Max heart rate again...?

I know, we've been here before. But I'm just curious what's safe for
someone my age (29). Today I did my 13 mile ride into work and took a
different route. It took me on a hill where I was between 160-165 for
about 10 minutes. Got up to 170 at one point. I feel good usually. Blood
pressure is good. I'm still a little heavy, but otherwise in great shape.
I have a little headache today and I'd like to pass that off to the fact
that the last mile and a half of my ride was on highway 26 here in
Portland, going about 35 miles an hour downhill. But I have anxiety, you
know, so my brain is thinking stupid thoughts about how I did a bad thing.
I hate it, because I keep wondering at what point I should stop letting my
heart rate get up into that range.

Preston

Preston Crawford wrote:
I know, we've been here before. But I'm just curious what's safe for
someone my age (29). Today I did my 13 mile ride into work and took a

different route. It took me on a hill where I was between 160-165 for

about 10 minutes. Got up to 170 at one point. I feel good usually.
Blood
pressure is good. I'm still a little heavy, but otherwise in great
shape.
I have a little headache today and I'd like to pass that off to the
fact
that the last mile and a half of my ride was on highway 26 here in
Portland, going about 35 miles an hour downhill. But I have anxiety,
you
know, so my brain is thinking stupid thoughts about how I did a bad
thing.
I hate it, because I keep wondering at what point I should stop
letting my
heart rate get up into that range.

Preston
There is an approximatiion formuls which is 220-your age= max HR. By
that measure you were way below your max. But use at least one grain of
salt. I'm 60 so my max by that formula is 160. But experience shows
that I can climb in the mid 170's for quite a while and my sense is
that I can hold 160 for at least an hour. So,....
If you want to know "the truth" for you you need to go spend lots of $
and get tested.

Preston Crawford wrote:
I know, we've been here before. But I'm just curious what's safe for
someone my age (29). Today I did my 13 mile ride into work and took a
different route. It took me on a hill where I was between 160-165 for
about 10 minutes. Got up to 170 at one point. I feel good usually. Blood
pressure is good. I'm still a little heavy, but otherwise in great shape.
I have a little headache today and I'd like to pass that off to the fact
that the last mile and a half of my ride was on highway 26 here in
Portland, going about 35 miles an hour downhill. But I have anxiety, you
know, so my brain is thinking stupid thoughts about how I did a bad thing.
I hate it, because I keep wondering at what point I should stop letting my
heart rate get up into that range.

Preston

Your max heart rate as determined by a fitness test (for use in
establishing aerobic/anaerobic/lactic threshold levels) is probably
quite a bit different from what a cardiologist would tell you is "safe"
if you have any heart problems.

The world is FULL of people whose MHR is 20 BMP different to the
220-minus-age formula.

--
My bike blog:
http://diabloscott.blogspot.com/

Preston Crawford wrote:
I know, we've been here before. But I'm just curious what's safe for
someone my age (29). Today I did my 13 mile ride into work and took a
different route. It took me on a hill where I was between 160-165 for
about 10 minutes. Got up to 170 at one point. I feel good usually. Blood
pressure is good. I'm still a little heavy, but otherwise in great shape.

i wouldn't worry about it. but that obviously depends a lot on your max and
your heart. if you're implying your max is 170 then staying at 165 for 10
minutes might be a bit much, tho. i'm 6 years older than you (or perhaps i'm
also 29, hmm) and 160 for me is cruising speed if climbing aggressively.

I hate it, because I keep wondering at what point I should stop letting my
heart rate get up into that range.

when you start to puke. ;-)
--
david reuteler

"Preston Crawford" wrote in message
...
I know, we've been here before. But I'm just curious what's safe for
someone my age (29). Today I did my 13 mile ride into work and took a
different route. It took me on a hill where I was between 160-165 for
about 10 minutes. Got up to 170 at one point. I feel good usually. Blood
pressure is good. I'm still a little heavy, but otherwise in great shape.
I have a little headache today and I'd like to pass that off to the fact
that the last mile and a half of my ride was on highway 26 here in
Portland, going about 35 miles an hour downhill. But I have anxiety, you
know, so my brain is thinking stupid thoughts about how I did a bad thing.
I hate it, because I keep wondering at what point I should stop letting my
heart rate get up into that range.

Preston

Unless you have diagnosed heart problems...QUIT WORRYING ABOUT IT!!

Humans have evolved over millions of years. Over that time, our bodies have
adapted quite well to handling intermittent cardiovascular stress. Do you
think Og the Caveman sat in his cave the day after being chased by a saber
toothed tiger, wondering if he got his heart rate too high while running
away??? Sheesh...

GG

On 2004-12-21, gds wrote:
There is an approximatiion formuls which is 220-your age= max HR. By
that measure you were way below your max. But use at least one grain of
salt. I'm 60 so my max by that formula is 160. But experience shows
that I can climb in the mid 170's for quite a while and my sense is
that I can hold 160 for at least an hour. So,....
If you want to know "the truth" for you you need to go spend lots of $
and get tested.

Yeah. Maybe someday. It's just weird, because even though I'm in good
shape I'm still a Clydesdale (260). So that factors into my anxiety over
the issue. Even though my body tells me I'm fine.

