What do you keep your HR at

[tombeej]

I used to train religiously with an HRM (I also love stats, progress sheets, etc ). But that was years ago.

 

As others have said, a 35km ride is not an LSD ride. Got to make it a lot longer than that.

 

On these rides, I try and ensure I don't do anything to cause my heart rate or breathing to go up. I keep it at "smelling the roses" pace. Even on hills, I drop down to a gear as easy as possible and just spin. When old grannies and their walkers start overtaking me, then I know I'm going at the right pace.

 

When on LSD rides, I only look at time on the bike. My average speed, heart rate, distance, etc., all become completely irrelevant and meaningless stats.

 

For me (and I can only speak for myself), the shortest acceptable LSD ride is about 3hrs. Ideally 4.5hrs plus.

 

You don't use LSD training when preparing for an event. It's used for base training, or if you're focused on dropping weight.

[RoboLuke]

OK...now I am properly confused. So let me phrase my question towards training for a specific events...and not the race itself.

I see two schools of thought - school one is the spartan school where you just ride till you puke, drop dead or brake your frame

The second school (in my view build into Polars) is that you need to take it very very slowly...god forbid your heart rate goes above 60%.

 

So I used to think the way to train is to take it slow...but in reality most cyclist seems to be greek.

 

???

[Guest agteros]

OK...now I am properly confused. So let me phrase my question towards training for a specific events...and not the race itself.

I see two schools of thought - school one is the spartan school where you just ride till you puke, drop dead or brake your frame

The second school (in my view build into Polars) is that you need to take it very very slowly...god forbid your heart rate goes above 60%.

 

So I used to think the way to train is to take it slow...but in reality most cyclist seems to be greek.

 

???

Question: How much is left of Sparta?

 

Training is not 'teaching to go fast' a.k.a. swallowing vomit with a straight face. Training is about changing the body (heart, lungs, veins, muscles, tendons), and this happens over time.

 

To borrow from the runners "To learn to go fast you first have to go slow" This stood me in good stead when I started running regularly (at an easy pace) for about an hour at a time.

 

For the body to adapt all you need to do is exercise at a reasonable pace(Where/what this is, is a whole different debate) for long and REGULAR enough. Once this has happened you can sharpen things with intervals etc. But, first go for T.I.T.S. (Time in the saddle) and forget about hard sessions. Just being on your bike a LOT will make you a stronger cyclist!

 

You can try and take shortcuts and 'maximise your available time' and do intervals only, but in the end it comes back to time in the saddle (base & body adaption to exercise) as short distances and intervals will only take you so far.... (learned this the hard way too!)

 

Pushing too hard too soon can/will lead to injury, pain and mental resistance to going hard causing you to miss workouts and your training will become less regular, leading to a downward spiral towards disillusionment.

 

#include std-disclaimer.h

Errors, omissions and opinions to be excused - just a 'novice' opinion'

Edited May 23, 2011 by agteros

[Joe Low]

OK...now I am properly confused..........

 

Our work here is done

 

 

But the answer, as you can see, is there is no one answer - research the different approaches and pick one that you think will suit.

[SeaBee]

In my mind (a weird and wonderful place) you should definately have some slow sessions and some hard session.

 

But LSD (slow) are looong rides and low HR. Ride with slower people and have a lekker chat along the way, ride slowly on your own and enjoy the view, keep HR inder zone 3 and cadence high. Good for vase, good for weighless.

 

Can't do that alone, though. You need interval sessions, you need hill/mountain (depends on what grows in your area) climbing, you hard sessions of different distances and routes, you need race-length rides (both hard and slow), if you're mtb'ing you need to train tech stuff.... the list goes on.

 

But make up your mind before you go out what your mission on the day is and stick to it.

 

Most importantly - enjoy it! Whether you ride to puke or to smell the flowers, go enjoy it! There's pleasure in just riding and not giving a hoot about people coming past. There's pleasure in the pain knowing it'll rewards you at a later stage.

