I Am Wondering About The Value Of Training With Ma Heart Rate Monitor...

['Dale]

Unless I ride Cat 1, I cannot see myself easily buying a PowerTap.

For all of Summa racing season, I have trained and raced without my Polar HRM. It was in hospital for battery replacement.

Thus, operating using my senses, intuition and basically good training principles of good rest, good nutrition, mixing hard sessions with easy sessions.

My results have been lekka. Very satisfying. I have met all my goals.

 

Got my Polar back and not very motivated to use it now.

It will come in handy for my 4-5 hr winter training rides just to control my Long Steady Distance effort.

 

Then I come across this intriguing article:

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Training Center with BCSM: Are heart monitors still useful?

By Neal Henderson, Boulder Center for Sports Medicine

Published Mar 1st 2011 2:16 PM EST

Have a question for VeloNews Training Center?

Send it to TrainingCenter@competitorgroup.com

 

Q. Dear BCSM,

 

I recently read about a study that brought heart rate monitors into question. The study said that there was a disparity between anaerobic thresholds when cycling vs. running. It basically brought the whole concept of heart-rate training into question. This concerns me because I cannot afford a power meter and I use a heart rate monitor cycling computer to measure my progress. Is this a good study, and are there other pitfalls with heart rate training we need to know? Should I dump the HR monitor?

— Peter

 

A. Peter,

 

The term anaerobic threshold is a bit dated, though unfortunately many people still use this term. If you could provide the specific article that you read, then I could comment further on that specific study. But the idea of the existence of a threshold intensity above which exercise capacity is limited can be measured in an exercise physiology laboratory in various methods such as using blood lactate concentration or measuring oxygen consumption and CO2 production relative to respiratory rate. Most tests used to evaluate a breakpoint in these physiological responses will then reference the value obtained relative to the testing method, such as lactate threshold or ventilatory threshold.

 

In our physiology lab at Boulder Center for Sports Medicine, we use both methods but most importantly look at the associated power (watts), heart rate, and perceived effort at not only the breakpoints (or thresholds) but also across the continuum of effort from easy to threshold and to maximum effort. As a coach, I also like to establish not only laboratory threshold values, but also real world power output using tests such as constrained heart rate efforts as well as maximum power output tests from short duration (1-5 seconds), all the way to 1-hour maximum efforts. I usually have my athletes who are undergoing physiology testing also perform power output testing on their bike to look at the correlation between lab results and performance capacity.

 

When looking at different sports such as cycling and running, there are typically differences observed in peak or maximum heart rate in each activity — as well as the corresponding threshold heart rates. Generally speaking, running and cross-country skiing yield higher maximum and threshold heart rate values with respect to cycling. Swimming, on the other hand, is typically lower than cycling, though your training history and experience in a given sport can influence this. I also encourage the combined use of heart rate and perceived effort, in addition to some sort of output (power for cyclists, pace/speed for runners & swimmers) to evaluate training responses with my athletes.

 

The heart rate, though different from sport to sport, can still be a useful tool for training. The use or lack of a power meter does not mean that you should ditch your heart rate monitor; ideally you should integrate whatever tools you have available to track your progress. Without using a power meter, you could evaluate your progress occasionally (every month or two) by performing a trial effort from Point A to Point B while holding a constant heart rate and track your speed. I like to use a sustained climb of 15-30 minutes if possible, as this reduces the effects of differences of wind speed from trial to trial.

[SwissVan]

One of the reasons I like my HRM (Polar) is the training log capability, end of the week all I do is download my running watch and cycling computer and have all the data I need to plan the next weeks training.

 

And it is usefull to monitor the zone you are training in to ensure you dont slack off or over exert, but it does take some experience to use as you have to factor in the "current situation fudge factor" unlike a power meter which shows the real situation as it happppens.

 

While the power vs hrm debate is a old news if your into multi sport then a hrm is it, they still have to invent a power tap for my Asics.

Edited March 2, 2011 by SwissVan

[Wyatt Earp]

Bru, the first thing that should worry you is your obsession with your ma.

But yes, there will be a massive benefit from using heart rate based techniques.

Through this you will understand your physical limits and also get to understand your legs better.

[Bos]

This is an interesting topic, I have been thinking much the same as Airbender. When I trained for the GR300 wich was a 3day race, I trained wednesdays through sundays. Monday and tuesday was either off or recovery on TDT and or run.

As you gents know, The first "fresh" day of the training week one easily reaches the 95% marks during intervalls or hills but as my week progresses what would be 95% on fresh legs becomes 90% and a desent cruise speed whould normally be highish in the 80s but late in the training week Its low 80"s

 

So I to have started judging myself by exertion, I found at day 2 of this race me and my partner were both comparing Heartrates (our Max is within 184 and 185 respectively) we were very evenly matched for the race but had very different puls's. You may say sure so youre different people, I say obviously, but we train the same way and with the same "zones"...

 

I could guage myself well by exertion and I found that as soon as I went above 8/10 I started to get tired quickly so the secret was to just never let the foot of and keep it at exactly 8 or just below.

[JamesW007]

ZONES! Please..

 

I've recently started training again after an extended holiday period.. in the process I've dusted of my HRM and am Fully Committed to training according to my HR. Except I think that I'm making a hash of it.

 

My Max HR is super high (taken from a spike and flatline during a race with a neighbouthood kid after a ride), my zones are out of whack and I don't think I'm doing anything wrong, except this.. Maybe I'm misunderstanding the concept of training according to my zones.

 

I ride an for an hour and keep my HR under 80% of Max, as I've read, this is me establishing a training/ fitness baseline. When I get home and download my data, I've spent the entire time outside (above) of my zone, which is set at 160 80 which I assume to mean 160 bpm or 80% of max.

 

All I want to achive at this stage is to optimise the limited time that I have on my bike.

[DaLoCo]

Heart rate focussed training with my HRM for 2 weeks added 3 km/h on my average speed over the same route. It felt as if I was slacking off and not training as hard as I could, but the average does not lie.

 

Monday I ride the route trying to keep in Zone 4 - (41 km with 330m of ascent)

Tuesday is 45 minutes minimum in Zone 3 ( I have no time for LSD, so this has to work for base training)

Wednesday is sprints-(45 sec in zone 5 and 3 min in zone 1/2)

Thursday - rest

Friday I ride the route Zone 4

Saturday - Hillclimbs x 5 (Nice 3 km hill with average of 5%, spiking at 8%)

Sunday-Rest

 

I am not setting the road on fire, but I get where I want to without too much of an issue. Watch me when I lose the extra 20 kg

Edited March 2, 2011 by DaLoCo

['Dale]

Bru, the first thing that should worry you is your obsession with your ma.

But yes, there will be a massive benefit from using heart rate based techniques.

Through this you will understand your physical limits and also get to understand your legs better.

[eitan]

Ek het al lankal opgehou om met myne te ry - die ding maak my bang, veral in races.

[Bos]

Ek het al lankal opgehou om met myne te ry - die ding maak my bang, veral in races.

 

Waneer die kots opstoot in jou keel is jy by 99% as jy kots is jy by 100%

as jou HR monitor flash soos swarrie sn dienaweek is hygebreek en as hy op 97% vassit soos by die 3HRs of Oakvally dan is hy ook gebreek en ek flip die screens dat ek nie die HR kan sien nie.