Heart Rate monitor and max heart rate

safetyqueen25

Hi all, hav a random question. I hav a Sunnto HRM, fairly decent one with a chest strap. In the settings of my HRM my MAX heart rate is set at 230. I think this must be a default setting as I am pretty confident I have never recorded a reading of 230!!!!
My highest reading I've ever seen on it was probably 200/205 and that was for all of ten seconds when doing some sprinting. Should I adjust my max to those sort of numbers ? If i'm working hard I usually get a reading in the 180s
Im just not sure if this affects my calorie reading? I don't really know much/ understand about formulas for calculating heat rates etc

GeminiFitness1

there are a few that are good Karvonen Formula Example Training Heart Rate Zone

For example, for a 25 yr old who has a resting heart rate of 65, wanting to know his training heart rate for the intensity level 60% - 70%. you can try 80% no higher than that.


Minimum Training Heart Rate:
220 - 25 (Age) = 195
195 - 65 (Rest. HR) = 130
130 x .60 (Min. Intensity) + 65 (Rest. HR) = 143 Beats/Minute

Maximum Training Heart Rate:
220 - 25 (Age) = 195

220 - age
x that by intensity 60-80%
195 - 65 (Rest. HR) = 130
130 x .70 (Max. Intensity) + 65 (Rest. HR) = 156 Beats/Minute

training heart rate zone will therefore be 143-156 beats per minute

Getting heart rate to 180 is probably too high. 60-80& heart rate maximum is fine.

BrianSharpe

there are a few that are good Karvonen Formula Example Training Heart Rate Zone

For example, for a 25 yr old who has a resting heart rate of 65, wanting to know his training heart rate for the intensity level 60% - 70%. you can try 80% no higher than that.


Minimum Training Heart Rate:
220 - 25 (Age) = 195
195 - 65 (Rest. HR) = 130
130 x .60 (Min. Intensity) + 65 (Rest. HR) = 143 Beats/Minute

Maximum Training Heart Rate:
220 - 25 (Age) = 195
195 - 65 (Rest. HR) = 130
130 x .70 (Max. Intensity) + 65 (Rest. HR) = 156 Beats/Minute

training heart rate zone will therefore be 143-156 beats per minute

Getting heart rate to 180 is probably too high. 60-80& heart rate maximum is fine.

Why no higher than 80%?

There are better ways to determine maxHR (220 - your age has been pretty much discredited) the best being a stress test or you can find some interval based tests that will give you a pretty good idea.

GeminiFitness1

a more precise one is more complicated is 208 minus (.7 * age). Each person is different depending on medications especially caffeine, nicotine, cough syrup will increase heart rate. Also for people who are on beta-blockers or other heart rate medications can't use this formula because heart rate will always be low.

Another way to test heart rate monitor is RPE Scale stands for Rate of Perceived Exertion. similar to a pain scale 1-10. Most people who use this scale should be between 4-5 how it feels either too hard or comfortablee

joehempel

LOL!!!

This is hilarious, if these calculations worked I should be dead.

My MAX HR is around 200....a leisurely run can get my HR to 185 without much of a problem....in fact I did a 3.25 mile run just last week, and my HR was an average of 175, and MAX of 185 and I wasn't even out of breath by the end of it.

I don't know how to really find your max hr except for doing wind sprints up a hill until you want to collapse and die.

IronmanNYC

Max HR Formulas are just generalizations. It's just as likely you'll have a higher or lower Max rate. As Joe said, hill repeats where you end up entirely gassed is a good way to test. I thought I had mine figured out doing that, but went a few beats higher at the end of a 5k race where I was sprinting in.

But your 200/205 after a sprint sounds reasonable. I'd use that.

I think the "not going higher than 80%" comment is for steady-pace aerobic training. But, there are times to train above that....for example, interval workouts.

tavenne323

Another way to test heart rate monitor is RPE Scale stands for Rate of Perceived Exertion. similar to a pain scale 1-10. Most people who use this scale should be between 4-5 how it feels either too hard or comfortablee

I use the RPE. I run with a HRM, but mostly just for calorie reference. If I'm running a longer distance I just try to find a pace and breath that isn't super taxing. If I add sprints, I go all out. I've found that my comfortable HR is high 150s low 160s...sometimes low 170s. But I usually max out in the high 180s. When I was younger (31 now) my HR would go into the 200s, but that's expected.

Runs4Wine

I manually changed my rest HR in my Polar FT4 and I did it without any math I just know what my normal rest rate is and it's higher than the preset levels for may age/weight. My guess is you need to do the same.

In the past if the Max HR is too high I've also gone in and made the adjustments accordingly.

QuietBloom

I would adjust it to the highest numbers you have seen. It's always best to go with your own data, rather than a general estimate provided by any calculator.

QuietBloom

a more precise one is more complicated is 208 minus (.7 * age). Each person is different depending on medications especially caffeine, nicotine, cough syrup will increase heart rate. Also for people who are on beta-blockers or other heart rate medications can't use this formula because heart rate will always be low.

