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Improving heart rate

Posted: Sun Nov 11, 2018 2:37 pm
by Misho_2018
Hello,

Yesterday, I went for a ride and i found that my heart rate jumped to 183 on a hill which is sometimes happening.

most of my rides I have a heart rate AVG fo 165. I am 36 and 104Kg and 183CM so yes i am well overweight but i start dieting and lost 5KG already and still going.

my question is, If your heart rate goes that high, is it normal you feel tired and can't really pedal anymore?

Also, by losing weight that means my heart rate will go down on long rides?

my resting heart rate is around 60's

not really after medical advice but someone been at the same place experience would be helpful.

Thanks

Re: Improving heart rate

Posted: Sun Nov 11, 2018 4:01 pm
by Alex Simmons/RST
Heart rate is individually variable and it's neither a measure of performance nor fitness.

As your fitness improves you'll be able to sustain a higher power output (all else equal this means you'll go faster) for the same average HR.

It's also likely that as you get very much fitter you will not quite hit the same peak/max HR value as you may have before and also your rested HR will drop.

HR isn't something you "improve". Rather it's your ability to ride at higher power outputs and for longer that improves and from a fitness standpoint this is what matters. Heart rate is isn't overly relevant from a fitness POV, except of course if you need to take care to limit HR due to health issues, illness, obesity, cardiac disease etc. When overweight it's not usually a good idea to lift HR to stressful levels until your fitness improves somewhat.

Re: Improving heart rate

Posted: Sun Nov 11, 2018 4:54 pm
by ColinOldnCranky
Misho_2018 wrote:Hello,

Yesterday, I went for a ride and i found that my heart rate jumped to 183 on a hill which is sometimes happening.

most of my rides I have a heart rate AVG fo 165. I am 36 and 104Kg and 183CM so yes i am well overweight but i start dieting and lost 5KG already and still going.

my question is, If your heart rate goes that high, is it normal you feel tired and can't really pedal anymore?

Also, by losing weight that means my heart rate will go down on long rides?

my resting heart rate is around 60's

not really after medical advice but someone been at the same place experience would be helpful.

Thanks
Unless you have a record of your heart rate over the ages assessing what a particular rate is is going to be very dodgy.

I do remember at school having to do an activity in Gym that was to get a high as high a rate as we could achieve and, in the teens, that could be VERY high indeed. When I DID bike for a high level of aerobic capacity to support my sport, I would hit around 180 on sprints uphill etc.

I don't think that your rate means a lot by itself. However, your weight may, as you clearly understand. You can get a stress test done under the guidance of a medical technician. They will wire you up and then have you work your heart rate up very high. Get a referral to a heart specialist like Genesis or the correct public hospital. RPH in Perth has a pretty serious heart unit as will all other capital cities.

(Probably such an activity would be frowned upon these days but that was in the sixties when we knew less and we risked more.)

Re: Improving heart rate

Posted: Sun Nov 11, 2018 8:31 pm
by g-boaf
Misho_2018 wrote:Hello,

Yesterday, I went for a ride and i found that my heart rate jumped to 183 on a hill which is sometimes happening.

most of my rides I have a heart rate AVG fo 165. I am 36 and 104Kg and 183CM so yes i am well overweight but i start dieting and lost 5KG already and still going.

my question is, If your heart rate goes that high, is it normal you feel tired and can't really pedal anymore?

Also, by losing weight that means my heart rate will go down on long rides?

my resting heart rate is around 60's

not really after medical advice but someone been at the same place experience would be helpful.

Thanks
When your heart rate goes up high (say 175-180bpm), yes, you are going into the red and you are going to be hurting a lot. On a hill it's going to happen because you are probably pushing hard - and with your weight that's also a hurdle on hills too. Lighter people can get up hills easier, that's just the way it is.

I'm a couple of years older than you almost, my max HR is 190bpm, but my averages are usually around 130-140bpm. I'm also quite a bit lighter than you, and a bit shorter. I don't think you've got anything to worry about unless you feel quite unwell. Just keep riding by feel - you'll know what the difference is between "this is bloody hard work" and "this doesn't feel right".

You could see the doctor about it if you want to get some peace of mind though, and certainly see one if you get to the point of "this doesn't feel right".

Re: Improving heart rate

Posted: Mon Nov 12, 2018 2:32 am
by nickobec
I would not be worried unless you are having chest pains, dizzy spells/fainting or it takes a long time (more than 5 minutes) for your heart rate to go down.

If you think about what was happening to your body as you climbed the hill, your legs are working hard, they need more fuel, so your heart starts pumping faster, you are breathing faster, your legs want more fuel, your heart or your lungs have limitations and bang, you have found it and you feel shattered, exhausted and can't pedal anymore. Nothing to worry about, you have pushed your body to the limit, it will take a few minutes to recover. You will see it happen to pro riders, domestiques will sit on the front for a long time, pushing, pushing and bang they are gone. They don't roll into a ditch and die, or wait for the team car and crawl in, they recover and make there way to the finish to do it all again tomorrow.

Re: Improving heart rate

Posted: Mon Nov 12, 2018 5:47 am
by foo on patrol
Misho_2018 wrote:Hello,

Yesterday, I went for a ride and i found that my heart rate jumped to 183 on a hill which is sometimes happening.

most of my rides I have a heart rate AVG fo 165. I am 36 and 104Kg and 183CM so yes i am well overweight but i start dieting and lost 5KG already and still going.

my question is, If your heart rate goes that high, is it normal you feel tired and can't really pedal anymore?

Also, by losing weight that means my heart rate will go down on long rides?

my resting heart rate is around 60's

not really after medical advice but someone been at the same place experience would be helpful.

Thanks
I'm 180cm 61yrs 109kgs and can go to 205bpm resting rate is 70-78bpm. I wouldn't be gettin to concerned and I see average rates at 185bpm when I do the TT in the bike leg of the Bribie Tri. :wink:

Do a 20min threshold and see what you average rate is and you will have a better idea of what you're capable of. :idea:

Foo