Heart rate during rides

[fa63]

I started wearing a HRM again after a long while, and have noticed that my heart rate goes up quickly and stays relatively high for the duration of the ride, even when I don't feel like I am pushing hard. Here is this morning's ride; 27 miles / 2000' on gravel at 14 mph average:



I know HR is an unreliable indicator and everyone is different, but just curious if anyone's else's regular outings end up being Zone 4 rides. For what it is worth, my resting HR is around 50 bpm.

[Tz779]

mine stays pretty flat. i pick a “zone” for the ride and try to stay there. i do not get spikes like that, unless i chase a golf cart or something. i use a basic wahoo chest strap monitor.

[John H.]

Who says heartrate is not reliable? It is reliable, it is just not the only measurement and it is not a direct measurement of output.
I like to triangulate my rides based on 3 measurements- power, heartrate and RPE.

Your heartrate says that you ride at a highly variable effort.
But if you are having fun and that is what you want to do- get after it!

Originally Posted by fa63

I started wearing a HRM again after a long while, and have noticed that my heart rate goes up quickly and stays relatively high for the duration of the ride, even when I don't feel like I am pushing hard. Here is this morning's ride; 27 miles / 2000' on gravel at 14 mph average:



I know HR is an unreliable indicator and everyone is different, but just curious if anyone's else's regular outings end up being Zone 4 rides. For what it is worth, my resting HR is around 50 bpm.

[skitlets]

Regardless of my effort, once I hit 140-150bpm, it won't go back below 140 for the rest of the ride except for stops.

[jlwdm]

Originally Posted by John H.

Who says heartrate is not reliable? It is reliable, it is just not the only measurement and it is not a direct measurement of output.
I like to triangulate my rides based on 3 measurements- power, heartrate and RPE.

Your heartrate says that you ride at a highly variable effort.
But if you are having fun and that is what you want to do- get after it!

Heart rate is unreliable in the sense that you cannot compare it to other peoples heart rates. It is very individual. It is reliable for an individual rider to monitor.

This is based on my memory but I think it is accurate. Joe Friel said he trained a US cycling champion in his age group (not real old) whose heart rate never exceeded 130 bpm. On the other hand Joe trained an older ( but not real old) triathlete who in training on the track ran at a steady 210 bpm.

Jeff

[rnhood]

If its hot and humid, this is not uncommon - especially on a gravel ride at 14mph with almost 100'/mi. That sounds like a good workout. Your HR will run about 10-15 beats more to help cool you, and it will drop slowly as you rest. Nevertheless, I don't like that 163 ave but if you are in your 40's or even 50's I wouldn't worry much about it. You can always go to your local college and have them run an FTP test. They will determine your max HR and zones.

[John H.]

You are correct- It is individual, and the formulas are just bell curve averages.

I am going hard at about 150 bpm.

Originally Posted by jlwdm

Heart rate is unreliable in the sense that you cannot compare it to other peoples heart rates. It is very individual. It is reliable for an individual rider to monitor.

This is based on my memory but I think it is accurate. Joe Friel said he trained a US cycling champion in his age group (not real old) whose heart rate never exceeded 130 bpm. On the other hand Joe trained an older ( but not real old) triathlete who in training on the track ran at a steady 210 bpm.

Jeff

[FlashUNC]

HR is highly personal and I wouldn't draw too many conclusions.

Just set a new 90 min HR avg today at 170, and I tend to run a bit high on the HR end of things. But on a good day it'll range from 185-190 when I'm giving it the beans, and back to the 140-150 range if I'm just spinning with some HR responding to effort accordingly. I know I'm on a bad day if after a warm up the HR gets up into the effort range, and then doesn't settle back down as the watts ease up.

[fa63]

Originally Posted by rnhood

If its hot and humid, this is not uncommon - especially on a gravel ride at 14mph with almost 100'/mi. That sounds like a good workout. Your HR will run about 10-15 beats more to help cool you, and it will drop slowly as you rest. Nevertheless, I don't like that 163 ave but if you are in your 40's or even 50's I wouldn't worry much about it. You can always go to your local college and have them run an FTP test. They will determine your max HR and zones.

It was not super hot (around 80 F) but very humid. I am in my late 30s. I had arrythmia once before so they ran a whole bunch of tests (in my early 30s), including a HR study. My max heart rate was 195 bpm at that time if I recall correctly.