Heart rates?

Hmm?.....Site won't let me upload my pic?

I track mine as well. My RHR the lowest I've seen it was 41 BPM. I normally stay in the high 40's-low 50's when I sleep. When I work out its mixed. Some days its higher then others, but when I do cardio I try and keep it between 165-170. When I ride according to my last ride data my max was 186 BPM.

I keep data on myself too. My resting is only 55 tho.

For me, being able to lose a significant amount of weight was only possible by keeping data and get it down to an exact science.

jeffro503 wrote:

Hey guys...I'm not sure if some of you keep track of your heart rates and so forth during exercise. I keep track of mine usually about once a week or so. Last night I wanted to check my " Resting heart rate " to see where I was at. It's been probably a year since I did this. So last night I woke up , put on my Garmin and went back to sleep for about 3 hours. My lowest was 44 BPM , and most of the time I stayed in the 46-48 BPM , but a few spikes in graph make it an average of about 50 BPM. Definitely less then I was last year.

I just turned 50 years old , and train cardio about 3 - 4 times per week at about 45-50 mins per workout and most of that is between about 85% - 100% Maximum heart rate. ( Using the old 220 , minus your age rule ). And have hit over 170+ quite a few times in intense sessions. I also hit weight training twice a week and try to hit everything.

You think I'm on the right track here? I know about 6 weeks ago when I rode ( which I had about a month off before that ride )...I was feeling pretty dang good. I'm feeling even better now.

Just curious to see if any of you guys geek out on this stuff too.

I'm right there with you Jeffro503. I don't race anymore or even own a bike (too expensive). But I do train for Ironman triathlons now and have to track everything as well. It's good that you are doing this and keeping track of your results. This will help you as you work towards your racing goals and the racing season. Oh and btw, I'm 51!

Yeh I'm a nerd when it comes to heart rate monitoring as well!

So my resting is usually around 55. Forget about the 220 minus age theory. I'm 27, and can max out at 207 when running/sprinting. Usually riding I hit 201. I'll upload a screen shot when I get in my phone.

I'm using a polar h7, best I have found so far for accuracy.

I do but it's for shooting archery . I'm currently running stairs 5 days a week for 20 minutes . Looking to do cycling as well in the evening. I'm trying to lower my resting heart rate.

jeffro,
we are similar in age (51), resting HR is about 55.
I row for 2000m (8 minutes) and then stationary bike for 25, I find it hard to get me HR above 160, seems to stay around 150. When I ride avg HR is about 155, but I spike to 175 or so. I need to find a way to get my HR above 160 when I exercise for an extended period of time. I use a garmin 220 w/chest strap and love it, lap times and HR.

I do geek out on this stuff a little. I don’t ride anymore, but I do compete in ultra marathons in the mountains. I’ve been working with a coach that really geeks out on this stuff and prescribes workouts based on the data and other variables like periodization and specificity of terrain and distance of upcoming events. When I first started, he had me run up a mountain as hard I could for 20 minutes to get my max heart rate. Which ended up being a lot higher than the 220 minus age formula. Then all workouts were based off that depending on which energy system we were working. VO2 max, lactate threshold or endurance. We train 6 days a week alternating hard efforts and easy/moderate efforts to give the body time to recover. His biggest advise to me is to make sure I make the easy days really easy. It looks like you’re doing a great job. Keep hammering!

I'm long retired from Moto but I raced road and MTB cycling at a high/elite level for 20 years. I am now 49 and while my competitive days are mostly behind me I still ride a lot and I have a 25 year history of HR monitoring on myself.

