So I do cross country unicycling and MUNI. Sometimes my heart rate gets up to 230-240 ( once it got up to 247) bpm- is that normal? I just thought it was cause I’m on a unicycle but should I be concerned? I thought it was just something that happens when riding a unicycle since it’s a more high intensity sport. My HR doesn’t get that high when doing other things (doing other kinds of workouts or just leisure things) and I’ve never had any heart or health issues my entire life. Idk if anyone else has that problem or if it’s just me
Edit: I use a Garmin watch (forerunner 55) this is how I track my miles and HR. but I also don’t know how accurate it is.
If you are using the Garmin watch for everything, then view it all in context. Don’t view the BPM as actual BPM. It is fair to assume the Garmin is not perfectly accurate, as the machines in an Emergency Room at a hospital might be.
However, if the same Garmin watch is worn for everything, then you can use the Garmin watch as a “directional” indicator. If you wear the Garmin watch for everything, and unicycling makes your heart rate climb higher than anything else, then unicycling is the most strenuous thing you are doing.
If you are really concerned, stop during a strenuous portion of your uni ride, and place your finger on your wrist or your neck and count the pulses for 15 seconds, then multiply by 4. Then compare that to your Garmin. That will be an indicator of how accurate your Garmin is, and how physically taxing unicycling is on your body.
230-247 bpms?
Those numbers are wrong, unless your max is about 280 or 300. Use a timer and count your pulses on your wrist or neck. Or borrow a friends heart rate monitor with a chest strap.
Hard to say what it is. There is a good chance that the reading was off, or it was just a one-off thing. Then there may be some people that will freak out and say you might have a heart condition. I spent two weeks with a medical grade heart rate monitor stuck to my chest after I biked to a doctors appointment for an ear infection and my heart rate came up as 220. The doctors thought I might have some kind of arrhythmia that causes the heart to start beating unsustainably fast at random times (most common among young males). They didn’t find anything, and just left me with a “keep an eye on yourself”. From my own research, I have found that electrolyte imbalances can cause high heart rates and heart rhythm problems, because they are what control heart rhythm. Personally, I think that is what my problem was then, and all I needed was to hydrate and get electrolytes. You might try drinking a body armor or something to replenish your electrolytes when you ride cross country. That would be the first place I would start if you rule out a reading error. That being said, I don’t think there are any licensed medical professionals around in this forum, and I most certainly am not. If you are really concerned, the best thing to do is talk to a doctor.
@Uni2ONE2, @MeeplePerson@slamdance
When my heart rate does get that high I do check it manually and it usually is pretty close to the 200-220 - but I didn’t know if this is just something that happens with unicycling since it’s so different. And I didn’t want to go to the doctor because I didn’t want to worry them or waste their time over nothing
Let me add my 2 cents here as I had a time in the past where I paid some attention to my HR.
To answer your question: yes, for a given ride, unicycling is more work than a b*ke. And it is amplified by the lack of experience (remember how heavy is the breathing of a beginner trying to ride a few revolutions).
However, there is also another aspect to the effort that can impact HR and strain (based on my own case): the amount of “balance” in how you are spending your energy.
Let me try to explain in context:
I noticed that my endurance was not that good in forest ride despite my level of comfort on the muni after all those years. Then I got a fitness tracker and I noticed spikes in my HR that explained my sensations. However, it was not obvious why (not a suspense-building trick). Then I thought about my mindset and behavior while riding and noticed that I was riding like my life did depend on it and was giving 105%. But this is not sustainable for hours…
And when comparing to other sports, I realized that there was a slight difference between that and just a regular workout. Long-story short: I started to pay attention to the moderation in my effort (akin to b*king) and was surprised to see that the resulting ride was good and my HR was not skyrocketing !
Disclaimer: this could explain also the spikes compared to other activities of yours. But for the actual numbers (220+) you may want to do a medical effort load test (or whatever it is called) to get an opinion about what your body can do and what you should be careful about.
