Pinkhouse (aka Paul Camerer) almost 10 years ago, started the first “garage gym” named after the color of his east Sacramento home. Today, he is nearing his 92nd birthday and he wanted to continue to demonstrate that maximum and threshold heart rate do not decline with age as many believe. Pinkhouse is but one example that the age-adjusted formula 220-age=maximum heart rate is useless. Don’t use this formula for setting your training zones.
The picture to the right shows the average heart rate from today’s ride using the “Gymbotron”, a device that displays heart rate on a screen or wall. He averaged 149 bpm for 52 minutes. That is he rode 20 bpm above his calculated maximum heart rate using the formula (220-91=129 bpm). The point Pinkhouse is demonstrating is that his maximum and threshold heart rates have not dropped a beat over the last 35 years that we, the Heart Zones Training certified trainers, have measured it. Carl Foster, PhD, and speaker at the upcoming Heart Zones Conference in St. Louis, recently administered an all out metabolic test and Pinkhouse’s T1 (first threshold) was lab tested at 150 bpm. At the age of 91, Pinkhouse can ride his threshold heart rate number for an hour. Why does Pinkhouse want to prove that as you get older you do not get worse? He wants to make the statement to other seniors that they can get fit, stay fit, and enjoy these years with high energy and a smile.
If you are interested in learning more about how “garage gyms” work please contact the Head Heart, Sally Edwards. She is offering free franchises to anyone who wants to be like Pinkhouse – fit at any age. Note that in the picture of the Gymbotron above, the average heart rate for “Gardener”. Gardener is one of several of the Pinkhouse Garage Gym’s 84 year olds, Betty Hill. Even though Betty is young, 10 years younger than Pinkhouse, she too proves that fitness is not about age but about health.