Emailed question:
I'm going to be purchasing your book "The Cyclist's Training Bible", but in the meantime I have a question for you regarding cycling within specific heart rate zones/ranges.
I'm 41 years old and started (recreational) cycling this year, mostly as a means of cardio exercise. I'm not extremely fit, but have become more fit than I have been for a long time. I have completed 2 metric century rides and usually try to do one 60-80 km ride once a week and 20-25km rides twice a week prior to heading to the office.
I've noticed that my heart rate is usually in the 165-180 range for most of my ride (many times around 171-175 for quite some time — at least that's what I usually see when looking at my cyclometer). I haven't tracked how much variance there is, however, my concern is the possibility of this being too taxing on my heart. My last couple of rides (30-50km rides), I have tried staying between 150 and 160 bpm just to be safe.
Can being in this range for a long period of time be dangerous? I notice that I feel that my heart is still racing several hours after a ride (although I have noticed that after stopping and taking off the heart rate monitor shortly after my ride it has already dropped to around 130 or less).
Should there be any reason for concern? Should I even be monitoring that closely?
My answer:
Let's address this from two different perspectives. The first has to do with "high" heart rate. The second with if your heart is in danger due to exercise.
Heart rate is as variable as shoe size is. There is a bell-shaped curve when it comes to HR. You may simply be at the high end of the curve. I assume you're basing your concern on "220 – your age," which is no more likely to be right than assuming shoe size has a predictive formula based on age. There isn't one HR that is appropriate for every person, for every level of exercise intensity. There is no reason to be concerned about your exercise HR unless you experience the symptoms of heart disease (pressure in chest, radiating pain in neck or arm, weakness or dizziness, nausea, irregular heartbeats, etc). If you experience any of these or feel there is really something unusual about your HR, please see your doctor right away. Here is a blog post Dr. John Post and I wrote on this topic sometime back which may help you understand your exercise HR.
As for damage to your heart due to exercise, it's a topic open for debate among experts on the topic. You might read this for both points of view.
