# 151 bpm?:yikes:



## edhchoe (Jun 3, 2007)

Isn't that a little high for a heart rate? That's what it showed on TV today for one of the riders. When mine is up at 130's I am really laboring...at least according to my stationary bike.


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## hacker (Apr 2, 2007)

Isn't the old formula 220-age plus or minus some?

If so, I'd think that 190+ is certainly probably for a lot of these guys.


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## MaestroXC (Sep 15, 2005)

No, no way. I don't want to draw any generalizations about pro cyclists, but my heart rate at (or slightly above) LT is almost 180 bpm. Max heart rate (as well as resting HR) decrease with increasing age, but if you're really struggling at an HR of 130, I'd double check that number by counting manually. Count, starting at 0, your heart beats over a 15 second period and the multiply by 4 for a reasonably accurate number.

Hacker, you're right, but 220 minus age is frightfully inaccurate, not to be used for actual training or effort assessment.


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## weltyed (Feb 6, 2004)

150 is moderate cruisin speed for me, and im a slug. you might wanna try a different HR monitor or somethin. or get to a doctor.

remember, do not begin any physical regimen without first consulting a physician.


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## ChuckUni (Jan 2, 2003)

Not me. I can average 170+ for at least 2 hours... probably longer. Not saying I'm fast because of it, but it's just the way my body works I guess. 27 y.o. Max hr is like 207 maybe a bit higher (never really tested for it). Lactic is like 194ish. 220-age is a very rough guideline.

151 puts me in zone 2 by most calculations.

FWIW, it would be hard for me to get the motivation to get near my max hr on a stationary....


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## MellowDramatic (Jun 8, 2006)

151 is lower L3/upper L2 for me, whereas for one of my teammates that is bordering on L4...it varies from person to person.


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## KMan (Feb 3, 2004)

*That's barley working....*

My Max HR was running 203, LT right around 180. Heck I'll do a cross race and average almost 190 at times - go figure....and I'm 42 and pretty slow.

Michael
www.MLKimages.com



edhchoe said:


> Isn't that a little high for a heart rate? That's what it showed on TV today for one of the riders. When mine is up at 130's I am really laboring...at least according to my stationary bike.


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## MellowDramatic (Jun 8, 2006)

I think it gets sensationalized a little bit...not that the Tour isn't the hardest race in the world...it is, and none of us could even think of finishing it, let alone within the time cut.

However, the whole 'marathon a day for 3 weeks' thing that I hear from so many people (mostly Lanceophiles who don't understand the sport beyond Versus coverage) is a little ridiculous.


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## velocipede (Feb 10, 2005)

edhchoe said:


> Isn't that a little high for a heart rate? That's what it showed on TV today for one of the riders. When mine is up at 130's I am really laboring...at least according to my stationary bike.


no... you need to get in shape.

I'm in sorry shape at 38 and average high 140's to 150 on "intermediate to hard efforts" (easy rides are around 130 - 135.)


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## Oversane (Mar 31, 2007)

Find the steepest hill you can find. Get on your small chain ring and your easiest gear and don't stand up to pedal. Just go for it and watch your heart rate monitor. Just before you collapse or vomit you will hit your max HR. 

Hey, it worked for me.

During the Giro they had a lot of heart rate graphics. Some of those guys were pushing 185 beats and were in the low 80's in terms of percent of max rate. That was probably a few beats below their LT.

Lance baby could run at 185 beats all day long. I don't even think he was sweating at 185. 

But I'm lazy and I refuse to check any of this on the "internets" so believe this at your own peril.


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## footballcat (Jul 8, 2004)

everyones heart rate is different, thats why you only need to know yours. I can sit at 155 all day, its the normal work zone, i worry when i crack 175 and when i hit 180 i have to watch out. Some guys can sit at 180 all day and that doesnt bother them.