As you train more and more you will learn with HR there are so many variables that affect it. Examples: Hydration, being dehydrated will affect the muscle capillaries and make it harder for the heart to pump the blood, so HR will go up. The highest HR I have ever seen was 204 bpm, at the end of a long, hot road race up the final climb. For sure dehydration was a major factor. Anxiety/stress/adrenalin will definitely increase your HR at any given level of effort or even at rest. Fatigue and overtraining will generally suppress your HR and if you are starting any type of cardio training and you can't get your HR up to a normal level that is a good sign that you are fatigued. For example, if you should be in 150-160 zone and you can't even get it over 130 but your perceived effort is correct then it is a good idea to back it down for that day. In bike racing so many riders rely on the power meter but the HRM is still a useful tool for assessing fatigue.

For the OP, your resting HR dropping is a good sign. Generally a lower resting HR is a good indicator of an increase in fitness. Another good indicator is HR recovery during training. If you are doing intervals and going hard at 170 bpm, then back off to an easy/recovery effort, the faster your HR drops to your easy/endurance level is an ever greater indicator of increased fitness. At the same, don't get too caught up in exact numbers, because of the variations in HR.

hamncheeze wrote:

I'm long retired from Moto but I raced road and MTB cycling at a high/elite level for 20 years. I am now 49 and while my competitive days are mostly behind me I still ride a lot and I have a 25 year history of HR monitoring on myself.

As you train more and more you will learn with HR there are so many variables that affect it. Examples: Hydration, being dehydrated will affect the muscle capillaries and make it harder for the heart to pump the blood, so HR will go up. The highest HR I have ever seen was 204 bpm, at the end of a long, hot road race up the final climb. For sure dehydration was a major factor. Anxiety/stress/adrenalin will definitely increase your HR at any given level of effort or even at rest. Fatigue and overtraining will generally suppress your HR and if you are starting any type of cardio training and you can't get your HR up to a normal level that is a good sign that you are fatigued. For example, if you should be in 150-160 zone and you can't even get it over 130 but your perceived effort is correct then it is a good idea to back it down for that day. In bike racing so many riders rely on the power meter but the HRM is still a useful tool for assessing fatigue.

For the OP, your resting HR dropping is a good sign. Generally a lower resting HR is a good indicator of an increase in fitness. Another good indicator is HR recovery during training. If you are doing intervals and going hard at 170 bpm, then back off to an easy/recovery effort, the faster your HR drops to your easy/endurance level is an ever greater indicator of increased fitness. At the same, don't get too caught up in exact numbers, because of the variations in HR.

Great reply...........thanks for share your knowledge with us.

A decade ago when I was halfway in shape (age 40) my resting HR was 32-34. Doc expected me to get to 170 for a stress test, I just laughed and told him we were going to be there for a while. His assistant had the treadmill damn near vertical and a pool of sweat was forming.

For resting HR, measuring after you wake up is not a great indication of a true resting HR. You should check it in the middle of the day. It will always be lowest when you sleep or just wake up. I’ve always had a higher resting rate than others. Mine is normally 65BPM. I normally ride 250 km a week on my bike or do 30 to 45 min interval training on my indoor trainer a few times a week. Lol, I’m at the gym spinning right now as I type this.

Tuna wrote:

For resting HR, measuring after you wake up is not a great indication of a true resting HR. You should check it in the middle of the day. It will always be lowest when you sleep or just wake up. I’ve always had a higher resting rate than others. Mine is normally 65BPM. I normally ride 250 km a week on my bike or do 30 to 45 min interval training on my indoor trainer a few times a week. Lol, I’m at the gym spinning right now as I type this.

+1 I use a Garmin (thanks Coach Robb), and my resting is in the low 60's, trying to get it in the high 50's. I'll be 60 this year, and do 30min of low intensity cardio daily.

Adrenaline affecting heart rate is no joke. Years back I wanted to find my max HR so I ran sprints on the beach. Result: 195
At the track I did a Moto pushing hard. Result: 205

I'm 54 and haven't been monitoring the heart for the last year or so. In 2015, I was doing cardio 3 times a week and lifting on the off days, and racing a couple times a month. My resting/sleeping heart rate was very similar to your (in the 40s). I wore the monitor on race days and would normally hit 180bpm on the track without it being a problem.