[tombeej]

RoboLuke, you need to break it down into the various types of training (each having it's own set of objectives and each slotting into its own niche) with an HRM.

 

First, let's look at the major sections of your training program, especially as it relates to leading up to an event some time in the future.

 

Here are the main phases:

1. Base

2. Preparation

3. Peak

4. Taper

5. Race

 

Straight after the race, you start back at phase 1 again, and so you go. It's an endless loop.

 

Each phase requires training in very different heart rate zones, at different intensities and very different distances per ride.

 

As I saw it, your original post was asking about what HR zone to aim for in phase 1 (base or LSD training). That's what I've restricted my answer to. I would give very different answers if you were asking about what your HR target zone is (and the type of training) for the other phases.

 

People who say "just ride as hard as you can all the time" are not training intelligently. They are certainly not going to reach their full potential. And as agteros says, just hammering it from the start without letting your body build up the necessary infrastructure to handle the loads is a free pass to injury, set backs and frustration.

 

Building the base is like building up your internal engine. The longer you focus on your base, the bigger your engine will likely be. If you are impatient and start klapping it hard right out of the gate, you'll be forever stuck will a 1.3L. Give yourself 18 months up front of base training and now you're building a bulletproof V8. Once your engine is in place, then you start tweaking and modifying it to get the most out of it (phases 2 - 4).

[Let's Ride]

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.

 

So true, just remember to pedal like crazy up a hill if you have gears. All that fancy stuff isn't needed. Just make sure your in front.

[Trubie]

Can't believe no one has told you to rather get a power meter??? I did however not read everything

 

My advice - forget the HR, just ride as hard as you can when you plan on going hard, when you wanna have a recovery ride take it as easy as you can without falling asleep on the bike

[akneethling]

Ok......... may I throw anothe spanner in the works? I have a somewhat related question :-)

 

So I've also been training with a HR monitor specifically because I do not want to keel over and die by over-exerting myself. I suffer from a little bit of Hypertension, so it is a concern for me.When climbing my HR monitor reads 95% of my max, but I feel like I still have some left in the legs, but I stop because I do not want push my heart too far. So this is my question..........

 

What are the symptoms to look out for when I am pushing myself too far?

 

Any advice will be appreciated.

 

Thanks

AK

[The expat cyclist]

Ok......... may I throw anothe spanner in the works? I have a somewhat related question :-)

 

So I've also been training with a HR monitor specifically because I do not want to keel over and die by over-exerting myself. I suffer from a little bit of Hypertension, so it is a concern for me.When climbing my HR monitor reads 95% of my max, but I feel like I still have some left in the legs, but I stop because I do not want push my heart too far. So this is my question..........

 

What are the symptoms to look out for when I am pushing myself too far?

 

Any advice will be appreciated.

 

Thanks

AK

I too use a HR monitor, BUT I don't trust them. During a race I will switch it on at the start and switch it off at the finish and then monday morning I will look at the stats - mainly the kCal burned. Durin the race I go on how I feel and not on how the HR monitor thinks I am doing!

 

I know I am going too hard when I can't keep up the pace/go faster. My mind has a red zone for my body. Sort off like the turbo boost function of Kit in Knight Rider - just a litlle bit extra for a short time - like for a breakaway or a finish line sprint. During a race I try and keep JUST outside that red sone. And that works for me.

 

When I train I use my HR monitor to make sure I don't cheat. 178bpm is my HRmax. And when I tell myself to go out like a mad man, that 178 is what I aim for. Not just to reach it but to get to 179 and beyond! At the start of the year my HRmax was 172.

 

But like I said before - I don't trust HR monitors. To me it is just a target. If I can hit it, GOOD, if I can't, I rest and try again later.

 

It is enough to be married and work for a boss. I don't need something else in my life to tell me what I can and can't do!

