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?
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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.
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