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Heart rates for different types of training
A question for the training guru's out there.
Most of my training I do on the road bike. I do a mix of intervals on a stationary trainer, intervals on the road and bunch rides. The bunch rides here are not the easy miles variety, but a pretty solid effort (grp 3 at SOP for those who train at Homebush).
If you look at perceived exertion, I always find stationary trainer is the hardest, followed by intervals on the road and followed by bunch rides. Yet the heart rate is the opposite. On the trainer I will get to 165 and feel like the world is ending, but on road intervals I will get to 170 and sometimes higher in the bunch.
I train with a power meter on the trainer, and I base my efforts on this. I feel like I work harder than on the road and often feel that I couldn't stay upright if I worked that hard when riding, but with the heart rate I am asking myself should I be pushing harder?
Does anyone know how much you expect the heart rate to vary depending on the method of training. Is it just that on the trainer you have nothing else to think about but how difficult it is, or are you really working harder but the HR doesn't reflect this?
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I reckon irs a bit of both. No coasting on the trainer, you're going the whole time non stop. And there's nothing to distract you from those protesting muscles, beart and lungs. Saying "Shut up,legs!" works best when I've got some scenery to draw the attention elsewhere.
I always go harder on the road when I've got a "rabbit" to chase ahead of me. Spin classes can be good too,especially when there's intervals in the mix. The only thing i'm not so keen on in spin classes is the amount of standing "climbing" so i just do those as low cadence seated butt burners.
You were right about the Kinetic Road Machine btw, excellent unit.
Hawkeye has said it well. Trainer is always harder because you don't get breaks. Outside on the bike you coast alot more and get alot more rest. Outside your not focused on your computer trying to maintain that RPM/BPM/Watts/etc... But rather enjoying the scenery or maintaining your safety.
I was told once by a PT that a good cardio workout is keeping you heart rate at 160bpm. This may be of use to you.
Agree with the responses so far regarding perceived exertion. I can't explain for sure why your HR get higher on group rides. One thing to remember is HR is not just a result of how hard you are pushing. There's temperature, how much sleep, health etc. I think its hard to compare a trainer to actually riding though. Once you add the fact your actually riding you have so many factors, your negotiating the road/trail, you have adrenalin flowing which can have a massive effect.
I can always get a higher HR when on a mtb over the road and a trainer.
Its alo interesting while riding I can get up to 95% quite easyly just pedalling along a transport section on the road. Sure I'm breathing hard. ( perhaps high Cadence low power?)
but going up some killer hill, Off road, my legs are burning my whole body is hurting, I'm moaning & groaning but the heartrate is less than on the on the road stage.
....I find that while riding on the MTB my HR gets higher and I think it is because I don't really have the chance to look at my Garmin for fear of death!! For example, at Manly Dam 2 weeks ago, I did a 28:50 hotlap and was astonished to find my when I finished that my average HR was 176 and I have a max of 187 (based on field test calculations). I have never maintained that sort of level for nearly 30 minutes on the road....even with a rabbit to chase.
Hi guys,
I don't know if I have to be worry because my average HR in an average ride is about 160-175 with maximums up to 204. I am 31yo and I was thinking that probably the HRM was giving me bad readings but I have tried with 3 different ones (2 garmin ant+ and 1 polar bluetooth) and I get the same readings.
any thoughts? am I going to die on the trails?
My wife is the same, she will often average 180+ on a run and can peak at 200ish. So far so good
I would say your swimming in unsafe water.
Just did a google search and found this link which is very informative to this topic of discussion
http://www.heart.com/heart-rate.html
I'm 32 tomorrow, I have hit a max of around 198bpm in the past, I have my Garmin set to alarm at 195bpm. According to the links calculation for an estimated safe maximum heart rate I should not be exceeding 188bpm.
This have given me something to think about
but probably something is wrong. Another funny/strange thing is my HR at nights, I wear the HRM for a few hour while sleeping and I got this http://www.sportstracklive.com/track/detail/p2tx...
so I think my best bet will be going to a doctor and explain all this.