Preston

"Preston Crawford" wrote in message
...
I know, we've been here before. But I'm just curious what's safe for
someone my age (29). Today I did my 13 mile ride into work and took a
different route. It took me on a hill where I was between 160-165 for
about 10 minutes. Got up to 170 at one point. I feel good usually. Blood
pressure is good. I'm still a little heavy, but otherwise in great shape.
I have a little headache today and I'd like to pass that off to the fact
that the last mile and a half of my ride was on highway 26 here in
Portland, going about 35 miles an hour downhill. But I have anxiety, you
know, so my brain is thinking stupid thoughts about how I did a bad thing.
I hate it, because I keep wondering at what point I should stop letting my
heart rate get up into that range.

Get rid of your heart rate monitor as all it seems to be doing for you is
causing you to worry needlessly. If you were to exercise at max heart rate
for a little while (a few moments), there would likely be no ill effects
unless you have some heart problems (get checked by a doctor if you have
reason to believe you do). If you were to exercise at max heart rate for an
extended period, well, I don't think you could without difficulty coming
from several places (out of breath, lactate acid in blood, muscle pain,
muscle cramps, sore this or that, etc.). Hence, IME, since you report no
ill effects, you're just inventing this because you're reading a number on a
meter. IMO, training at high HR periodically is good for improving heart
and lung strength, assuming it doesn't kill you. My guess is that if you
mention this to your typical doctor s/he would suggest you NOT go to high HR
just because you're worried about it or because they don't understand it.

"Preston Crawford" wrote in message
...
I know, we've been here before. But I'm just curious what's safe for
someone my age (29). Today I did my 13 mile ride into work and took a
different route. It took me on a hill where I was between 160-165 for
about 10 minutes. Got up to 170 at one point. I feel good usually. Blood
pressure is good. I'm still a little heavy, but otherwise in great shape.
I have a little headache today and I'd like to pass that off to the fact
that the last mile and a half of my ride was on highway 26 here in
Portland, going about 35 miles an hour downhill. But I have anxiety, you
know, so my brain is thinking stupid thoughts about how I did a bad thing.
I hate it, because I keep wondering at what point I should stop letting my
heart rate get up into that range.

Didn't you have a cardiology workup back when you were starting out? No
heart problems were found, correct?

Well, then. If approaching MHR were dangerous for someone with no cardiac
issues, athletes would be dropping dead left and right.

I would submit that if you don't actually know your MHR, there's little
point in using a monitor. I agree with the poster who suggested you ditch
it, if all it's doing is contributing to your anxiety.

RichC

On 21 Dec 2004 17:22:04 GMT, David Reuteler wrote:

Preston Crawford wrote:
I know, we've been here before. But I'm just curious what's safe for
someone my age (29). Today I did my 13 mile ride into work and took a
different route. It took me on a hill where I was between 160-165 for
about 10 minutes. Got up to 170 at one point. I feel good usually. Blood
pressure is good. I'm still a little heavy, but otherwise in great
shape.

i wouldn't worry about it. but that obviously depends a lot on your max
and
your heart. if you're implying your max is 170 then staying at 165 for
10
minutes might be a bit much, tho. i'm 6 years older than you (or
perhaps i'm
also 29, hmm) and 160 for me is cruising speed if climbing aggressively.

I hate it, because I keep wondering at what point I should stop letting
my
heart rate get up into that range.

when you start to puke. ;-)

Here we go with the age thing again, but I am 56 and cruising at 160-170
is not a problem for me. My max is over 180, measured by running sprints
and then taking my pulse against my watch, 45 beats in 15 seconds. After
that it starts to come down fairly rapidly for me, at least. I can only
get to about 170-175 with the bike, but I have to stop and plant my feet
to take my pulse, so the added time may be letting my heart recover some
before I start counting. At 29, you worry too much. Just go out and have
a good time, as long as a little heavy doesn't mean 50 pounds over.
Bill

--
bbaka

"Preston Crawford" wrote in message
...
I know, we've been here before. But I'm just curious what's safe for
someone my age (29). Today I did my 13 mile ride into work and took a
different route. It took me on a hill where I was between 160-165 for
about 10 minutes. Got up to 170 at one point. I feel good usually. Blood
pressure is good. I'm still a little heavy, but otherwise in great shape.
I have a little headache today and I'd like to pass that off to the fact
that the last mile and a half of my ride was on highway 26 here in
Portland, going about 35 miles an hour downhill. But I have anxiety, you
know, so my brain is thinking stupid thoughts about how I did a bad thing.
I hate it, because I keep wondering at what point I should stop letting my
heart rate get up into that range.

Preston

I'm 58 and those numbers represent a very normal ride for me. Max is about
194, if I'm rested I can sustain 180+ for a couple of miles on a climb. 172
is an intense but sustainable number for a very long (5-8 miles) 6-8% grade.
If you are healthy you can't ride hard enough to hurt your heart. Your legs
will quit going around and you will fall off first. If you are grinning
when you are gasping then there is more fun ahead. Use your heart rate
monitor to keep your heart rate down if when you want to do and easy day. Go
hard, have fun. It's not right for everyone but for those of us that enjoy
it nothing is a better way to unwind.
Bill