Heart Rate Training - Resting and Max Heart Rates - ARE YOU NORMAL ?!?

Changes from the previous version of the article are highlighted with a red background for deletions, and a green background for insertions.

Summary

A collection of Fetchies Max and Resting Heart Rates to assure everyone that they can vary wildly.

This article is owned by Lumsdoni

This article is here to help people realise that Heart Rates can vary wildly - as to some of us it is a mystery this HR training thing. Whilst formulas exist to estimate you Maximum, the truth is that without doing a proper test you will never know as it can vary hugely from runner to runner.
Also, Max HR is no indication of fitness or ability. RHR is a better indication of fitness as it is a reflection on you ability to recover to a normal state (please correct if wrong)
*Maximum HR estimate formulae*
205 - (half your age)
or
220 - (your age)
Some people say, add 5 if you are female.
*Caterpillar notes:*
Several things can affect heart rate. It rises with ambient temperature. This is probably due to increased vasodilation and therefore decreased peripheral resistance, resulting in higher venous return. It is affected by your hydration state (blood volume) for similar reasons. Drugs such as caffeine will also affect your heart rate, not just increasing resting heart rate, but potentiating the effect of circulating adrenaline so raising exercise-induced heart rate. The calculations of your expected maximum heart rate based on age and gender might be close enough for Mr/Ms Average, and hence an interesting way of telling whether your heart goes faster or slower than Mr/Mrs Average. If you are interested. :-)]
*Snapstinget notes*
According to Noakes the drop in MHR as you get older may be 10 BPM per decade in the population as a whole, but in endurance athletes it may only be 5 BPM. This is probably enough to render the standard formula invalid for most of us.
*Please add the following details.*
*Name - Age - Gender - RHR - MHR (How measured)*
robc - 65 - Male - 40 - 175 (sprint finish at end of 5 mile training run)
steve_c - Male - 55 - 44 - 194 (intervals)
Gus - 52- Female - 55 - 177 5 mile run with a fairly bigish hill, but not running flat out :-) (yet!)
Lums - 32 - Male - 52 - 182 - (Sprint finish in a 20 mile race)
Ruth2 - 25 - Female - 56 - 184 (Intervals)
WoadWunner - 40 - Male - 57 - 179 (Hill Intervals)
Girlie - 40 - Female - 48 - 191 (Finishing a race)
eL Bee! - 44 - Male - 38 - 207 (Sprint shuttles AND the "Killer Hill Session" x2)
Hellen - 33 - female - 47- 195 (uphill in a HM when I had a bad cold)
jude - 34 - female - 56 - 198 (the end of a 10k lungbuster finish in Pride Park Stadium on a hot day!)
Axme - 37 - Male - 37 - 192 (Hill work)
Petemulv - 52 - Male - 65 - 191 - (Heart stress test with the cardiac unit of the BOC)
pabc - 34 - Male - 42 - 174 - running up bradgate hill and sprinting last 100m with HRM on.
Maisy - 33 - Male RHR 45 - Measured with HRM (ave over 2 mornings). MAX 190 - Measured during Bath Half, March 2008
Caterpillar - 49 - Male - 55 - 195 (borrowed a chest strap at the local gym and gave it some welly on the treadmill: two minutes at max treadmill speed (16 kph) up a 3% incline with a couple of minutes rest between each try) then two minutes being resuscitated with a defibrillator in the local A & E department (but not really) But I did do the treadmill thing.
Diogenes - 40 - Male - 46 (48) - 197 (190) - (hill intervals)
Evil Pixie - 34 - Female - 46 - 206 (as Caterpillar)
Hendo - 33 - Male - 51 - 189 (sprint finish at end of 10 mile race)
paul the builder - 39 - Male - 45 - 186 (short sharp hill intervals. But now I'm much fitter, I find long sustained hills are a better way to get a very high HR, short efforts don't work anymore)
Hanneke - 42 - Female - 39 - 198 (running as fast as I could on a short stretch, several reps with short jogging intervals, pushing it up until I almost collapsed)
Dvorak - 44 - Male - 48 - 196 (Uphill after fast 5K training run) (Previous figures 54 - 190; 52 - 192)
M. - 33 - Female - 37 - 206 (hill intervals)
The_Saint - 43 - Male - 34 - 246 (Garmin HRM Rose Inn Race 4 12/08/2008 - not a spike)
SteveT - 42 - Male - 48 - 203 (Treadmill, 3*2min 6% hill as fast as possible, then 4th run on 6% at 1 mph faster and keep going until you drop dead).
IanM - 44 - Male - 48 - 180 (hill intervals on last rep of last set).
Willgetthere - 49 - Male - 45 - 186 ( running up a 3/4 mile hill)
Luckythecat - 32 - Female - 46 - 203 (running up a big hill)
Pooh Bear - 41 - Male - 55 - 205 (3 * 400m intervals with last flat out)
Boingy - 36 - Male - 43 - 190 (end of 10*400 intervals session) )
Kieren - 28 - Male - 39 - 207 (sprint finish at the end of Bushy Park TT 5k race)
Bob! - 48 - male -58 - 188 (sprint finish at end of 4 mile training run)
Jaffers - 36 - Male - 47 - 193 (10k race with lingering virus)
kstuart - 30 - Male - 55 - 190 (10k Race finish)
Geprig - 43 - Male -56 - 203 (During a HM on a very hot day about a mile before I collapsed)
Colinzealuk - 23 - Male -54 - 196 (Sprint finish followed by being sick)
Ex-Pat Scot - 39 - Male - 45 - 187
John Bach - 38 - Male - 50 - 190 (max HR noted during a hilly 12.5k race)
UnderHill - 54 - Male - 48 - 183 (Top of hill during Langport 10K)
Padoir Noir - 40 - Male - 42 - 193 (short hill sprints)
the terminator - 37 - Male - 50 - 192 (during 15 x 200m interval session yesterday, think will be higher again)
Magpie Rob - 40 - Male - 55 - 206 (sprint finish at end of 5k race)
Ulric - 47 - Male - 52 - 173 (during 1km interval)
SusiesueH - 34 - Female - 62 - 194 (hill intervals)
HappyG(rrr) - 41 - Male - 51 - 189 (think I've seen it on a bike or running trace. Not very scientific!)
*Notes:
scientific!)
iwannarun76 - 38 - Male - 62 - 206 (After 10k, also after one of the Park Runs)
*Notes:
Based on 220-age +5 for female we should get the following maxima*
The_Saint - 178 (38 bpm lower than actual)
eL Bee! - 180 (27 bpm lower than actual)
SteveT - 178 (25 bpm lower than actual)
Caterpillar - 171 (24 bpm lower than actual)
Petemulv - 168 (23 bpm lower than actual)
Evil Pixie - 190 (17 bpm lower than actual)
Hanneke - 183 (15 bpm lower than actual)
M. - 192 (14 bpm lower than actual)
Dvorak - 176 (20 bpm lower than actual)
Dio - 180 (17 bpm lower than actual)
Axme - 183 (9 bpm lower than actual)
jude - 191 (7 bpm lower than actual)
Girlie - 185 (6bpm lower than actual)
Boingy - 184 (6bpm lower than actual)
Hellen - 192 (3 bpm lower than actual)
Hendo - 187 (2 bpm lower than actual)
paul the builder - 181 (5 bpm lower than actual)
IanM - 176(4bpm lower than actual)
Luckythecat - 188 (15bpm lower than actual)
Pooh Bear - 179 (26bpm lower than actual)
Bob! 172 (16bpm lower than actual)
Jaffers - 184 (9 bpm lower than actual)
Geprig - 177 (26 bpm lower than actual_
John Bach - 182 (8bpm lower than actual)
UnderHill - 166 (17 bpm lower than actual)
Magpie Rob - 180 (26bpm lower than actual)
** The point at which Calculated Max = Actual Max **
kstuart - 190 (spot on calculated max)
Woadwunner - 180 (1 bpm higher than actual)
Lums - 188 (6 bpm higher than actual)
pabc - 186 (12 bpm higher than actual)
Ruth2 - 200 (16 bpm higher than actual)
Colinzealuk - 197 (1 bpm higher than actual)
So far, of the people who have submitted their Actual Max Heart Rates.... MOST are faster than the Calculated MHR!
* How Individuals Have Progressed *

