Australian Cycling Forums - Bicycles Network Australia

Question re my heart rate

I have a resting heart rate of low 60's (and by resting I mean sitting on my butt, not moving. If I try and relax more, I can get it to drop to high 50's)
Just moving around getting bike from shed it climbs to 70's
Within 200 metres of starting ride (slight uphill gradient, 25 kph) its up to 115
1km in, up a short 5% gradient hits 150
5 km in, long flat, slightly uphill pushing around 32 kph its sitting 155-160
Peaks at 168, 22 km in (coming up bloody steep hill)
30 minutes post ride, still 80 (putting bike in shed, making sandwich etc)

It seems to me that it rises too far too fast (based on asking fellow riders what theirs was sitting on on different rides)

I am 53 yo, 182 cm and an overweight 95kg

What you are describing sounds pretty normal to me. If it bothers you (and maybe if it doesn't) get your GP to refer you to a cardiologist for a stress/ECG. You will have a series of sensors attached to you and your heart will be checked out while you are walking on a treadmill.

Sounds pretty standard to me. BTW heart rate is different for different people. The max heart rate you mentioned is almost exactly 220 - age (a generic calculation) where mine is about 35 beats higher than 220 - age. We are quite different.

Also have a look at latency, that might contribute to a better understanding

Analysing inter-person HRs can be a bit like interpreting runes.
If you want a snapshot of your cardiac health (and you are at a great age to do so) a stress ECG at the Bruce protocol is a good start.
That you're out on a bike and managing an HR of >160 I'm assuming without pain is pretty good. If you have no family history, non-diabetic and non-smoker, most would say a stress echo or an angiogram is over the top. There are some occupational exceptions though.

Newcastle Dave wrote:Question re my heart rate

I have a resting heart rate of low 60's (and by resting I mean sitting on my butt, not moving. If I try and relax more, I can get it to drop to high 50's)
Just moving around getting bike from shed it climbs to 70's
Within 200 metres of starting ride (slight uphill gradient, 25 kph) its up to 115
1km in, up a short 5% gradient hits 150
5 km in, long flat, slightly uphill pushing around 32 kph its sitting 155-160
Peaks at 168, 22 km in (coming up bloody steep hill)
30 minutes post ride, still 80 (putting bike in shed, making sandwich etc)

It seems to me that it rises too far too fast (based on asking fellow riders what theirs was sitting on on different rides)

I am 53 yo, 182 cm and an overweight 95kg

Sounds about right for the quoted gradients.

Comparing heart rates with other individuals is an exercise in futility, as there is a wide range between individuals (maximum heart rate is largely genetic and age-related, fitness levels are largely irrelevant to MaxHr). Percentage of maximum is a more relevant comparison.

25 kph does seem a little fast for up a slight gradient first up - ideally you want to take it easy for the first few minutes of a ride to warm up. But sometimes the terrain forces your hand ...

Meh, I'm 60yrs and can get my heart rate to 200bpm and have a threshold rate of 161bpm.

Foo

Newcastle Dave wrote:Question re my heart rate

I have a resting heart rate of low 60's (and by resting I mean sitting on my butt, not moving. If I try and relax more, I can get it to drop to high 50's)
Just moving around getting bike from shed it climbs to 70's
Within 200 metres of starting ride (slight uphill gradient, 25 kph) its up to 115
1km in, up a short 5% gradient hits 150
5 km in, long flat, slightly uphill pushing around 32 kph its sitting 155-160
Peaks at 168, 22 km in (coming up bloody steep hill)
30 minutes post ride, still 80 (putting bike in shed, making sandwich etc)

It seems to me that it rises too far too fast (based on asking fellow riders what theirs was sitting on on different rides)

I am 53 yo, 182 cm and an overweight 95kg

I do similar routines and my heart rate would follow almost exactly the same pattern. Now, I am not saying I am 'normal' ... but at least it's good to know there is someone else out there that is just as 'normal'.

madmacca wrote:

Newcastle Dave wrote:Question re my heart rate
25 kph does seem a little fast for up a slight gradient first up - ideally you want to take it easy for the first few minutes of a ride to warm up. But sometimes the terrain forces your hand ...

No kidding on that one. My rides start on a 9% gradient for 100m, ease off to a mere 5% for the next 100m, then kick up to 14% for 50m. Great fun when you start out cold.

For the record as far as variability of HR is concerned, I'm early 40s, HR - resting around mid 60-low 70, start activity 120, threshold is around 180, and max 190. Riding all day around 150-160 for a few hours without straining, BMI around 22-23 so I'm basically slightly tachicardic.

To the OP, that sounds very similar to my typical HR responses to similar load.

Nevertheless, if you have any concerns, seek medical advice, and I would suggest from a sports medico rather than a generic GP.