Another way to test heart rate monitor is RPE Scale stands for Rate of Perceived Exertion. similar to a pain scale 1-10. Most people who use this scale should be between 4-5 how it feels either too hard or comfortablee

Meh. The max it gives me is my marathon race pace HR. lol

sijomial

Calculations are just a very rough guide as there is a huge variation in what could be considered "normal".

I would either set up the HRM with 205 as your max if you believe that is actually your maximum (were you flat out when sprinting?) or do a max heart rate test.

Have a read of this for info:
http://www.runnersworld.co.uk/general/heart-rate-training-find-your-maximum-heart-rate/181.html

Beware the health/fitness warning contained in the article though! Maximum means maximum......

As for training zones (I'm a cyclist not a runner) this is a simple calculator you might find interesting:
http://www.machinehead-software.co.uk/bike/heart_rate/heart_rate_zone_calculator_abcc_bcf.html

dabucks

I use a Polar H7 and the highest heart rate I've recorded is about 175. When I'm in the 160s I'm REALLY pushing myself in the workouts, yet according to the recommended calculation my max HR should be 184. Calculation I used is 214 - (.8*37) = 184.4

I rarely get above 165 in my insanity workouts and I feel like I leave it all out there when I do the workouts.

dabucks

After reading more about this I changed my max HR setting to 175 in the Polar App on my phone.
FYI my resting HB is 55.

Greytfish

LOL!!!

This is hilarious, if these calculations worked I should be dead.

My MAX HR is around 200....a leisurely run can get my HR to 185 without much of a problem....in fact I did a 3.25 mile run just last week, and my HR was an average of 175, and MAX of 185 and I wasn't even out of breath by the end of it.

I don't know how to really find your max hr except for doing wind sprints up a hill until you want to collapse and die.

Stress testing is about the only reliable way to test it fairly safely.

All of the formulas for calculating are flawed in various ways as they all make assumptions and none generally take into account cardiocascular conditioning.

It's nice to have a HRM to track what your cardio system was doing during runs and races to correlate effort and subjective experience with what your cardio system was doing, but pretty useless for calculating calories or training "zones" if you haven't had recent testing.

Someone my age and weight will have a different max and difefrent readings than I will at the same subjective exertion simply because their resting HR is in the 80s vs. mine in the high 40s / low 50s.

ibleedunionblue

A stress test is probably financial and medical overkill for what the OP is really looking for unless they have cardio concerns and that should be discussed with a physician. One of the general ballpark formulas should be sufficient for what the OP is looking for.

OP - I got my max (192) by doing intervals on an incline. And I got my resting (38) by testing while I was actually in bed napping. My max was slightly higher then most of the general formulas by about 12 beats per minute. And that is what I used without going to the Dr and having a stress test done.

IronmanNYC

Just as a correction, your max HR is your max HR, regardless of fitness. As your fitness level improves, your resting HR is the one that changes.

But I completely agree that the correlation between subjective level of exertion and HR changes the fitter you are. Simply walking up stairs may have sent an out of shape person's HR close to max, but as they get fit, there's a lot less effect on the HR.

Greytfish

A stress test is probably financial and medical overkill for what the OP is really looking for unless they have cardio concerns and that should be discussed with a physician. One of the general ballpark formulas should be sufficient for what the OP is looking for.

OP - I got my max (192) by doing intervals on an incline. And I got my resting (38) by testing while I was actually in bed napping. My max was slightly higher then most of the general formulas by about 12 beats per minute. And that is what I used without going to the Dr and having a stress test done.

True, but because any lay estimate or formula is about equally useless for estimating caloric burn.

Whether a stress test is financial or medical overkill would depend on a lot of things not limited to history of or family history of heart disease, current level of fitness, whether your're barely jogging a few miles or actually going to want to race pace a longer distance, and whetehr one has ever been seriously or morbidly obese and potentially caused damage that wouldn't otherwise be apparent.

Just as a correction, your max HR is your max HR, regardless of fitness. As your fitness level improves, your resting HR is the one that changes.

But I completely agree that the correlation between subjective level of exertion and HR changes the fitter you are. Simply walking up stairs may have sent an out of shape person's HR close to max, but as they get fit, there's a lot less effect on the HR.

Thank you for making that clearer. My point was entirely focused on conveying that the higher the RHR and lower the fitness, the more easily the heart rate at exertion rises toward max. My max might be the same as someone with a RHR of 85, but I would never, ever get to 185 with a normal training run.

xidia

LOL!!!

This is hilarious, if these calculations worked I should be dead.

My MAX HR is around 200....a leisurely run can get my HR to 185 without much of a problem....in fact I did a 3.25 mile run just last week, and my HR was an average of 175, and MAX of 185 and I wasn't even out of breath by the end of it.

I don't know how to really find your max hr except for doing wind sprints up a hill until you want to collapse and die.

I run comfortably, for my max distance, consistently and regardless of fitness, at 172-175bpm. When I got an HRM and it insisted I was way into an interval training zone doing that, I reversed the RPE calculation and the heart rate reserve method to get a maximum heart rate of about 217. I plugged that into my HRM ( Polar FT70) and the zones it gives me now make a lot more sense.

So yes. General formulae = a useful guide, but if they're not working out for you, go with your own body.