Make me last longer when going hard

TallPaul_S · 23 Jun 2018 at 19:49

Cheers!

This was no base mile ride either, really glad I'm seeing some proper results and increase in endurance and fitness. At about 30 miles stuff was starting to ache a little but I'm glad I managed to push through and get home without assistance!

TallPaul_S · 2 Sep 2018 at 16:16

Little update - haven't been out much on the bike over the past few weeks aside from normal commuting. Just got back from a 12 mile ride, 1 hour 15 mins. Strange thing was I'd be looking down at the HR readout on my wahoo and it'd be in the high 170's at time yet I never really felt out of breath - sometimes I didn't actually believe the HR monitor (it is accurate though) as it didn't feel like I was working that hard! The while ride was average 164bpm, apparently my 1 hour threshold is now 166bpm, whatever that means!

Drollic · 9 Sep 2018 at 22:51

I doubt your HR monitoring is accurate if you can rest at 40-45 with only 175 ish max. Sounds like it's under reading. Someone who is 35-40 with that kind of resting rate should easily be able to top 180+ if not more. Worth checking.

Roady · 24 Sep 2018 at 13:37

I'm 38 and my resting around 50-55. Normal riding HR around 140-160 with sustainable threshold at around 165-170.

170 used to be blow up territory soon after starting riding (age 32-33?) but after gaining fitness and through lots of Zwift riding I'd now call it top of my threshold (as I can sustain it) with blow up now being over 190. Over 180 hurts but recover from it ok (while able to still sustain power). I'll see it quite regularly when sprinting on Zwift, not really outside except on hard climbs when I'm really pushing.

I used to think my max HR was around 185, then Zwift happened. It's now somewhere just over 190bpm. Do feel sick when going that deep though!

Drollic said:
I doubt your HR monitoring is accurate if you can rest at 40-45 with only 175 ish max. Sounds like it's under reading. Someone who is 35-40 with that kind of resting rate should easily be able to top 180+ if not more. Worth checking.

Not technically true, someone with a naturally lower HR may struggle to get it very high as they just physically can't even with fitness & training.

You'll see many pro riders having a naturally lower HR yet able to hit high levels. Froome has a really low resting & riding HR (but strips his data from races so hard to judge his max). I've seen Jon Mould hit over 200 and I'm sure I've seen Tom Pidcock do the same.

TallPaul_S · 25 Sep 2018 at 12:16

Drollic said:
I doubt your HR monitoring is accurate if you can rest at 40-45 with only 175 ish max. Sounds like it's under reading. Someone who is 35-40 with that kind of resting rate should easily be able to top 180+ if not more. Worth checking.

My max HR is 183 currently, haven't checked my resting recently but I've hit 183 a few times when on rides.

I've now got my own car so will be riding properly most weekends now as well as the normal short commute.

This was my last proper ride, 1hr 15 riding time.

Drollic · 25 Sep 2018 at 12:59

Roady said:
I'm 38 and my resting around 50-55. Normal riding HR around 140-160 with sustainable threshold at around 165-170.

170 used to be blow up territory soon after starting riding (age 32-33?) but after gaining fitness and through lots of Zwift riding I'd now call it top of my threshold (as I can sustain it) with blow up now being over 190. Over 180 hurts but recover from it ok (while able to still sustain power). I'll see it quite regularly when sprinting on Zwift, not really outside except on hard climbs when I'm really pushing.

I used to think my max HR was around 185, then Zwift happened. It's now somewhere just over 190bpm. Do feel sick when going that deep though!

Not technically true, someone with a naturally lower HR may struggle to get it very high as they just physically can't even with fitness & training.

You'll see many pro riders having a naturally lower HR yet able to hit high levels. Froome has a really low resting & riding HR (but strips his data from races so hard to judge his max). I've seen Jon Mould hit over 200 and I'm sure I've seen Tom Pidcock do the same.

It's very unlikely someone with a resting heart rate of 40-45 wouldn't be fit though. Naturally lower would be 55-65 range. It's probably more likely they'd have a medical issue it would be so abnormal. Your max may even be higher than you think, you just can't hit it cycling. For instance I've not got beyond 195 cycling yet I've hit over 200 playing badminton before when less fit.

TallPaul_S · 29 Sep 2018 at 16:03

So, another max HR hit today, now up to 187.

BennyC · 29 Sep 2018 at 19:04

What are you trying to achieve by using a variable metric (heart rate) to guage presumably fitness or intensity?

Something absolute, such as power, would be far more useful if available, no?

TallPaul_S · 29 Sep 2018 at 19:23

BennyC said:
What are you trying to achieve by using a variable metric (heart rate) to guage presumably fitness or intensity?

Something absolute, such as power, would be far more useful if available, no?

I'm not measuring my fitness based on the max HR, it's more in reponse to the post above which suggested my HR monitor might be mis-reading as my resting HR is 40-45 and my max HR was only 178 - it's now 187+ which in itself is a measure of fitness, no? Your Max HR increases the fitter you are, up to your hereditary maximum.

The ride I did today I did nearly a year ago in October, and including time stopped (for a breather, to lower the HR), last time it took me 1:35 to do the 7.7 miles, and I remember having to walk 2 sections. Today it took me 58 minutes, and no walking. I'd say that's some good progress

BennyC · 29 Sep 2018 at 20:48

TallPaul_S said:
my max HR was only 178 - it's now 187+ which in itself is a measure of fitness, no?

Your heart rate is a response to effort not a measure of fitness itself.

A rider with a higher max HR has no bearing over a rider with a lower max HR's fitness. Movement in HR for the same given effort in a controlled environment would indicate a change in fitness, the two tend to correlate but isn't entirely reliable. Rest, stress, fatigue, underlying sickness, heat etc will all have a bearing on heart rate.