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Maximum Heart Rate

759 bytes removed, 16:40, 27 November 2012

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=Calculating maximum heart rate=

There are various formulas for calculating HR_max based on age. However these formulas are a statistical approximation, so the actual HR_max could vary significantly. An analogy would be estimating your weight from your height; you can get a value, but he could be out so far as to be worse than useless. The chart below shows how the measured HR_max varies with age. There is an obvious correlation, but you can also see the variation from the average. If we consider age 50, the average HR_max is 173A 2002 analysis concluded that '''"Currently, but there are people in the study with an actual HR_max that is as low as 158 and as high as 200. If a 50 year old athlete is aiming no acceptable method to work out at 75% of estimate HR_max, then the calculated HR_max would indicate that 130 BPM is the right intensity. If their actual HR_max is 158, then they are working out at 82% of HR_max, which is a lot higher. On the other hand, if their actual HR_max is 200, then they are working out at 65% of HR_max which is too low. This means that the calculated HR_max should be used with caution.[[File:HRmaxAge.jpg|none|thumb|300px|Maximum heart rate against age"'''<ref name="MaxCalcsurp"/>.]]

{| class="wikitable"!'''Age'''!!HR_max!!'''Age'''!!HR_max!!'''Age'''!!HR_max!!'''Age'''!!HR_max!!'''Age'''!!HR_max!!'''Age'''!!HR_max!!'''Age'''!!HR_max|-valign="top"|'''20'''[[File:HRmaxAge.jpg|none|194thumb|400px|'''30'''||187||'''40'''||180||'''50'''||173||'''60'''||166||'''70'''||159||'''80'''||152Maximum heart rate against age<ref name="MaxCalc"/>.]]|-[[File:MaxHR2.jpg|'''21'''none|thumb|193400px||'''31'''||186||'''41'''||179||'''51'''||172||'''61'''||165||'''71'''||158||'''81'''||151|-|'''22'''||193||'''32'''||186||'''42'''||179||'''52'''||172||'''62'''||165||'''72'''||158||'''82'''||151|-Data of HRmax for 225 subjects, 4 to 33 years<ref name="surp"/>.]]|'''23'''[[File:MaxHR3.jpg|none|192thumb|400px|'''A subset of this the data for ages 11 to 33'''||185||'''43'''||178||'''53'''||171||'''63'''||164||'''73'''||157||'''83'''||150|-|'''24'''||191||'''34'''||184||'''44'''||177||'''54'''||170||'''64'''||163||'''74'''||156||'''84'''||149|-|'''25'''||191||'''35'''||184||'''45'''||177||'''55'''||170||'''65'''||163||'''75'''||156||'''85'''||149|-|'''26'''||190||'''36'''||183||'''46'''||176||'''56'''||169||'''66'''||162||'''76'''||155||'''86'''||148|-|'''27'''||189||'''37'''||182||'''47'''||175||'''57'''||168||'''67'''||161||'''77'''||154||'''87'''||147|-|'''28'''||188||'''38'''||181||'''48'''||174||'''58'''||167||'''68'''||160||'''78'''||153||'''88'''||146|-|'''29'''||188||'''39'''||181||'''49'''||174||'''59'''||167||'''69'''||160||'''79'''||153||'''89'''||146|-years, n=196<ref name="surp"/>.]]

|}

The charts above shows how the measured HR_max varies with age. There is an obvious correlation, but you can also see the huge variation from the average. If we consider the leftmost chart, at age 50 the average HR_max is 173, but there are people in the study with an actual HR_max that is as low as 158 and as high as 200. If a 50 year old athlete is aiming to work out at 75% of HR_max, then the calculated HR_max would indicate that 130 BPM is the right intensity. If their actual HR_max is 158, then they are working out at 82% of HR_max, which is a lot higher. On the other hand, if their actual HR_max is 200, then they are working out at 65% of HR_max which is too low. This means that the calculated HR_max should be used with extreme caution.

=Does HR_max decline with age in athletes?=

<ref name="masters"> Endurance exercise performance in Masters athletes- age-associated changes and underlying physiological mechanisms http://jp.physoc.org/content/586/1/55.full.pdf </ref>

<ref name="pfitz">Pete Pfitzinger - Lab Reports - Slowing Down With Age http://pfitzinger.com/labreports/age.shtml </ref>

<ref name="surp">"THE SURPRISING HISTORY OF THE HRmax=220-age EQUATION" http://faculty.css.edu/tboone2/asep/Robergs2.pdf</ref>

</references>

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