I've got a GoPro video of me sitting on the gate with the engine dead. Lifted up my wrist and showed a heart rate of 128. When the gate keeper told us to start our engines, I rechecked and showed 148. Just shows what adrenaline does.

I've been monitoring my hr this winter recovering from torn tricep . My resting is mid 50s , when I'm running it's in the 135 to 155 on hills. I did have a spike once in mx to 225 with a crash . Haha

jeffro503 wrote:

Hey guys...I'm not sure if some of you keep track of your heart rates and so forth during exercise. I keep track of mine usually about once a week or so. Last night I wanted to check my " Resting heart rate " to see where I was at. It's been probably a year since I did this. So last night I woke up , put on my Garmin and went back to sleep for about 3 hours. My lowest was 44 BPM , and most of the time I stayed in the 46-48 BPM , but a few spikes in graph make it an average of about 50 BPM. Definitely less then I was last year.

I just turned 50 years old , and train cardio about 3 - 4 times per week at about 45-50 mins per workout and most of that is between about 85% - 100% Maximum heart rate. ( Using the old 220 , minus your age rule ). And have hit over 170+ quite a few times in intense sessions. I also hit weight training twice a week and try to hit everything.

You think I'm on the right track here? I know about 6 weeks ago when I rode ( which I had about a month off before that ride )...I was feeling pretty dang good. I'm feeling even better now.

Just curious to see if any of you guys geek out on this stuff too.

220 minus age is useless. There is an equal chance you have 190 in max puls which means you ate not at those percent you say. Do a max test by your own at the gym running on treadmill. Easy done

I don't know what my resting rate is. I have been doing cardio 4 times a week about the last 2 months trying to lose weight on stationary bike. I do 45 minutes and my heart rate gets to about 180 -190. I push it pretty hard though. I do 10 minute warm up, then go hard 30 minutes.

The 220 formula says my maximum heart rate number is 175 and my "training zone" should be about 145 - 160. I dont feel like I'm even getting exercise at those numbers. I could ride the bike and read a book at 145. I have to get the number up to break a sweat.

I just ignore all the number and go by feel. Im the pants are getting loose, I'm losing weight and doing it right. If not, then I adjust diet or exercise.

opyguy wrote:

jeffro,
we are similar in age (51), resting HR is about 55.
I row for 2000m (8 minutes) and then stationary bike for 25, I find it hard to get me HR above 160, seems to stay around 150. When I ride avg HR is about 155, but I spike to 175 or so. I need to find a way to get my HR above 160 when I exercise for an extended period of time. I use a garmin 220 w/chest strap and love it, lap times and HR.

Cycle and rowing normally provides lower hear rate than running, just because you are sitting down. So no good for determining max pulse.

Here is a max pulse test you can do on treadmill.

Warm up, 15min. 5min walking, 5min running at 6mph, 1min at 7mph, 1min at 8mph 30sec at 10moh.

Rest 5min.
Then 1min at 6, then 1min at 7, and then increase 1mph every 15sec to 10mph, then switch and increase incline with 0.5 every 15sec for 4 times instead until you pass out be sure to stand tall for 20-30sec when you step of treadmill since pulse can go 1-3bpm higher at that point. Then add 3-4bpm and you have your max

If you are really well trained, you can go 1-3mph higher before you increase incline.

Actually it is important to know the max HR for the method of training. Cycling will generally be lower than rowing even though both are sitting down, because rowing recruits more muscles. Running will be higher because it is weight bearing as well. Cross-country skate skiing will generally give the highest max HR because it is weight bearing and involves pretty much every muscle in the body.