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## velocipede (Feb 10, 2005)

Oversane said:


> Find the steepest hill you can find. Get on your small chain ring and your easiest gear and don't stand up to pedal. Just go for it and watch your heart rate monitor. Just before you collapse or vomit you will hit your max HR.
> 
> Hey, it worked for me.
> 
> ...


I remember back in the day reading something about Indurain's resting HR was something like 36bpms... that's practically suspended animation!


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## wilier (Mar 16, 2002)

velocipede said:


> I remember back in the day reading something about Indurain's resting HR was something like 36bpms... that's practically suspended animation!


I remember reading 32 for Indurain. Cycling mythology at work here. Actually, that's not so inconceivable. My cousin (a doctor) was showing me this heart rate thing they hook people up to about a decade ago (when I still raced). I sat there for about 30 seconds while we talked and the alarm sounded. I had gone below 50 bpm and it thought I was at risk for flatlining!!! We quit when I got to 42 bpm - and that was sitting and chatting.

For heart rate max, I'm 35 and can easily hit 180 - I think one of the guys they showed in the tour was around there today. I haven't seen 190 in a few years.


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## Oversane (Mar 31, 2007)

What I find to be so amazing is that I can comfortably ride in the upper 140's for as long as I like. I'm not even breathing hard. Push it to the low and mid 150's and things start to change but I can still hold that for almost as long as I want. Few more beats up the scale and things start getting interesting.

But what I find to be even more amazing is that biking allows you to push into these areas, to push upward and to the right. When I used to run I just had to give up at certain levels, but that's not the case when I ride.

Bottom line is I never knew as a runner that I could push my max HR up or my LT up. 

P.S. I should also mention that not only am I a noob to road bikes, I'm also an ancient, decrepit, old geezer so keep that in mind when you read anything I post.


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## filtersweep (Feb 4, 2004)

130s is right in the aerobic zone--- at around 65% of max. I'd love to be cruising the TdF at that rate.



edhchoe said:


> Isn't that a little high for a heart rate? That's what it showed on TV today for one of the riders. When mine is up at 130's I am really laboring...at least according to my stationary bike.


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## OnTheRivet (Sep 3, 2004)

joehartley said:


> I think it gets sensationalized a little bit...not that the Tour isn't the hardest race in the world...it is, and none of us could even think of finishing it, let alone within the time cut.
> 
> However, the whole 'marathon a day for 3 weeks' thing that I hear from so many people (mostly Lanceophiles who don't understand the sport beyond Versus coverage) is a little ridiculous.


Ya, I don't know. While sitting in isn't hard, just pedaling 100 rpm for 6 hours isn't easy. And realistically, is it ever just sitting in? There are times when the bunch accelerates where your in your 53/11 spinning out and you better have the condition.


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## Sixty Fiver (Jul 7, 2007)

_"...not that the Tour isn't the hardest race in the world...it is, and none of us could even think of finishing it... "_

I think about it often and figure that half a lifetime ago I could have finished it too.


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## Dwayne Barry (Feb 16, 2003)

wilier said:


> I remember reading 32 for Indurain. Cycling mythology at work here. Actually, that's not so inconceivable.


Back when I had a HRM I would regularly see numbers in the high 30s if I was just sitting or lying and doing nothing. Also had a similar incident during a physical with an automated BP machine sounding an alarm b/c it read my HR as too low. I also have a pretty low max HR, only in the low 180s.


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## edhchoe (Jun 3, 2007)

Do you have to wear a device around the biceps to measure the heart rate when cycling? How do you measure more accurately? I am only 34 yo and the stationary bike must be really inaccurate.


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## tcruse11 (Jun 9, 2006)

edhchoe said:


> Do you have to wear a device around the biceps to measure the heart rate when cycling? How do you measure more accurately? I am only 34 yo and the stationary bike must be really inaccurate.


We wear a chest strap


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## MT Road (Sep 26, 2004)

YEa.. I am 35 and typically average 165 - 170 for a ride, My max is about 182- 185.. (when I think I am about to puke) 130 is very slow pace


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## dagger (Jul 22, 2004)

Egoi...was at 115hbm and at 244watts....that's amazing.