* IanM *

As suggested on the HRM thread here are a few facts taken directly from my Fetch training log. Hopefully these will serve to encourage people to stick to their training and help motivate. If it helps even ONE person, then I'll be happy.
* THEN *

Wed 07/06/2006 6pm RR 6.35 miles in 01:04:50 @ 10:13 mins/mile 73%WHR 144bpm
Average pace for ALL miles covered:
00:09:21 mins/mile
Average speed:6.42 mph

* NOW *

Wed 22/08/2007 6pm RR 5.07 miles 00:42:10 @ 08:19 mins/mile 68%WHR 139bpm
Average pace for ALL miles covered:
00:09:03 mins/mile
Average speed:6.63 mph
Unfortunately I couldn't find a run of exactly the same length where I had worn the HRM but as I have mentioned before I don't wear it as much as I used to because of a skin reaction to the elastic in the strap. That being said, I have got much more used to judging my pace and effort levels and this run (same route as 2006) I did the other night felt very close in terms of effort.
Wed 01/08/2007 6pm R 6.35 miles in 00:52:09 @ 08:13 mins/mile.
I think it is fairly clear to see that I have improved quit a lot since June of last year.
How much of that is down to HRM training and how much to being gradually more dedicated and structured with training I cannot honestly say.
However, it is probably useful to note that I still spend 74% of my running running at quite a steady pace.

