less. Lowest asleep 35.