This is mainly out of curiousity as I have been going by feel more than HR lately, but still use it as a tool (think someone may have posted before but I could not find it).
At age 38, is it possible to increase your max HR? I know some of the readings could be anomalies but it happened more than once.
Brief Background:
About 6 years ago max was 200 to 205 - used to mtb about 3 days a week. Last three seasons trained for tri - highest on bike was 190 in intense sprint races/cross race/short mtb race - always max at 190 with max suffering on the perceived exertion scale.
Running - max 193 in 5K never above 193 any other time going hard.
Last year trained for IM with a lot of base but some build.
Latest facts:
Nov - hit 207 in a 5K all out - yes it hurt
I’ve done only biking since Jan. 1 - can’t remember what a pool looks like…
No recent threshold tests to see what has happened on that front.
Yesterday - hit 197 on the bike trying to kill team mates on some climbs and yeah that hurt too. I went into it a little tired, so I would have expected a lower number.
Those have been the only two times I have pushed at that level for awhile and I got higher readings than I had seen in a looooooong time.
I know HR monitors do funky things at times and that your threshold is more important than max, but is it possible that my max has increased?
I SHOULD be able to explain this, but my mind is shot - I expect it to return in a few short months.
Your heart no doubt has gotten stronger over the years and yes bigger–hopefully more efficient. For endurance events typically you should peak in your mid 30s (for ultras women in mid 40s and men in early 40s). No shock to me to see your HR max going up. Bet your resting heart rate and your blood pressure has gone down.
Personally–have hit 225 while running and yet lucky if I can get it out of 175 while cycling. Body is odd. I have questioned over and over again about mass of the overall body and heart size and height…have yet to have anyone truly explain it to me in a way that makes sense. There are other factors that can come into play too—hydration/dehydration/electrolyte imbalances will screw up heart measurements (as will caffeine/smoking/food).
If you get a chance to see Body Works (some show at MOSI in Chicago right now and was told in San Francisco as well) you will get the opportunity to see an exercised heart and how huge it is compared to a normal sized heart.
“see an exercised heart and how huge it is compared to a normal sized heart.”
Interesting. I can’t sleep on my left side because my heart beating is very uncomfortable - feels like I’m laying on one of my cats and it’s trying to get away. I think the damn thing takes up half my chest.
Jason…sorry I can’t explain it any better–my mind is really shut down for the past 4 months. Been nice living the real blonde life, but frustrating at the same time. The material is up there, I just can’t retrieve it. If I wasn’t so lazy I would look the info up for you, but the ‘hook up gym USA’ is calling me, might be late enough to avoid the big rush.
Check out your femoral pulse (inner thigh above groin) and see if it has gotten stronger—it should by now. I would assume you have found your pulse in your ankle by now too–that one freaks me out.
Your heart probably does take up a considerable amount of your left chest…you should be able to hear (with a stethoscope) the different valves of the heart and of course just laying on someones chest you should be able to hear/feel the pounding in different locations. Mitral is on the far left side down low, which could be part of what you are hearing pounding. Not your imagination at all.
What is wild is some people have dextracardia (right side of body) very small population, but during one of my exams, my partner I couldn’t find the heart beat and kept looking (very obese), finally went to the other side and the instructor thought I had screwed up my right form left, had to make the instructor come over and hear for himself. Several people ended up failing that went before me because they hadn’t pointed out the dextracardia.
Check out Body WOrks if it comes to your town—you won’t be disappointed.
I have woken myself up a few times at night, even my wife, just a thumping sound even made a light squeek on the bed (you know those old college beds) I did an echo cardiogram for fun (worked in Hospital) tech said it was most beautiful thing he ever saw, but too big to be used in studies, Atypical to normal population, if not athletic cause for concern.
By the way What is max compared to threshold that might mean something
just be happy no svtac superventriculartachycardia.
a friend had that she was an elite runner. would spike in 250’s for a few moments, would have to just sit and let it pass, but its scary as hell
“Personally–have hit 225 while running and yet lucky if I can get it out of 175 while cycling. Body is odd.”
no matter how shot your mind might be at this moment, but I don’t buy that anybody has a 50bpm difference between their max HR for cycling and max HR for running. Either your HR monitor doesn’t work right, doesn’t work correctly for you while running and/or cycling, or those numbers don’t reflect max efforts.
Were did you get those numbers from? Did you graph them in a program to eliminate possible spikes due to outside interference? how long did you hold the 225?
My max HR is always 220 when I go by a certain “invisible fence”. Otherwise, my max is in the 170’s, biking, running, or swimming.
BTW, to address an earlier poster, your heart probably can take up half of the chest, if you are looking at an AP X-ray and consider only lateral distance. Any larger, and you could be classified as having cardiomegaly. A little larger heart in athletes isn’t unusual. Actually, left ventricular thickness increase of a small amount is expected and not unusual…true cardiomegaly, hmmm…not so sure that’s a good thing. I’ve even been told by some cardiologists that left atrial enlargement isn’t that unusual in athletes, mine sure is on echo. But, better talk to a cardiologist that is used to looking at athlete’s hearts on that one…they used me to demonstrate at least one variation of a normal athletic heart configuration on echo to a bunch of residents one time.
Eileen, saw my first case of true Situs Inversis last month. A little more severe than simple dextrocardia. Weird.
the swiss—I think a few things attribute to the numbers…the 225 was not sustained but only up a huge hill and I was 15 lbs heavier --would love to really understand HOW weight alters the heart pumping. The bike…never ever have I pushed it on the bike. I have yet to have the desire to actually push myself on the bike (I have potential and no fire). The only time I have seen upper numbers was going up a hill. I get all light headed and back way off. No clue why I don’t have a competitive fire, just doesn’t exist–it used to exist. At the gym tonight on the elliptical I only clocked 150, on the treadmill I couldn’t get over 160…but I also wasn’t ‘running’ just trying to get back into the groove. (only what the monitors on the machine say so who knows how accurate those are). Someday I will drag out that hr monitor and do a test. Just can’t find the fire to actually train hard… stuck in base training. I think I was trying to mention the numbers only because seeing numbers jump all over isn’t that foreign to me. I truly hate training to HRmonitor, and no way will I ever get that complicated to start using a program. I just train. I put on my shoes and train. Less complicated, the happier I am.
jason…think I was responding to jtriathlete about the pounding in the chest sorry for the confusion. I seldom drink --I can’t afford right now to get arrested (at this point if I was to start I wouldn’t be stopping for several days).
I was in the midst of multi-tasking actually writing 2 reports while doing research and was blowing off steam to try to get inspired to go train (sorry if I am not making sense). Living vicariously through those that are racing…season doesn’t start for a few months for me (basically what you guys were experiencing in January is how I feel now–it sucks!).
