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 on about 10 which means that 95% of us would fit into a formula called: 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?
Related posts:
- How To Determine Your Target Heart Rate
- What Is Your Highest Power Output Ever?
- What is a Good Resting Heart Rate?
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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 got up to 254 while descending a mountain on my garmin is that bad
Sorry and iam 46.4 Kg and 14 years of age and 157cm tall
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.
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