Heart rate monitor help.

[Audax67]

:D had another 25mile solo blast this afternoon and maxed out at 175bpm which is 12bpm higher than the 220 - your age formula. I now have five zones on my Garmin I believe.
Just got to work out what to do with them.

Ignore them?

I've used a recording HRM since 2002 and that's my method.

[Dave W]

Sorry I'm not quite sure what you mean by your method.
I guess the five Garmin zones are the levels of intensity Zone 1 being the lowest
with zone five the highest. After uploading to Strava I can analyse my ride and see which zone I spent the most time in.
I'm unsure how it actually helps to have this information at the moment - still learning.

[Audax67]

The prog that came with my HRM (when I got it in 2002 Strava was still a glint in the Devil's eye) provided analyses into 5 zones which could be nuanced according to how fit you were. It required such a Teutonic level of faffing about that simply using the thing and correlating how I felt when I was doing what, and how I felt once home, was much more rewarding than bothering with it.

I do quite enjoy looking at my performance post-ride, but zones? Sheesh.

[NATURAL ANKLING]

Hi,
A HRM is best for training............................If you have a goal like improving fitness / just maintaining it.

If you want to improve fitness you might find you never get there with out some sort of guide to effort level.

If you have cycled with a club etc then its possible your mates are the best incentive........just trying to keep up with them

In my youth I was always late for work and my internal pace today is the same, even when I haven't got a HRM is the same.

Some I have found like your modern sportife riders, got the carbon 7.6 kg bike got the jells got the I wanna be there, fail miserably because like all things its Bloody hard work getting fit.

But I would still want to know that I wasn't kidding my self...............that's easy to fall into.

If you have long since given up a goal hard to hit, have already got there etc. Then you don't really need one.

One day I will drift in to turning the pedals slower and fuel up on beers.............If I can ever afford to.................

P.S. If you struggle to get your HR up and don't use BP meds etc, then just try turning the pedals faster for half an hour on the turbo WITh 80 % of max HR at 300 - 350 watts (on the road 5mph faster than your average if that be 15mph then 20 mph) Faster = 95 rpm. (12 stone male, more if over weight ) .
There are times when you cant do it and some will be confused at lack of performance / low HR, it affect all of us, you have an off day, also if you are still unfit / inexperienced with maintaining high effort / high HR then it will be impossible till you get fitter.

If you can't maintain 80 - 86% average of your max for more than an hour then you need to get fitter if that's what you want
Food and hydration are important on the bike too.

Good luck.

[andrewjoseph]

:D had another 25mile solo blast this afternoon and maxed out at 175bpm which is 12bpm higher than the 220 - your age formula. I now have five zones on my Garmin I believe.
Just got to work out what to do with them.

Ignore them?

I've used a recording HRM since 2002 and that's my method.

what then, is the point of continuing to use it?

[andrewjoseph]

Dave W Re: zones.

they are useful for targeted training. if your training plan says you should do an easy recovery ride, then you stay in, for example, zones 1-3. if it's a long hard ride don't go under zone 3, a short hard ride don't go under zone 4.

i mostly only use the zones on the turbo, and that's because the garmin uses these for broad intensity levels. e.g. for an interval session i warm up in zone 2 (60-70% max hr) for 5 mins, then zone 3 (70-80%) for 5 mins, then zone 4 (80-90% for 5 mins. then switch to more the precise % max hr for 30 seconds at over 95-100%, then zone 4 for a minute rest. intervals of zone 4 -100% for several minutes then 5 mins zone 3, another set of intervals, then warm down, zone 4 to 3 to 2 over 15 mins.

when out riding i don't use zones, just %max.

[Audax67]

I have a gander at the interesting bits of the graph, compare heart rate with % and speed, then try to remember how I felt then and after the ride. E.g. yesterday I had a blast up our local Beastly Hill and was quite chuffed that my heart only hit 153. Felt fine during and after.

[Dave W]

Interesting stuff and difficult to grasp for a beginner. What also interests me is the fact of overtraining. Since I started spin classes for example, my flat road speed has reduced I feel but ,my climbing ability has come on in leaps and bounds. Now, if I do several classes in the week particularly a hard Friday evening then my energy levels dip at the weekend. I know this by cycling with friends who I used to thrash on the flat.

[Audax67]

Sounds like simple fatigue to me. I can remember 20 years ago being surprised that after a morning's woodwork I didn't feel like cycling at lunchtime.

[NATURAL ANKLING]

Hi,

:D had another 25mile solo blast this afternoon and maxed out at 175bpm which is 12bpm higher than the 220 - your age formula. I now have five zones on my Garmin I believe.
Just got to work out what to do with them.

Like said ignore charts age formula, cyclist need not apply.
I sure many here would like to hit 175, not bad, you've done this before
That's probably not your max, no ones beating you with a stick

Don't fuss over what they look like they can do down the gym, would they really keep with you on your 25 mile ride.
Years ago I would cycle to the gym to do circuit training then cycle home, the footy tykes would always beat me and watch me finish last but they all cheated so not to look small in front of their mates.

Zones can be useful but only if you are planning to get fitter.
A mixed terrain road ride preferably with a sporting mate or a weighted bike If alone, will see you hitting highs (Z5) and keep you average in (Z3) with breaks at traffic lights and junctions (Z2) whats trainings better ................zone 1 if your really serious and someones paying you Otherwise zone 1 is useless as it will will not see you fitter and you could see yourself loosing fitness