Hitting a wall at 160bpm

[davidphilips]

Other than all the great advice already given, you could just keep up with what you are doing at present , riding with more/better experienced cyclists 3 times a week you should improve quite a bit, main thing is keep at it and as long as your diet and rest is ok i would be very surprised if you dont speed up and indeed keep up very soon, good luck.

 

[Kestevan]

In my experience the biggest single thig you can do to make hills easier/quicker is to Lose weight.

I've gone from 18st to 14st in the last few months and I've found hills just a tad easier

I recon by the time I'm down to 12.5 I should be able to keep up with @I like Skol at least on some of the hills. My goal is to not give @nickyboy anyone to hide behind on next years Llandudno ride

 

[User76022]

im new to cycling but have worked up to do 150km every week in 3 rides a week. But I’m finding that when riding with experienced cyclists I’m left behind very easily on hills (to be expected I suppose) I am finding I can keep up un my heart rate hits 160 bpm or above my lungs just cant get enough air in. And I end up on the lowest gears and slowing to a crawl.
Any advice on how to get up to snuff?
Steve

Depending on how old you are, isn't 160bpm getting close to your max heart rate anyway?

As for breathing. Do you use your full lung capacity on everything breath? Sounds like a daft question but most adults don't.

 

[Ming the Merciless]

Can we please get away from 220 - max age nonsense? It is fairly meaningless and not based on any science.

 

[lane]

I read in a document recently - can't remember where - it gave "typical" HR zones which would have matched a max HR of about 180 and a threshold HR of around 170. Interestingly the zones matched mine very closely and I'm 56. 160 would be upper end of tempo for me.

 

[beepbeep]

51 yrs of age...max heart rate this year was 187bpm....blowing out of my backside !!!!

 

[Bonefish Blues]

Can we please get away from 220 - max age nonsense? It is fairly meaningless and not based on any science.

Is there a more scientific method?

 

[lane]

Well you could do a test for it. Or better yet (and less stressful or risky) set your zones using the Threshold HR test which is well documented on the web - for example on the British Cycling Website.

https://www.britishcycling.org.uk/search?s=Heart+rate+zones&p=1

I did a DIY max HR test about 8 years ago. I have more recently done the Threshold HR test. Setting my zones by either method has given me more or less the same result and I don't really think they have changed much over the intervening years although in theory the max HR goes down with age.

 

[lane]

Of course max HR rates are individual and nothing to do with performance in that a higher HR does not indicate higher performance. If the OP does have a max HR of 160 then no wonder he hits a wall when he reaches it. However having done a max HR test its not something I would expect cyclists to routinely reach - I have never again got to my max HR in eight years of cycling.

 

[HLaB]

I was hitting the wall all summer around 70-80% max hr for me. Stubbornness would see me carry on but it'd be 12-14mph. It turns out my iron levels were catastrophically low. A month of iron tablets I'm back to cruising at 70-80% max hr (141-161) and hitting 97% max HR (193bpm) without hitting that proverbial wall.

 

[ColinJ]

Is there a more scientific method?

Measure it!

 

[Deleted member 26715]

It turns out my iron levels were catastrophically low.

Being nosey how did you find that out?

 

[HLaB]

Being nosey how did you find that out?

Blood test.

 

[davidphilips]

I was hitting the wall all summer around 70-80% max hr for me. Stubbornness would see me carry on but it'd be 12-14mph. It turns out my iron levels were catastrophically low. A month of iron tablets I'm back to cruising at 70-80% max hr (141-161) and hitting 97% max HR (193bpm) without hitting that proverbial wall.

What i found out about iron levels is that the more you sweat (cycling ) the more you lose iron so perhaps an iron tablet every third day or so may be good to maintain good iron levels, thats what i have started on any way.

 

[ColinJ]

What i found out about iron levels is that the more you sweat (cycling ) the more you lose iron so perhaps an iron tablet every third day or so may be good to maintain good iron levels, thats what i have started on any way.

Be careful not to overdo it!

What happens if I take too much iron?

Side effects of taking high doses (over 20mg) of iron include:

• constipation
  
• feeling sick
• vomiting
• stomach pain

Very high doses of iron can be fatal, particularly if taken by children, so always keep iron supplements out of the reach of children.

What does the Department of Health advise?
Most people should be able to get all the iron they need by eating a varied and balanced diet. If you take iron supplements, don't take too much as this could be harmful.

Taking 17mg or less a day of iron supplements is unlikely to cause any harm. But continue taking a higher dose if advised to by your GP.