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Any views on 'maximum heart rate'?
RunShonaRun
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Following a previous post here about trying to increase my pace (but being scared of pushing it too hard) I have bought a garmin watch. I took it for its first run today, and I have lots of lovely graphs to show for it...
but the heart rate...so, at 41 (nearly 42), my supposed 'maximum heart rate' would be 179 by the 220-age formula. But i don't really know what that means. Does it mean it's in some way unsafe to go over it? It certainly isn't my maximum heart rate. 72% of the 5k I ran today, I spent at 160 or over ie at 90% or more of my 'maximum heart rate'. The maximum recorded was 190, so again, a good bit higher than the theoretical 'maximum'.
So, my question is, is this 220-age formula just to work out what your maximum might be if you don't know? Or does it actually mean something? Is it dangerous to go over it? Or is it nonsense and my maximum is just whatever my maximum heart rate actually is when I'm running? And I should calculate the % ranges based on my actual highest heart rate?
A final question...I bought the watch largely because I thought i was perhaps being a bit lazy and not pushing myself hard enough. If my HR is in that 90%+ of 'maximum HR' zone for most of my run, does that mean I shouldnt be pushing myself any harder (till it comes down)?
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Comments
The heart rate formula is a rough guide to average max heart rates, but in reality everyone is different and will have their own level. The only truth is your max will get lower the older you get, but some people more than others.
What type of heart rate monitor do you have, strap or wrist based ? Neither are 100% accurate and I find the wrist based ones are less accurate than straps. Don't take their readings as gospel.
I don't really pay any attention to heart rate though, I pay much more attention to how I feel. I know when I am at my max effort and how long I can stay just by how I tired I am. Knowing my heart rate has never really been part of my way of running.
It's a wrist based one, and I do struggle to believe it can be all that accurate, but I've checked it at rest and it does seem to be very accurate. Can't swear that it remains as accurate when I'm running of course.
I've never paid any attention to heart rate before, but part of my logic was that maybe I feel like I'm at maximum effort but I'm not? I only run 5k, am overweight (but losing) and until 6 months ago I wasn't really doing much exercise, so I suppose I don't really have a frame of reference for 'max effort'.
Having run again today, I spent 87% of the run at or above 90% of my supposed maximum. I think I might reset the ranges...
Hi RSR. The question about max.h.r. has been asked by many people on various threads, including myself, last year. The one answer that does not change is that the standard 'formula' is meaningless. So you will need to do a test, and there are several ideas about what will achieve your max.. Some involve hills and some involve a series of runs on the flat. Either way you should feel very uncomfortable when you finish! I obviously wasn't ready for that level of discomfort, and arrived at a max. of 163. Then, got a max. of 165 a little later, on a particularly hard run. However, going by the standard formula I get 148. Quite a difference. I found a number of different formulae, including some for ladies. The one that came closest to my true max. was 202-(0.55 x Age) but it may not work for you. At the end of my parkrun this morning my h.r. hit 162. Probably just short of max. but using the same formula I get a max.h.r. of 162/163, so still quite close.
Until you get a reliable max.h.r., and know your resting h.r., you wont be able to establish your personal training zones. And that's another debate. Happy running.
Yeah, what the others said. At the end of a 5 km I have never been able to get more than 95% so in the absence of any other information you could go by what you have seen in a 5 km and add a few beats rather than a formula that may be true for populations but not any one person. Kinda like you would never by a pair of size 8 trainers and hope they would fit on the basis that the average is say size 8 +-2.
It could be argued that a fit runner will always be outside the median, my own max, when I last checked it 20 years ago was in the 215 area (measured after shuttle runs in the gym, Xchecked against hill-run reps)
If you want to use the HR for training tempos then you need to establish your maxHR, and if you recorded a 190 in a 5K run I should imagine yours may be a bit higher than the theoretical 220 - age
Just check the graphs first- was the 190 a spike? Was there a consistent period of varying around what looked like a true reading? Best to ignore any spikes, especially at the beginning of teh run, but if there is a steady climb up to more than 190, then, if it felt kie you were maxed- out, set that as Max HR for now, until you top it again, if you felt you were pushing it, but not totally at the limimt, then perhaps add 5 beats to give an estimated max.
The 220- your age is meaningless.
Another correlation for "easy " pace- should be able to hold a conversating , and shoudl be less than 75% max- so if your max is over 190, easy should be less than 150, and you should be doing about 80% of your running in the easy zone, only pushing up the zones for short sharp runs.
I found Parkrun the best way to set a max Hr - but then our one has an uphill finish!
My last "max HR " park run gave me a peak of 191, but a pretty steady 188 for half a lap. I am over 50, so 220- your age is way out!
If you use optical HRM (watch-based wrist sensors), a slightly loose watch can provide bad data because of light interfering with the measurements.
If you're using a chest strap, it may be because there is poor coupling between the strap and you (i.e. loose, not enough moisture).
Max HR is simply one method to set training zones. A more accurate measure would be your anaerobic threshold HR however knowing and setting that is significantly more difficult.