Strava Suffer Score

[BrynCP]

I know these things shouldn't matter, but I like to understand things.

I signed up to 60 day free Strava premium trial so I could try the live segments on my Edge 1000.

I looked at a ride last week, and it shows this on the suffer score section:

The "Points in Red" is defined as "the portion of your Suffer Score that you earned in your Zone 4 and Zone 5 heart rate zones. Points in the Red shows you the intensity of your workout – if your Suffer Score and Points in the Red are the same, you were hammering the entire time!". However, it's higher than the Suffer Score its self?

 

[bpsmith]

Do they average it out over other zones too?

 

[G3CWI]

Looks wrong. It does depend entirely on your maximum heat rate. Get that wrong by even a few bpm and the picture can change dramatically.

 

[BrynCP]

Looks wrong. It does depend entirely on your maximum heat rate. Get that wrong by even a few bpm and the picture can change dramatically.

My max heart rate is entered as 189 which is the simple 220-age rule. To be fair, I have never gone above 181 on any of my rides.

However, bearing in mind both numbers are based on the same incorrect max heart rate, I would still expect them to balance against each other.

Perhaps I will see if I can get clarification from Strava themselves.

 

[G3CWI]

bearing in mind both numbers are based on the same incorrect max heart rate

But are they? I have experimented a bit and I find that the maximum heart rate changes the points in the red score but not the other one. If you change your MHR it recalculates so you can experiment. If your measured MHR on the ride was 181, you could experiment setting it in Strava to (say) 183 and see how that looks. There are ways to find your real MHR but they do involve pain and suffering.

 

[russ.will]

Maybe it's because you didn't hit zone 5?

Russell

 

[huwsparky]

You need to 'measure' your Max/min HR properly. Use your highest recorded figure in the mean time. There are guides available all over for the best way to calculate both.

My Max is 197 @ 34 years old. The 220 guide is a rough estimate and not a given.

It's a real ball ache training to HR I have found, it can vary from day to day. If your feeling unwell you may as well not even bother using it as the results you will get will appear strange!

 

[russ.will]

Indeed. At 44 (and a lard arse) my theoretical maximum is 176bpm. I'm unable to sustain any effort that causes me to go above 165 for more than a couple of minutes. The maximum I can sustain over prolonged periods is 150-155, so I target that area.

Russell