How variable are maximum heart rates - is it a problem if I reach mine?

randomo wrote:

According to the (220 - age) formula, my maximum heart rate should be in the 160s. My Garmin watch says that I'm sometimes hitting 170 during treadmill runs (which feel strenuous but not utterly exhausting). On a typical road run, I tend to peak around 160; I take walk breaks when I feel the need.

I've read sources that say you should only exercise up to about 85% of your MHR. Is it dangerous if I'm actually reaching or slightly exceeding mine?

I don't know how much someone's MHR can vary from that 220 - age estimate (does being fit raise your MHR?), and I don't know how precise my watch is at recording heart rate.

Thanks in advance for any guidance.

Max HR calculations do not work.

Field testing is the only way to get a ballpark figure. If you race a decent 5k in cool conditions (basically not hot weather) you should get within a few beats of max.

Find your resting HR too and then run by HRR. I easy 60-75% for easy depending on how I feel.

randomo wrote:

According to the (220 - age) formula, my maximum heart rate should be in the 160s. My Garmin watch says that I'm sometimes hitting 170 during treadmill runs (which feel strenuous but not utterly exhausting). On a typical road run, I tend to peak around 160; I take walk breaks when I feel the need.

I've read sources that say you should only exercise up to about 85% of your MHR. Is it dangerous if I'm actually reaching or slightly exceeding mine?

I don't know how much someone's MHR can vary from that 220 - age estimate (does being fit raise your MHR?), and I don't know how precise my watch is at recording heart rate.

Thanks in advance for any guidance.

Everything you've read is wrong. The MHR formula has huge variation among individuals. There's nothing wrong with exercising much closer to your MHR occasionally (which you can only hold for a short time anyway). If you have concerns about your heart, consult your doctor. I love my Garmin watch, but the heart rate monitors are not 100% accurate.

Run by feel and look for patterns in what your watch tells you over time. That's about the only way to get meaningful feedback.

1) 220 minus age "works" at the population level, but it's often really far off for individuals, especially lifelong athletes.

2) Wrist-based HRMs (optical) have historically been a lot less accurate than chest straps, although they've gotten better.

You could get a more reasonable approximation of your max HR by running a 5K at maximum effort wearing a chest strap.

The gold standard, I think, is a stress test on a treadmill. Daniels has a protocol in the appendix of his book. If you want to do something on the track instead, Daniels suggests (after warming up): five laps; first lap is comfortable; three laps @ 5K race pace; fifth lap all out effort. Highest HR recorded during the test is your max.

For general aerobic fitness, anywhere between 65-80% of your max HR is a good zone to be in.

Thanks (to you and everyone else who answered). The replies are what I pretty much expected and hoped for. I generally go by "feel" rather than by numbers, and I'll continue doing that.

randomo wrote:

Thanks (to you and everyone else who answered). The replies are what I pretty much expected and hoped for. I generally go by "feel" rather than by numbers, and I'll continue doing that.

I know 2 guys with 5k times in 13:30 or below range. Same age, almost same body type, but one has a max heart rate of like 210 and the other has a max heart rate of about 180. It can definitely vary among individuals.

220-age can be way off. In my case, it predicts a MHR of 150. My MHR is at least 186. Even if it is off by only 10-15 beats, that's enough to make HR training zones irrelevant.

I prefer the Joel Friel Method to determine LTHR (Lactate Threshold Heart Rate). That's the HR where your body switches from aerobic to anaerobic energy. LTHR is the upper limit of your tempo zone. It's also a lot easier to determine than MHR.

Do a search for Joel Friel Lactate Threshold Heart Rate and you'll find lots of info on how to find LTHR and how to use it in training.

In my case, MHR is ~186... I haven't tested in over a year.

LTHR is about 158... I try to stay under 160 on tempo runs.

Recovery is 30-50 beats slower than LTHR. So I stay under 138 on recovery days, except for a brief bump over 138 when I'm going uphill. I stay above 108. I don't worry about where I am within this zone. It's a recovery day, so I run how I feel. Some days that's the low 110s. Other days, it's 138.

Reading from Daniels right now...

"As a runner, probably the easiest way to determine your maximum heart rate is to run several hard 2-minute uphill runs. Get a heart-rate reading at the top of the first hill run, and if your heart rate is higher the second time up, go for a third time and see if that is associated with an even higher heart rate. If it is not higher, you can be pretty sure that reading is maximum. If the third run is higher than the second, then try a fourth, or as many as needed before you do not see an increase in heart rate compared with the previous run. If no hill is available, you could do a few 800-meter runs at a solid pace and do the same comparisons between repeated efforts."

No doubt a test like this will be unpleasant. I'm actually curious if anyone has done it this way. Once I get through a couple more weeks of mileage build-up, I'm going to try this myself.

For reference, 220-age for me should give a 192 max hr. The highest my Garmin has ever recorded me at is ~189. So it's probably pretty darn close for me, but I'd be curious to do the Daniel's test, as I haven't really done an uber intense run in some time.

Thanks for the info. I'm with you - I don't see anything remotely easy about "several hard 2-minute uphill runs." I devote my running career to finding, and training/racing on, the most level ground possible! :-)

Facts and more facts wrote:

Max HR calculations do not work.

Field testing is the only way to get a ballpark figure. If you race a decent 5k in cool conditions (basically not hot weather) you should get within a few beats of max.

Find your resting HR too and then run by HRR. I easy 60-75% for easy depending on how I feel.

JFC how many times that this question have to be asked and answered.

We need to spend WAY more on education.