RoboLuke Posted May 22, 2011 Posted May 22, 2011 Ive been trying to keep my HR between 70-80% of max but then Im bloody slow. So I upped it to between 80-90% of max. Its a big strain on my legs but I (just) cope on a 35 km ride. Lots of books ive read says that a LSD is more like 60-70% but here is the thing: when i look at garmin connect at other people with fast avverage times I can see that they are klapping it between 90 and 100% all the time, and then can maintain that for hours. So back to my question - what is your target HR you ride at? (assuming you are a fast gun)
Joe Low Posted May 22, 2011 Posted May 22, 2011 Ive been trying to keep my HR between 70-80% of max but then Im bloody slow. So I upped it to between 80-90% of max. ............So back to my question - what is your target HR you ride at? (assuming you are a fast gun) If you are going to focus on heart rate as the basis of your training then get a book, programme or personal trainer and do it thoroughly. Those that do find the base training at lower rates gives them the ability to be faster in the long run. Its a discipline and you have to do it properly to make those weeks of feeling like you're not getting anywhere pay off. Most of us go as fast as we can for as long as we can. Personally, I'd expect to do a 3hr race at 85-90% but i'm old fat and slow(ish) so maybe not representative. I only wear a monitor on the indoor trainer. 1st thing would be to find out what your max is. I hope you're not going on the 220 minus your age BS.
Jaco-fiets Posted May 22, 2011 Posted May 22, 2011 I find HR zones useful when you do lactate threshold or max intervals. I've been trying for years now to do races by sticking in a certain zone and upping it to the end. There are to many external factors on raceday in my opinion. I find that i do my best races when i ride without the strap. That said i love stats and like to download everything after the race and check total excetion ect at the end of the week so i do 95% of the races with the strap but try to ignore the reading (its impossible for me to ignore)So in summary: I find it useful during interval training (or when i still did intervals) and pretty useless during races
Tiny K Posted May 22, 2011 Posted May 22, 2011 1st - I am a roadie. I have been trying to get stronger too. After a great 1st season, I want to get stronger. If you want to look at stats on the ride, look at doing around 80 to 85rpm cadence for a ride. As Jaco said - HR is best used when doing sprinting and lactate threshold training. Hope it helps..... just my 2c
Inusc Posted May 22, 2011 Posted May 22, 2011 Ive been trying to keep my HR between 70-80% of max but then Im bloody slow. So I upped it to between 80-90% of max. Its a big strain on my legs but I (just) cope on a 35 km ride. Lots of books ive read says that a LSD is more like 60-70% but here is the thing: when i look at garmin connect at other people with fast avverage times I can see that they are klapping it between 90 and 100% all the time, and then can maintain that for hours. So back to my question - what is your target HR you ride at? (assuming you are a fast gun)Keep it at your max! mine is usually 90-95% on a lap race
jwagga Posted May 22, 2011 Posted May 22, 2011 I'm a rider that goes and then blows up halfway through the race,did the boston mtb ride today it was 50 km and made use of my polar,the ride took me 3 hrs 45 min,slow I know,but i stuck to my plan and cycled at 85 to 90% of max,I had a nice ride and didn't blow up,so for me 85 to 90 is a good guideline
Guest agteros Posted May 22, 2011 Posted May 22, 2011 I try to keep my HR at above 0 That said, it is not about where it is at, but rather how quickly you can bring it down from where it has been!
The expat cyclist Posted May 22, 2011 Posted May 22, 2011 I try to keep my HR at above 0 That said, it is not about where it is at, but rather how quickly you can bring it down from where it has been! That got me thinking the other day. Guys always compare HR to see who's is higher and all. My max is about 176-178bpm. So in theory I should be able to get it down faster compared to someone who's max HR is 200. :-) Ja, ja, I know, but it is my theory and I am sticking to it.
Squier Posted May 23, 2011 Posted May 23, 2011 If you're only doing 35km races I wouldn't worry too much about heart rate. If you are relatively fit you're body will be able to sustain a high heart rate for the entire race. I've done a 35km race where I averaged at 185bpm, which is about 95%. For longer rides you need to start keeping your heart in check. On a +- 70km ride I average between 70% and 75%. At the end of the day there's nothing wrong with a high heart rate, as long as your body can sustain it, IMO.
TNT1 Posted May 23, 2011 Posted May 23, 2011 Sorry, what? 35km and LSD in the same breath? You're joking, right?
SeaBee Posted May 23, 2011 Posted May 23, 2011 Sorry, what? 35km and LSD in the same breath? You're joking, right? Aah, so it's not just me be baffled with "LSD" being thrown in between "35 km" and "fast averages" and comparative HR's.
Thumper Posted May 23, 2011 Posted May 23, 2011 Listen up bud cause I'm only gonna say this once.Throw away your heartrate monitor and forget about your cadence.Then buy a single speed steed and pedal till you cant anymore, rise and repeat! I have no idea what my cadence is but in a month I went from 27km average on the flats to 35km.
nuge Posted May 23, 2011 Posted May 23, 2011 also, HR as a % of max is relatively meaningless due to the discrepancies between different riders' MHR (max heart rate) and RHR (resting heart rate) - karvonen is a better formula for finding your training zones - do a search it's bound to be on here somewhere, or google. ... or do what thumper said, seriously. i've been riding ss to commute to work for almost a year now and it really has made a difference to my riding.
Sawdust Posted May 23, 2011 Posted May 23, 2011 The only way I get to do LSD correctly is when I ride with my wife and her buddies. Did a 7hour ride yesterday and I was doing the climbs at around 120bpm. If I was on my own, it would've been more like 150bpm. This was the longest 105km ever! On raceday, ignore your HR for the 1st hour. It will settle on its own and then monitor it from there.
Thumper Posted May 23, 2011 Posted May 23, 2011 ... or do what thumper said, seriously. i've been riding ss to commute to work for almost a year now and it really has made a difference to my riding. I think guys get caught up in the science side of cycling. Just go ride as often and as hard as you can.
Me-rider Posted May 23, 2011 Posted May 23, 2011 http://www.markallenonline.com/maoArticles.aspx?AID=2 Might be useful. "Then buy a single speed steed and pedal till you cant anymore, rise and repeat!" Yeah that was always my philosophy (minus the singlespeed), but I cannot maintain that for a marathon distance. But in training I subscribe to the Spartan philosphy: http://zentofitness.com/train-like-a-spartan-13-rules/
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