FYI, in the previous example, my sight was turning black-and-white sustaining 195bpm for too long (one of the possible warning messages of heat excessive load).
Those numbers sound crazy, but IMO not impossible. Take a metronome app (e.g. Soundbrenner), use its tap mode to measure your heartrate immediately after an intense ride, and see if your watch is accurate.
First thoughts; reading error from Garmin. Not impossible if you think about it. Secondly, any alcohol a night or two before exercise? Commonest reason.
BTW, don’t refuse to go to a doctor in case you worry them. Go because you’re worried.
@alan_moran Welcome to the discussion Alan! Glad to have you here. I see from your profile pic that it looks like you are also a motorcyclist. I ride too, and it is nice to see people that aren’t afraid to try a variety of things. I am sure you will get riding the uni figured out before you know it. Best wishes and happy riding!
Good. Unfortunately we have too many age 18 in Ireland drinking. Then a (self monitored) manual check with the carotid artery in the neck or the radial artery in the wrist, as described by the others, is the next step.
There is no physiological benefit to over taxing your cardiovascular system. The general rule of thumb. 220 - your age × .5% to a max of .85%. The example 220 - 64 yrs = 156 maximum pulse rate, 156 × .5 =78 pulse, 156× .85 = 132.6 . The range for a 64 yr old is (78 - 133) This being said, always consider the following: heat, humidity, air quality, the cardiovascular fitness of the individual. Poor hydration can be the culprit in tachycardia no matter what the age.
Max is 220 minus your age.
I have been able to show a mild (registred) exception to this, but that was very extreme.
As extreme as it is to be able to reach 21bpm at age 19
Back to your case:
sounds like your detector is not making good constant contact with your (probably sweaty) body.
This is the type of data that the 220-age rule is extrapolated from. It might describe that generally maximum heart rate decreases with age, but it is completely inadequate to determine an individuals maximum heart rate from it. Not even as a rule of thumb.
If you want to use heartrate as a training tool (I don’t when unicycling, but with running it has helped me a lot to learn pacing), make sure your device is reading properly, then do a max heartrate test. Typically this involves a warmup, some hard efforts for some minutes with an all out finish sprint. The highest heart rate you see is your maximum heart rate.
ok thanks for the helpful tips. That’s crazy that your hr reached 21 bpm. The lowest mine has reached was maybe 30 but that isn’t “low” for someone who is an athlete or workouts
good to know! Thanks! I didn’t want to go to the dr because i didn’t think it was a huge issue. And because like i said it’s unicycling and there isn’t alot of like “data” when it comes to this sport. (i mean like with running they have like certain things that you should look out for etc. and with unicycling we don’t really have that) I’m also a cross country unicyclist so not alot of people do 30-40 miles a day. I hope im not to confusing with this reply, sometimes i don’t make sense lol
that’s cool that you live in Ireland! although it is sad that the US and Ireland have similar issues when it comes to underage drinking. I stay away from all of that stuff, I’ve never smoked, drank, done drugs, vaped-etc. because I know that if I do any of that it could prevent me from doing what I love which is cross country unicycling and MUNI. (and I’m also a fan of breathing)
Adding a HR belt to work with your watch might make it a bit more accurate.
220 - age as max is a vey general rule, as shown by the very dull* graph by @finnspin Finnspinn.
As a 50 year old dull man my max HR would be 170 BPM and yet just 2 years ago I averaged 167 BMP for close to 4 hours during a cross country ride on my 27.5 Muni.
So obviously my max HR will be much higher otherwise I would not have been able to keep this up
At your age max HR would be 221 so I would think peaks of 230-240 are not that extreme.
I get it, my first major was physical education with a focus on endurance training for track events. My second RN, med surg cardiac step down. It’s important to stay hydrated, that can’t be emphasized enough. Your vascular system is a super highway, keep the traffic flowing.