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## physasst (Oct 1, 2005)

*Yep*



tcruse11 said:


> We wear a chest strap



chest strap and wrist monitor.....Mine is usually about 150-160 for a hard ride, although the last TT I did, my HR was about 174 average for the whole thing, and there were some times it was over 180...and I'm 36.


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## Bocephus Jones II (Oct 7, 2004)

edhchoe said:


> Isn't that a little high for a heart rate? That's what it showed on TV today for one of the riders. When mine is up at 130's I am really laboring...at least according to my stationary bike.


Not really...I can TT at 170. My max is around 200 give or take. I usually average in the 150s on a tough ride. If I go much over 170 I pop pretty quick though. Have seen 195 a few times while sprinting on the Polar.

//220-age is crap...based on sedentary individuals. Real rates are all over the place. FWIW I'm 42 and that would predict my max much lower.


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## mtbbmet (Apr 2, 2005)

I'm 32.
Resting is 42, max is 189, LT is 172. I can sit at 150ish for 3-4 hours. This means nothing if I'm only putting out 225W though.


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## atpjunkie (Mar 23, 2002)

*well I'm 44*

and when in racing shape

130 is high zone 1
134 -148 is zone 2

so 150 is low zone 3 for me, good solid cruising rate that I can hold for hours on end

my max is about 182


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## MaddSkillz (Mar 13, 2007)

What is "LT?"


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## atpjunkie (Mar 23, 2002)

*Lactate or Lactic Threshold*



MaddSkillz said:


> What is "LT?"


basically where the amount of lactic acid your muscles produced is equal to your bodies ability to get rid of it. 

any higher and you start getting the burn

LT is what you want to TT at.


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## Trek_envy (Jun 15, 2004)

The heart rate that you (well for me anyway) feel the slightest amount like throwing up in your mouth. Never gets worse - if it does you are over, but it doesn't really go away until you stop.

I remember swimming in University, and my coach would put buckets at the end of each lane.... yay.... Lactate Tolerance day!!


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## physasst (Oct 1, 2005)

Trek_envy said:


> The heart rate that you (well for me anyway) feel the slightest amount like throwing up in your mouth. Never gets worse - if it does you are over, but it doesn't really go away until you stop.
> 
> I remember swimming in University, and my coach would put buckets at the end of each lane.... yay.... Lactate Tolerance day!!



Never feel like throwing up at LT, but the last TT I did, my legs were on fire from about the end of the first mile on....at the end with about a mile left I tried to push even harder, and crossed the line with a heart rate of 186, and that feeling you get RIGHT before all the muscles in your legs seize and cramp up so bad that you can't even turn a pedal. Didn't happen, but it felt like it was going to any second.


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## gizzard (Oct 5, 2005)

I'm 40 this year. My resting HR when in racing shape goes down as low as 32 bpm, but it is typically about 36 bpm depending on how much I have been training (the harder you train the higher your resting heart rate is until you have fully recovered. Also, if you are over-training, your resting HR tends to be elevated and you will battle to get your heart rate up to anything over 85% of max).
Many things determine resting and maximum heart rates (like your size for example – compare a mouse to an elephant and look at their heart rates; mouse=very fast, elephant=slow), and it is not a good indicator of physical prowess or fitness. 
My resting HR is low, but so too is my max HR which is about 185. What is far more interesting is the difference between your resting and you max heart rates. 
I once saw a HR print out of Armstrong taken during a mountain bike race and it oscillated between 195 and 210 bpm. He was younger then, but the fact remains that he had quite a high resting HR and an exceptionally high max heart rate. Sebastian Coe (the British 800m runner) was said to be able to get his HR way above 220 bpm and he was in his mid-twenties at the time. 
Bottom line: There is very little correlation between heart rates (max and min) and your ability as an athlete. What's more important is your lactate turn-point (or lactic threshold, which is the point at which your body cannot recycle lactic acid and use it as a fuel source and lactic acid starts building up in the muscle tissue and hinders performance); your power output; your ability to handle discomfort; your pedalling efficiency and your position on the bike in general. Another myth is that your VO2 max plays a large role in your ability as an athlete. It is a contributing factor that can predict predisposition to endurance-type sports but it is not the be-all and end-all of physiology.


