Setting Max HR on intervals ICU

[Kevinstry]

Me and a group of my friends have started using intervals ICU recently

Most of us have set our MAX HR according to (220 minus age) and most of us have fairly normal looking zones after work outs.

However there are two of my friends which have strange looking zones after rides.

Friend 1
Age: 50
Max HR Set: 170
Issue: Most of his rides recorded are entirely in zone 1, yet he feels that the rides were rather intense

Friend 2
Age: 32
Max HR Set: 187
Issue: Most of her rides recorded are in Zone 4/5, yet she feels that the rides were not overly intense

Myself
Age: 33
Max HR Set: 188
Issue: I regularly am able to hit up to 200bpm if i am going all out. I usually follow the training zones for 188 Max HR, should i adjust my Max HR value and follow those values of a 200 Max HR instead?

Thanks for answering my queries, i have googled extensively on this topic, however it is still rather confusing.

[gregor]

I would add these two answers from a heart rate discussion thread:

Heart Rate Discussion

Heart rate is not supposed to be used in isolation, but rather along side RPE and Power as a measure of what’s happening inside. Power is mechanical, while HR is biochemical, and RPE is subjective. If one of them is off, eg. HR doesn’t get up to an average of 90% of maxHR (the range could be 85-95%) of any of the threshold intervals, yet you are pushing the power, it could be a sign that you need to back off due to fatigue, or the onset of fatigue. Also, maxHR will decline with age, but not 1bp…

Heart Rate Discussion

AeT / Zone 2 based on the speech test as detailed by Iñigo San Millán [1]. I do this regularly on Zone 2 rides. Observe power and heart rate to get a good feeling where AeT occurs. For longer rides of 2h+ my average power will end up about 10% below AeT. I try to keep all efforts during such a ride below AeT. Sweet spot / Threshold based on FTP obtained by a ramp test, irregularly confirmed through Kolie Moore’s baseline FTP test protocol [2]. VO2max work, ideally you should go by feel,…

[William_Barnes]

220—age works well for populations but less well for individuals…

If you have seen a higher max HR than indicated by the 220-age rule of thumb, it would be better to use that real data regarding your physiology to set your zones by.

However, it is tricky to know if the max HR you have seen across activities is truly your max HR, as you need to be highly motivated and working very hard to hit max HR. It is much easier to get a reliable number for your threshold HR, so I would recommend doing a field test for threshold HR and basing your zones off of that instead of max HR.

Here’s an article which covers how to do such a field test if you are not sure: Determine Your Lactate Threshold: Put in your best effort with zone training based on your LTHR | SportTracks

[DavidU]

@William_Barnes

However, it is tricky to know if the max HR you have seen across activities is truly your max HR, as you need to be highly motivated and working very hard to hit max HR. It is much easier to get a reliable number for your threshold HR, so I would recommend doing a field test for threshold HR and basing your zones off of that instead of max HR.

Absolutely. Also, athletes reach their maximum HR at different types of effort. Here is Dr. Stephen Seilers video summarizing the science. He does an excellent job of condensing it, and it is well worth watching the full 20 minutes.