That is a strange reading, surely it should be pretty steady in the blue zone?.
Good idea getting yourself checked out, hope it turns out fine and it's a dodgy heart rate monitor.
220-age isn't accurate. Everyone is different so you can't compare your heart rate with others. If your concerned about anything definitely go to your GP and get checked out.
Its a misconception that the maximum heart rate is some kind of a "maximum safe heart rate". Before I started training with HR I thought that when you got to your maximum heart rate something terrible might happen. The reality is that its just the highest it will go to, and therefore limits your aerobic output.
I remember reading a study about the maximum heart rates of the English rowing team. Apparently the variation in max HR was huge, from 160 to just over 200. So maximum heart rate doesn't have anything to do with fitness.
Getting yourself checked out is still a good idea. I was getting chest pains when riding hard which I found a worry to say the least. So I went to a cardiologist and did a stress test with ultrasound imaging. Everything was fine, and when discussing with the cardiologist the pain wasn't happening at the right time for it to be angina (ie it was often when cooling off rather than maximum intensity).
The reason why its good to get checked out is that every year we read about a cyclist who has died during an event, and often it is concluded to be a congenital heart disorder which was previously undiagnosed. The number 1 cause of death in junior athletes is heart attach for the same reason. Routine screening isn't carried out because it is felt that there would to many false positive diagnosis. So if you are worried at all its worth seeing your GP for a referral.
+1 to Al!'s comments. My cousin used to hit 200 in the sprints in his seventies. His doc reckoned that was fine so long as it came down fast afterwards. He used to average 180 on long steep climbs (25 kms).
Mine seems to go up by one a year, not down.
So 220 - age is a very approximate guide, but once you get a recording HRM and do a couple of races you'll have a much better idea of *your* limits.
Generally your levels of discomfort with the level of exertion work to keep you well within safe limits. That said, i hit a significant birthday this year so i'll go get myself checked out.
I will be paying a visit to the doctor sometime soon and I let you know the outcome. Sorry for hijack your post Al.
Cheers
Miguel
I wore mine to bed and got a similar pattern. I'm thinking the spikes corresponded to me moving about, rolling over etc, or dreaming.
Just done a fair bit of reading on this topic, to try and maximise my gains for the scott, and also because i'm currently spin bike bound.
1. ignore MHR - not useful for anything at all, either real or calculated - except that when you are getting close to your max (within 8bpm, you may as well slow down now, coz you sure will be any second now anyway
2. look up lactic acid threshold. then calculate it by doing a absolutely flat out race lap (try not to use a lap where there is a lot of downhill)
3 train on the basis of that LT - do 10 to 20 min intervals within 8bpm of your LT, and you can go over it by 4 or 5 bpm giving a spread , then 5 to 10 min rest at 85% of your LT.
4 do not train or ride in the no mans land of 87% to 92% of LT - you get little gain in this area - neither endurance benefit nor extending your LT.
5. You get great benefit for a 45min training session - you get very little more at 90min. 5 days at 45m is waaaay better than 3 at 90
6 consistant training - the big adv of the 45min workout is you can train every day.
7 Recovery days - know your resting HR. If you wake up in the morning, and your RHR is >10bpm than normal - today is a recovery day or rest day- that means keeping HR below 85% of your LT -do not do intervals.
genetics - your vo2 max is pre determined - fast twitch muscle fibre is also pre determined, your MHR is pre determined. Your LT or FTP can be moved upwards - the further up it goes the greater your effective perfromance over >10min durations. therefore concentrate on improving your FTP/LT - top athletes can get it up to around 95% of their real MHR
BTW, LT's and MHR's are relative to the particular body position - so sitting versus standing produce different numbers - so there might be slight differences between sitting on an upright mtb versus down on the drops of a road bike - big differences between running and swimming though.