Luckythe cat
---------------
I was ill for 2 or 3 weeks in April and started HR training as soon as I was running again - at this point even recovery pace runs were hard. They felt ridiculously slow and pointless for a few weeks, now I don't notice.
Figures are pasted in from the training log: type of run, distance, time, pace, av HR)
10K Race improvements
-----------------------------
May 07 - Tue 15 7pm !!! 6.22 00:53:07 08:32 170 - flat course 2 weeks after starting HR training
After HR training -
Aug 07 - Wed 8 7pm !!! 6.22 00:52:57 08:31 171 - hilly course
Tempo runs - all from the same super-hilly course
----------------------------------------------
Before -
Dec 06 - 22 11am T 3.06 00:30:30 09:58 153 - Steady jog - v slightly below par.
Dec 27 - 06 -12pm T 3.06 00:31:45 10:23 160 - Some walking since headtorch batteries fell out.
Feb 07 - Tue 6 12pm T 3.03 00:27:45 09:10 157
After HR training -
Mar 07 -Wed 21 4pm T 3.03 00:26:58 08:54 167 - nearly threw up at the end
Jul 07 - Tue 17 12pm T 3.06 00:26:06 08:32 167
It's clear my tempo runs are now run at a harder pace, my easy runs are much easier, and my race times have improved.
Running at different paces has let me increase my mileage lots and I've been following a Hal Higdon half marathon training plan since June.

Hellen
I have been doing HRM trianing since Jan when I started training for my first marathon. Due to being prone to injury I didnt do many 85% sessions. I didnt see any improvements in my pace HOWEVER I was able to increase my milage without injury and instead of running 3 times a week increased to 5 times with no problem.
Since June I have started doing intervals (85%) sessions once a week, for the last 4 weeks I have started running 6 times a week and the last 3 weeks I have done doubles on 2 days ( a teacher on holiday so loads of time). over the last couple of weeks I have started to see a few of my runs getting better, for example my LR on sunday was 10.15/mile for a 73% HR whereas it had been 10.30/mile or slower. Some (but not all) of my 70% runs have come down from 10.30/mile to 10/mile. these are not consistent yet but will update in a few weeks.

GIRLIE
Started HR training end of May 2007- Figures are taken from first full month in June 2007
* THEN *

Sat 2/6/2007 LSR 8.9 miles in 1:54:01 @ 12:49 mins/mile 78% WHR 152bpm
* NOW *

Mon 17/9/2007 R 8.15 miles in 1:31:33 @ 11:14 mins/mile 66%WHR 142bpm
Mon 24/9/2007 R 10 miles in 1:50:55 @11:06 mins/mile 68%WHR 145bpm
The run on 24/9 was possibly wind assisted, which may distort the figures, however the increase and pace and drop in WHR cannot be disputed.
Was a very frustrating regime at the start, with constant battles with the HRM. Didn't really click into place until end July when a run with Woad Wunner showed me how to run slower.
Now I fell I am moving at an acceptable pace, feel less tired at end of longer runs and more often feel I could go further.
Big test of this trainign method will be NYC marathon in Nov 2007

*PAUL THE BUILDER*
Started HR training at back end of 2006. Massive fan of this, and believe it was the key reason a not-very-talented runner was able to manage an even-paced 3:29 marathon less than a year later. Off not very much volume either, typical 30mpw, and 90% easy paced. Since then training has increased in quality and quantity, but I still do plenty of easy running to c. 65% WHR, and use my pace at that HR as a key fitness indicator.
For them that like graphs, have a look in my gallery. There's a pretty good relationship between marathon performance and easy run pace.


Recent Updates User Comments
Aug 2014 iwannarun76 Added my Resting Heart Rate (measured manually) and Max Heart Rate (measured by my Garmin 610 on two separate occasions)
Jan 2014 robcann
Dec 2012 NordRunner
Feb 2011 eL Bee!
Feb 2011 HappyG(rrr) Added own details...
Sep 2010 Ulric Added figs for Ulric
Sep 2010 Magpie Rob added my MaxHR details
Jul 2010 paul the builder
Jul 2010 paul the builder Updated figures, added my bio at the bottom.
Jul 2010 padoir noir added HR details







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