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## terzo rene (Mar 23, 2002)

My guess is the HR is fairly accurate but you aren't in very good shape and just don't know what high intensity training really feels like. It's not fun.

When cyclists give interviews to the effect that the guy that can hurt the most wins, they aren't kidding or exaggerating. Unlike running and other sports the bike supports your weight (unless out of the saddle of course) which allows you to push far beyond the point of collapse. Physiologically and mentally that ain't a pretty picture.

These formulas are usually more accurate in estimating but can still be significantly off:
206.3 - (0.711 x age) = max HR
217 - (0.85 x age) = max HR


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## physasst (Oct 1, 2005)

terzo rene said:


> My guess is the HR is fairly accurate but you aren't in very good shape and just don't know what high intensity training really feels like. It's not fun.
> 
> When cyclists give interviews to the effect that the guy that can hurt the most wins, they aren't kidding or exaggerating. Unlike running and other sports the bike supports your weight (unless out of the saddle of course) which allows you to push far beyond the point of collapse. Physiologically and mentally that ain't a pretty picture.
> 
> ...



Bingo... I have friends that ask me what bike racing is like, and is it fun....I say yeah, but you have to understand that fun in bike racing means becoming intimately associated with pain. In order to really race at all, you have to become somewhat masochistic and learn to LIKE, even love the pain. Otherwise you'll quit when the chips are down. Pain can be a good thing. +1 on the training too. Doing high intensity intervals, which for me involves three different sports can really hurt. You learn to embrace it, like a long lost friend.


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## Sub (Feb 13, 2004)

As others have said, HR numbers mean nothing as far as comparison. We each have our own physiology and HR numbers do not correlate to speed at all. I've seen a max of 216 getting spit out the back of the pack on a climb after holding 205 for half a mile. I've also seen 34 resting HR sitting on my top tube before a ride. Neither one of those is gonna get me a contract to ride the Tour nex year! Nobody trains off max HR anyways, it's all about LT.


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## umatillawheelman (Oct 31, 2006)

Oversane said:


> What I find to be so amazing is that I can comfortably ride in the upper 140's for as long as I like. I'm not even breathing hard. Push it to the low and mid 150's and things start to change but I can still hold that for almost as long as I want. Few more beats up the scale and things start getting interesting.
> 
> But what I find to be even more amazing is that biking allows you to push into these areas, to push upward and to the right. When I used to run I just had to give up at certain levels, but that's not the case when I ride.
> 
> ...



oversane, i will be 64 the 26th (so soon...?), and hit 182 on a hellish hill last nite. of course the temperature may have had a part, but all the young ones were waiting for me at the top. i usually ride around 135 + or so, and normally hit around 160 on hills. will be doing the seattle to portland this weekend. weight loss helps, as i have lost 40 pounds with 20 to go. amazing what that does for the heart rate. 

welcome to the road.

cole


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## bas (Jul 30, 2004)

edhchoe said:


> Isn't that a little high for a heart rate? That's what it showed on TV today for one of the riders. When mine is up at 130's I am really laboring...at least according to my stationary bike.



Was he climbing? Put in a hard effort? On the front taking a pull?

151 would be low then.

They just don't ride 120 HR all day long.


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## Fett (Jun 9, 2003)

*Max HR are all over the board*

I am 41 and am kind of a freak in that I have a max HR of 213 and my LT is 189. I am a decent Expert mountain bike racer and I do regularly see HRs of over 200 at the end of a race and at the peaks of killer climbs. 