220-age is useless. My max HR has barely declined in 25 years, on the bike I still hit 185 and in my mid-20s it was 192 under the same conditions (my 204 was anomalous IMO). To easily determine Max HR warm up well for 10-15 minutes then run up a steep incline or up some stairs as hard as you can go while recording your HR. It will be pretty obvious. If you don't/can't run then I would do the same on the bike up a 7-8% grade and go all out for 2-3 minutes standing up. But honestly it is much easier to just run up some stairs. Once you have the max HR you can set some training zones for recovery, endurance, high end aerobic (or steady state) and anaerobic/lactic. If you get your max HR running I would drop it by about 8 bpm to use in zone calcs for cycling.

So....just to get an idea here. I'm trying to train for 25min long motos. Should I keep the higher intensity training going for 50 minutes , with heart rates between 85 - 100% for most of it....or back it down to 75 - 85% for a longer duration? Like an hour and 15 minutes?

My goal is to be able to go a lap or so at about 85% and then ride as hard as I can to the finish.

Btw...some awesome responses in here. At work now and can't read all of them but I will when I get home.

I'm 33 and my Max HR is 185. I did a VO2 Max text about two years ago and it calculated it at that. We're all different and you can't do anything about biology. Lance Armstrong and George Hincappie were a good example of this, as they produced similar aerobic power output but George's heart rate was always higher.

You guys are killing yourselves exercising at 85% - 95% for long periods of time every time you train. Doing the boring Zone 2 work is how you build fitness that is sustainable. Think of your body as a bank, make deposits using Zone 2, take withdrawals using the really difficult work outs/races.

Alex Viada (a 230lb monster that can deadlift 700lbs and run a sub 5 minute mile as well as finish an iron man) said "if you love pain just do Murph then when you're finished break all of your toes with a hammer...better yet do it in the opposite order." Lol.

I was a long time high intensity exercise, embrace the suck kind of guy...because well...in motocross we're those type of people. I started getting little injuries and that lead me down a path of seeking longevity and making sustainable progress. I urge you guys to look up Pavel Tstatouline (God Father of Kettlebell training in America) and Al Ciampa. Pavel's routines are designed to be completed daily based on old Soviet Union training principles. Look into Alactic & Aerobic training. www.Strongfirst.com is Pavel's site, take a look, I think you'll find a few things to help you become better athletes.

jeffro503 wrote:

So....just to get an idea here. I'm trying to train for 25min long motos. Should I keep the higher intensity training going for 50 minutes , with heart rates between 85 - 100% for most of it....or back it down to 75 - 85% for a longer duration? Like an hour and 15 minutes?

My goal is to be able to go a lap or so at about 85% and then ride as hard as I can to the finish.

During my cross country days ,i found hill sprints or indian runs helped my performance greatly and it didn't take that long . Even just sprint /jog/sprint type of routine . You'll be able to recover quicker after times of extra exertion .

aees wrote:

Cycle and rowing normally provides lower hear rate than running, just because you are sitting down. So no good for determining max pulse.

Funny you say that but when I run I can do 155 heart rate for six or 7 miles no issue
I find I have a harder time rowing or riding the bike

jeffro503 wrote:

So....just to get an idea here. I'm trying to train for 25min long motos. Should I keep the higher intensity training going for 50 minutes , with heart rates between 85 - 100% for most of it....or back it down to 75 - 85% for a longer duration? Like an hour and 15 minutes?

My goal is to be able to go a lap or so at about 85% and then ride as hard as I can to the finish.

You are not able to run 50min at 90%+, it is almost impossible. It is more likely you are high zone 3 or maybe zone 4. First determine you max HR properly.

Motocross is exercised at 90-100% heart rate for 10-30min depending on the length of you race. Heart is a muscle, and it shall be trained to what you will use it for. Seen a lot of marathon runners doing many 100m sprints? Or Sprinters doing 3h running sessions for training?

The issue is, you can not, and should not do more than 3 times a week at 90%+ levels on treadmill for example. Your body (muscles other than heart and nerve system) will break down over longer periods than that. That is build up periods for 3-4 months is ok. After that you should be at maximum 1 session per week to maintain.

