[Bigmarlow]

Do you worry about your heart rate when you are out riding?

What is your average sort of heart rate on rides?

This is something that has concerned me a little with having some chest pains which has been cleared by my gp and tests etc.

Just interested to know if anyone takes much notice in their heart rate and if anyone else comes across any chest discomfort.

Thanks

Topic

[kil0ran]

That sounds very familiar to

That sounds very familiar to me. Short sharp typical English climbs – say 400 yards ranging from 5 to 10% – will easily get me up to high 170s and breathless. As long as it’s flat off the top I’ve recovered usually within a couple of minutes and no longer breathless.

At my best average speed for a 45 mile mixed ride would be around 17mph. I’m around 20st and 5’11”. For that sort of riding I’ll sit around 130/140bpm. Pretty much as soon as I start off from home, easy pedalling, I’ll be around 120bpm. Obviously I’m not built for climbing! 

Due to a prevalence of heart conditions in my family I’ve been assessed several times over the years, usually with a stress test, ecg, and ultrasound. Never found anything untoward other than being overweight except that in a stress test my recovery is longer than it should be. One cardiologist said I had blacksmith/labourer genes, not designed to sit behind a desk all day 🙂

[PRSboy]

Heart rate is a personal

Heart rate is a personal thing… dependent on many things… temperature, caffeine intake, alertness etc.  For what its worth, over the last few years (now 47) I work on the basis of 150-155ish being ‘sweet spot’ and where I spend most of my time on a 1-2hr ride, 160 threshold, 130-140 endurance.  120-130 pootling.  I will see 170-180+ on a hard climb, pushing.  Resting HR is around 45. 

I’ve never once had a ‘chest pain’ that worried me, other than normal breathing discomfort.  

[Bigmarlow]

Thanks. 

Thanks. 
 

ive had in depth heart scans, several bloods took, ecgs you name it ive had it lol. 

[peted76]

Cyclists and heart issues go

Cyclists and heart issues go hand in hand. Get tested again, be insistent that they do a diagnosis. GP’s are not specialists, you should not have chest discomfort. Go back to your GP and insist on getting referred for more tests until they can be sure what the issue is.

[Richard_pics]

Its quite subjective.

Its quite subjective.

Me & my buddy are similar in size and weight, and speeds etc, but he averages 140bpm, and i average 160bpm odd. I have peaked at 198bpm when giving total beans.

My resting is usually 62bpm

Any chest pain should be concerning!

 

[Bigmarlow]

This sounds very familiar to

This sounds very familiar to myself but I’m a 34 year old male ex rugby player. 
 

ive also had all the tests done and been reassured I’m ok but it does make me very anxious which also doesn’t help. I’m also taking Lansoprazole. They haven’t put it down to acid but said it’s worth trying them. It had eased off a lot but then it just seems to have come back again this chest pain but nothing different to before. Spoke to gp and they said it’s nothing to be concerned about as I’ve had the tests etc 

[efail]

I’ll be interested to

I’ll be interested to communicate with anyone who responds to this. I’m ‘under’ the doctor at the moment, and waiting to see a cardiologist. (long waiting list) I have had a bit of an ache in my chest for ages, left side. Cardiogram, Xrays, bloods, etc clear. They’ve put me on a drug for acid reflux, while I wait to see the cardiologist, to see if that is the problem, causing ‘heartburn’, which I’m a little skeptical about. I’m 67,  fit,  low resting heart rate (44)and not overweight. I’m particularly interested in anyone who may have been prescribed Lansoprazole, if they are willing. I don’t know how to do this privately.

I don’t worry about my heart rate when I am riding, but I do use it as a guide, especially on long climbs

[Bigmarlow]

It doesn’t come and go with

It doesn’t come and go with exertion it’s something I get on and off. 
 

what average speed are you riding at? 
 

after a hill climb my heart rate can hit 170-180 on the climb but after a few minutes of completing the climb it will drop back down to 140 or lower depending on riding style. 

[kil0ran]

Any chest pain should be

Any chest pain should be investigated, particularly if it comes and goes with exertion. You should feel breathless but not tight-chested.

If your GP has checked you out recently then the best test is to see how long you take to recover (get your breathing back under control) after a short sharp climb. That’s basically what they’d do with a stress test in hospital.

As a chronically overweight and unfit MAMIL I average HR of 140bpm-ish on a typcial ride (10-15 miles), and peak in the high 170s. Resting HR is high 60s. After a hard short climb I can get my breath back reasonably quickly. For me my limiting performance factor is definitely breathing, rather than power or HR.

 

[Author]

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