I alway remind myself that it does not matter how high your HR can go, it is how quickly that you can get it back down that matters.


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## EricNM (Oct 7, 2005)

Bocephus Jones II said:


> Not really...I can TT at 170. My max is around 200 give or take. I usually average in the 150s on a tough ride. If I go much over 170 I pop pretty quick though. Have seen 195 a few times while sprinting on the Polar.
> 
> //220-age is crap...based on sedentary individuals. Real rates are all over the place. FWIW I'm 42 and that would predict my max much lower.



Yeah, I is just a number . I got a HR monitor when I was 35 and I would back off when I got around 220. I still have no idea what my max is, I know if I break 205-210 I don't feel very good after, but for training it is much more important to know where your LT is.


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## gizzard (Oct 5, 2005)

Fett said:


> I am 41 and am kind of a freak in that I have a max HR of 213 and my LT is 189. I am a decent Expert mountain bike racer and I do regularly see HRs of over 200 at the end of a race and at the peaks of killer climbs.
> 
> I alway remind myself that it does not matter how high your HR can go, it is how quickly that you can get it back down that matters.


Too true. Recovery is everything.


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## nachomc (Aug 31, 2006)

I don't think 151 is that high at all. A lot of these guys are mid-late 20s. At 26, I have seen 194bpm multiple times and generally average 145-155 on my road rides.


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## triscuit (Sep 13, 2004)

Last time I was tested (VO2max test on a bike) my LT was 181. That was about a year ago when I was 35. The 150s is relatively easy zone 3 cruising for me.


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## Pablo (Jul 7, 2004)

Sub said:


> As others have said, HR numbers mean nothing as far as comparison. We each have our own physiology and HR numbers do not correlate to speed at all. I've seen a max of 216 getting spit out the back of the pack on a climb after holding 205 for half a mile. I've also seen 34 resting HR sitting on my top tube before a ride. Neither one of those is gonna get me a contract to ride the Tour nex year! Nobody trains off max HR anyways, it's all about LT.


Not to mention that it can vary depending on numerous outside factors, such as caffine intake. The heart rate I do intervals at may vary around 5 bpm depending on a bunch of things. I guess we all better drop 2 Gs on powwer meters.


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## Len J (Jan 28, 2004)

*I'm 52 YO &*

my max HR observed is 202, my LT is 182, and I can ride 151 all day.

It's all genetics......

Len


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## edhchoe (Jun 3, 2007)

Thank you for making me realize how much I can still improve physically.:cryin: After riding for about 90 minutes I am ready to quit. I don't feel like puking but just tired overall.:blush2: It is too hot this month in PDX. I have been just watching TDF at home.


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## stoked (Aug 6, 2004)

I use HR monitor pretty much on all road rides. Highest number I saw was 193 and that was over 5 years ago. This year I made it to 187 on toughest climb on my usual 60 mile ride. Like most said this number seems to be different for most people but I am 33 and 220-33=187 so I seem to have same number as estimate formula. I found out that I need to stay under 175 to be able to last 60 miles under 3.25hrs. When I do a century I try to keep this number under 165 in order to do it under 6 hrs. 2 years ago I used my magic number of 155 bpm to finish 12 hr MTB race with 85 miles under my belt.


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## curtw (Mar 27, 2004)

velocipede said:


> I remember back in the day reading something about Indurain's resting HR was something like 36bpms... that's practically suspended animation!


The Paul Sherwen quote about Indu that I remember was 25 resting and 225 sprinting. That about scared me to death.


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## Big A (May 24, 2007)

Velo News showed Hincapies' HR during one of the Classics a number of years ago. What I found amazing was his HR 'window'. It varied from 125bpm while sitting on, to 220 when he dropped the hammer in an attack or sprint.
Back in the day when I was fit I would see 125bpm only when group riding, at the back, in a tail wind, not talking or eating.
Mid 190's in attack mode.


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