# Heart Rate Question



## Ghost234 (Jun 1, 2010)

I have been cycling now for about 2 years and recently bought my first power meter which contained the first HRM I have used in the sport. After logging a few rides I have noticed that I seem to have a very high heart rate, even when I am putting in very little power. 


Essentially what I have noticed is that my heart rate spikes very easily (I could be putting in 50 watts and my HR is 160) but then plateaus around the 165 mark (and doesn't budge at all until I exceed my FTP, where it stays at 170). I don't feel tired or exhausted even after long rides and my friends have noticed that I do have a somewhat high cadence of 105-110. 

I used to do a lot of running sports, that were heavily dependent on short fast sprints followed by long steady jogging. 

So my question is, is there a danger in running this high of a heart rate while cycling 10-15 hours per week? If there is a danger, is there a way in which I could lower it?


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## johnlh (Sep 12, 2008)

Stick to your power data, and ignore your HR.


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## woodys737 (Dec 31, 2005)

If you felt ok the last two years then why be concerned now?

I'm not a coach. Just seemed like common sense.


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## zriggle (Apr 16, 2008)

My HR when I'm just cruising along will be 170.

Keeping pace? 180. 

Climbing is 190+, max that I've ever seen is 211 on a KOM sprint up a 20% grade.

Resting HR is about 80.

You just have a high heart rate. You cannot, cannot, cannot compare HR between people. Percent of HRmax, maybe, but power is where it's at. Throw the HR strap away if you've got a power meter.


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## Rage_Cycling (Dec 30, 2009)

zriggle said:


> My HR when I'm just cruising along will be 170.
> 
> Keeping pace? 180.
> 
> ...


100% agree with you I also just have a high heart rate that will hit 190 on a big climb. The key is I can bring it down to 140 in about 30 to 40 sec after the climb. The best part is we will black out long before you die so just keep pushing it.


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## Alex_Simmons/RST (Jan 12, 2008)

Ghost234 said:


> I have been cycling now for about 2 years and recently bought my first power meter which contained the first HRM I have used in the sport. After logging a few rides I have noticed that I seem to have a very high heart rate, even when I am putting in very little power.
> 
> 
> Essentially what I have noticed is that my heart rate spikes very easily (I could be putting in 50 watts and my HR is 160) but then plateaus around the 165 mark (and doesn't budge at all until I exceed my FTP, where it stays at 170). I don't feel tired or exhausted even after long rides and my friends have noticed that I do have a somewhat high cadence of 105-110.
> ...


Doesn't sound like a particularly high HR to me.

unless you have a cardiac issue of some kind that requires monitoring, then lose the strap, it won't add value to the training information and if anything can be misleading. focus on improving power output.


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## tober1 (Feb 6, 2009)

that doesn't sound high to me either. My resting is around 60, but I've had peaks in the 200's on longer climbs. Cruising is around 140-150. Harder efforts are 160-170. 
I span a pretty large range, but don't let it bother me. 
Gotta listen to your body as well.


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## T K (Feb 11, 2009)

All is good advice but don't throw your monitor out. It will tell you when you are overtrained or tired. If your heart rate is particularly low on a given ride or it just won't go up, you are overtrained and need to back off for a couple of days. Just do some recovery pace riding.
I wish I had known this years ago. Would have saved me some money on entry fees to races where I got dropped because I was overtrained and not fresh.


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