[SwissVan]

I too use a HR monitor, BUT I don't trust them. During a race I will switch it on at the start and switch it off at the finish and then monday morning I will look at the stats - mainly the kCal burned. Durin the race I go on how I feel and not on how the HR monitor thinks I am doing!

 

I know I am going too hard when I can't keep up the pace/go faster. My mind has a red zone for my body. Sort off like the turbo boost function of Kit in Knight Rider - just a litlle bit extra for a short time - like for a breakaway or a finish line sprint. During a race I try and keep JUST outside that red sone. And that works for me.

 

When I train I use my HR monitor to make sure I don't cheat. 178bpm is my HRmax. And when I tell myself to go out like a mad man, that 178 is what I aim for. Not just to reach it but to get to 179 and beyond! At the start of the year my HRmax was 172.

 

But like I said before - I don't trust HR monitors. To me it is just a target. If I can hit it, GOOD, if I can't, I rest and try again later.

 

It is enough to be married and work for a boss. I don't need something else in my life to tell me what I can and can't do!

 

Why use one at all if you dont trust it?

And to use it for tracking calories.....

 

Assuming you do XCM and XCO racing rather use your HR monitor constructively to train (i.e.in your LT zone) rather than chasing your supposed MaxHR.

 

Not criticising just suggesting....

[Joe Low]

Ok......... may I throw anothe spanner in the works? I have a somewhat related question :-)

 

So I've also been training with a HR monitor specifically because I do not want to keel over and die by over-exerting myself. I suffer from a little bit of Hypertension, so it is a concern for me.When climbing my HR monitor reads 95% of my max, but I feel like I still have some left in the legs, but I stop because I do not want push my heart too far. So this is my question..........

 

What are the symptoms to look out for when I am pushing myself too far?

 

Any advice will be appreciated.

 

Thanks

AK

 

1st check your proper max out it sounds like you're working to the wrong no. & its too low. I know mine is at least 180 but the formula would say 173 - that 5% makes a big diff.

 

In decent form i can do a race near 90% average, at 95% I can do less than 5 mins.

 

Symptoms? Retching, uncontrolled breathing, metallic taste in mouth, acid in lungs, spangly vision.

 

Get past that, then think of slowing down a little.

[tombeej]

akneethling, as you say, you've got hypertension, so your heart is under strain already. My suggestion is to chat to a cardiologist about your training and how your heart is responding to that because it can get dangerous.

 

For example, I knew a paddler in my local club who was in his 60's and so his max HR shouldn't have been too high. But he was coming off the water after hard sessions saying there was something wrong with his HRM - it was giving readings of 220 bpm. Someone told him to get it checked out anyway, so he did. Good job too, because the cardiologist said the HRM was telling the truth, and he was about 5 secs away from a major heart attack.

 

When it comes to your ticker, maybe asking for advice from 'lay people' on a public forum is not the way to go. I'd go see a specialist.

[rudi-h]

my 2.5c

 

many literature warns about going too hard, overtraining and preach about taking it slow and doing the base miles.

 

here's the deal, I did both. When I started out, I did everything at 110%, resulting in injuries and poor performance as the literature predicts. Then I did it super slow (60-70%) while training for Ironman, because everybody said I should klap the base miles and not worry about speed / intervals / hills / strength.

 

After going both routes, I'm somewhere inbetween now. Train hard at times, but give yourself a rest afterwards, but IMO there's not real point in doing 6hr rides at 60%. That's just a waste of time.

 

So dont care about HR too much, ride hard at times, but rest properly afterwards or do intervals. Not necessarily based on time, but maybe hit the hills hard and take it easy on the flats. If you klap it hard for a long time too often, you will suffer fatigue and overtraining symptoms. After doing that for some time you will know what HR is sustainable for what duration of time.

[Cycle Fan]

The wider the base, the higher the peak

[The expat cyclist]

Yikes. What happened to my post?