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Forerunner 265 fc max settings

5877484
over 1 year ago

Good morning everyone!

I'm a runner and currently use a forerunner 265 (previously 235 and fenix 5).

I have a problem with my heart rate. Most of my workouts have an average heart rate of around 150 bpm (resting heart rate at night around 45). On one occasion the 265 detected a max heart rate of 194 (I think it was an anomaly). Since then, since the heart rate zones are set automatically, all or almost all of my workouts have been judged too mild. If I try to manually set the max HR to a more likely value, at the end of each workout the watch automatically sets the max HR again to 194.

Is there a way to restore an adequate max HR without having to reset the watch?

Thank you in advance

  • 0 over 1 year ago in reply to Etupes25

    Hi Etupes25, thanks for your reply.

    You're right: I don't know my current HR max exactly. That's why I prefer to leave the automatic detection rather than manual (also for a dynamic evaluation over time).

    The point is that the current heart rate zones are based on what is statistically an anomaly (even if it were true that on that occasion I reached 194 bpm).

    So I was wondering if I can remove it individually, leaving automatic detection active, without actually eliminating all other information and activities via reset.

    It's possible?

  • 0 over 1 year ago in reply to 5877484
    5877484 said:
    So I was wondering if I can remove it individually, leaving automatic detection active, without actually eliminating all other information and activities via reset.

    I don't think so. I tried to no avail. When I was unhappy with the auto-detection, I went back to look at the history of all my activities and deleted or trimmed the ones that were showing clearly wrong HR peaks. 

    I also reset the watch to factory settings a couple of times in the interim. That didn't change anything. 

    Like other Firstbeat metrics like EPOC, etc., this could be calculated/"compounded" on the go even before you save the data to a file.

    So, I turned off HR Max detection for at least a year and turned it back on recently based on the good experience of several users on this forum.

    While it was off, I used a 5k PB peak HR plus 5bpm as my HR Max. When I turned auto-detection back on, the estimated HR Max ended being 1-2bpm off my manual estimate. It is much more realistic than HR Max values derived from various formulas also, BTW.

    There must be a look-back time window after which the weight of past predictions is diminished enough. Since HR Max decreases with age, I am supposing the look back period is about 6 months. Complete guess. If true, you could wait for 6 months, or you could do a field test and use a manual value for 6 months.

    In any case, make sure you always wear a wet chest strap for all activities. If you exercise in the cold, wear a windproof jacket until you start sweating to avoid issues even with chest straps.

  • 0 over 1 year ago in reply to Etupes25

    Interesting. Thanks for sharing your experience.

    As stated, my goal is to have a correct evaluation of the training load, information that at the moment seems distorted to me (just yesterday I performed a 15K fartlek with significant heart rate fluctuations, and it was classified as "basic training").

    I think I'll try waiting the 6 months you suggest. If nothing changes, I will try to run a test and manually set the max heart rate by deactivating automatic detection.