At those sessions, you should get 10min (minimum), but better 15min total time in zone 90%+. How you do it you can vary. That means, if you do intervals you dont start the clock before you pass 90% heart rate and then you do 1-5min at that 90%+ (whatever you can sustain).

As an example, it takes me about 2min to get up to 90%+ HR on treadmill (i slowly increase speed during that time on treadmill to avoid lactic acid building up to early), then i start the clock when i pass 180bpm (my max is 200). I typical stay at 9-10mph for 2-4min. Then rest 2-3min and go at it again.

An alternative if you forget your HRM or dont have one, is the popular 4x4min intervals on rowing, treadmill or bicycle. But absolute best is to have HRM to go by. Those should be done at 90% effort level (not HR level, effort). But it becomes a bit subjective.

A typical week of training with no MX riding could look like:
Day 1 Running intervals (15min@90%+)
Day 2 Legs at gym
Day 3 Rest (walk 10-15k steps), or easy cardio at zone 2 (Fat burn)
Day 4 Core with 30sec rest between sets
Day 5 Uper body, 30 sec rest between sets
Day 6 Rest (walk 10-15k steps),

Start all days with 10-20min warm up at zone 1-2. The 30sec rest between sets will get you ~1-2h in the gym at zone 2-3. In general, dont waste energy on specific low intensity running or bicycling at zone 1-3, or even 4, unless you are after burning fat.

If you are on the bike some weeks, you remove the intervals first, then legs. Keep the core training as long as you can. You can also add core on MX bike, that is ride standing up for last 10-20min session on track.

jeffro503 wrote:

So....just to get an idea here. I'm trying to train for 25min long motos. Should I keep the higher intensity training going for 50 minutes , with heart rates between 85 - 100% for most of it....or back it down to 75 - 85% for a longer duration? Like an hour and 15 minutes?

My goal is to be able to go a lap or so at about 85% and then ride as hard as I can to the finish.

For me personally I do straight up interval or endurance.
Say for instance if I’m on my road bike. For Endurance I normally do a 50 to 60km ride. I try to keep my HR at 145 max. For intervals I will do climbs with rests for 30 to 45 minutes. At that point I’m hitting around 180 BPM with my alarm set for 190. I will do similar on my MTB as well. I’m not riding as much MX these days so I train for 2 hour offroad races.
I’d love to get into swimming again as it’s great train8ng for riding.
I recently had my 5 year stress test with a cardiologist and they brought me up to 195 BPM on the treadmill before they shut me down. They seemed satisfied with the test. I’m 45 and my dad died at the same age during a triple bypass so I try to stay on top of things. Having said that I’m 10lbs overweight right now. I have been struggling with a peraformis issue for over a year due to a foot mechanics issue. That has really held me back from training the way I would like.

opyguy wrote:

jeffro,
we are similar in age (51), resting HR is about 55.
I row for 2000m (8 minutes) and then stationary bike for 25, I find it hard to get me HR above 160, seems to stay around 150. When I ride avg HR is about 155, but I spike to 175 or so. I need to find a way to get my HR above 160 when I exercise for an extended period of time. I use a garmin 220 w/chest strap and love it, lap times and HR.

aees wrote:

Cycle and rowing normally provides lower hear rate than running, just because you are sitting down. So no good for determining max pulse.

opyguy wrote:

Funny you say that but when I run I can do 155 heart rate for six or 7 miles no issue
I find I have a harder time rowing or riding the bike

Running to slow then, or to low incline

You might have very good cardio fitness. Max HR is at least 175 as you said. So i would do intervals. You can do up to 10, maybe 11mph on treadmill but then it starts to get sketchy and you should instead increase incline to find the right combo to get you over 160.

Leave yourselves 2min to get up to 160. I start at maybe 6.5mph and use 1min there, then i push up the speed ~0.5mph for every 5-10bpm.

Sometimes i push my speed passed the level at where i then run for some minutes. So push it to 11mph to get over 160, then drop back to 9.5-10 for the real minutes so to say.