This is probably a little irrelevant but it has me wondering. Upon HARD/ALL OUT training sets I have found my max HR on the bike to be 196 and my max run HR to be 206. My training partner struggles to break 185 ish on the bike yet is WAY stronger than me. Is it a bad thing that I have such high maxes? I mean I am naturally hyper and always amped up but is that a bad thing as far as my max abilities go? I am less than a year into this sport and just trying to fully see what I can do with myself or moreso what my body can take. Thanks!
Max HR is very individual, so you were correct in your thought that it is irrelevant to compare to your friend. Your HR ranges won’t change much (other than a slow decline due to age), but what will change; assuming you training correctly; is the performance/speed that you are able to obtain at that HR.
And be careful with the “see what my body can take” approach… it can really suck to find out your limits due to an injury.
206 is well within normal range for someone probably under 40. Your max heart rate is completely genetic and tells you nothing about performance. The range of max heart rates within an age group are probably +/- 20 BPM. I’ve hit 200 and I’m 34. I believe Lance Armstrong could regularly hit 200+ but some other pro’s may max out at 165bpm.
You will learn what’s normal for your body and then over time learn to use it as an indicator for sickness, dehydration, over tired, and improvements in aerobic fitness. But don’t read too much into it.
Ya I thought that my thinking was probably close to being right. I know we are all different but is there any advantage to having that high of max HR? Once I finally start figuring this thing out I am hoping that it will be an advantage of some sort. And as far as the finding my limits my coach has been laying the metaphorical hammer down in my training sets and we (our group) try to place an emphasis on nutrition and recovery. I have been doing well so far other than tight hammies or something that is fixable.
Cool! Thanks for the info. I thought it was ok but wasn’t sure. I know that HR training is subject-able to many things such as fatigue or nutrition or stress so I am trying to learn the indicators with that and keep my eye on it. Appreciate it!