Training using a heart rate monitor

[dim]

Hi Guys ...

had my 1st proper ride using my new Garmin Edge 1000 .... this is the 1st time that I have ever used a heart rate monitor and I don't have a clue about how to use the data.

The ride was 61.4km on a route that I had never been on before and followed the Garmin's directions (took one or two wrong turns but got back on track)

I never set my Garmin to auto pause at traffic lights etc so I think that my average speed was a little higher than shown in the Strava sheet. I started off at a good pace, but started getting tired towards the end. I also did not drink any water or eat anything during the ride.

herewith the Strava details:
https://www.strava.com/activities/760322520

I'm not sure how to use the suffer score details etc. When I ended the ride on the Garmin, there was a message on the Garmin saying that I should rest for 72 hrs?

 

[fossyant]

You should have taken a drink, even water. You need to keep hydrated.

Don't get too bothered or entwined in HR readings ! It's a useful aid, but you need to know what they mean for you.

 

[Asa Post]

You need to find out your HR zones, which will depend on your age and fitness. Then you can program the zones into the Garmin and see how long you spend in each zone, and find training plans which will advise how long you should spend in each zone. Check out the British Cycling page for a full explanation of what to do, and how to interpret the results.

Most long rides have the longest amounts of time in the Endurance and Tempo zones, with some time above that if you made any hard efforts. I don't see any sustained hard efforts in your HR graph - you seem to have been quite consistent for 20 miles, and then eased off. Maybe that's when you started to feel tired. The Stravistix for your ride show that you spent little time below 122 BPM, and little over 158. This suggests where some of your zones will be, but doesn't define them accurately enough to be really useful for future rides.

The suggestion for 3 days rest is not gospel. It's Garmin's assumption based on the length and intensity of the ride, and may (or may not) be a helpful indication of your level of tiredness. If you feel fit and ready to ride, then do it. If you're tired and feel like a rest, then have one. If you want to "train" to get fitter, then riding when not fully recovered from the previous ride is part of the process. It's the way the body gets used to increasing workloads, and begins to adapt to cope with them.

But it all starts with the zones. Until you know them, you can't really gauge what level of effort you're making.

 

[dim]

You need to find out your HR zones, which will depend on your age and fitness. Then you can program the zones into the Garmin and see how long you spend in each zone, and find training plans which will advise how long you should spend in each zone. Check out the British Cycling page for a full explanation of what to do, and how to interpret the results.

Most long rides have the longest amounts of time in the Endurance and Tempo zones, with some time above that if you made any hard efforts. I don't see any sustained hard efforts in your HR graph - you seem to have been quite consistent for 20 miles, and then eased off. Maybe that's when you started to feel tired. The Stravistix for your ride show that you spent little time below 122 BPM, and little over 158. This suggests where some of your zones will be, but doesn't define them accurately enough to be really useful for future rides.

The suggestion for 3 days rest is not gospel. It's Garmin's assumption based on the length and intensity of the ride, and may (or may not) be a helpful indication of your level of tiredness. If you feel fit and ready to ride, then do it. If you're tired and feel like a rest, then have one. If you want to "train" to get fitter, then riding when not fully recovered from the previous ride is part of the process. It's the way the body gets used to increasing workloads, and begins to adapt to cope with them.

But it all starts with the zones. Until you know them, you can't really gauge what level of effort you're making.

thanks .... good info. I had entered a max HR of 168 which I found on an internet site, and the info displayed on my ride is based on that. It uses 3 different formula and takes the average of all 3 (they say it's more accurate than the 220-age method) .... This info was entered on my garmin, aswell as Strava prior to my ride .... My age is 56

 

[uclown2002]

thanks .... good info. I had entered a max HR of 168 which I found on an internet site, and the info displayed on my ride is based on that. It uses 3 different formula and takes the average of all 3 (they say it's more accurate than the 220-age method) .... This info was entered on my garmin, aswell as Strava prior to my ride .... My age is 56

My MHR is 181 at 53 years of age. I know this because I recorded it on a ride, when I was dead on my feet and had nothing left to give. These internet calculations are largely inaccurate.

 

[Shortandcrisp]

Looking at your AHR and MHR for that ride, I reckon you've probably set your MHR a little low at 168, but could be mistaken. Try some HIT stuff with lots of 15/15 and 30/30 sec stuff. You'll soon discover how high your heart rate can go!

 

[dim]

Looking at your AHR and MHR for that ride, I reckon you've probably set your MHR a little low at 168, but could be mistaken. Try some HIT stuff with lots of 15/15 and 30/30 sec stuff. You'll soon discover how high your heart rate can go!

thanks .... there is a 5km segment that I'm going to try and get a KOM .... it's a 5km sprint, so I will possibly try it this weekend (depending on the wind, as the wind has to be low, as the segment is north for half the way, then south for the other half

I will go flat out and see what my heart rate is.

 

[Crackle]

Google, ramp test.

 

[huwsparky]

thanks .... there is a 5km segment that I'm going to try and get a KOM .... it's a 5km sprint, so I will possibly try it this weekend (depending on the wind, as the wind has to be low, as the segment is north for half the way, then south for the other half

I will go flat out and see what my heart rate is.

A 5km effort isn't the best sort of effort to get to your max HR.

Try doing a warm-up of around 15 -20 mins with a few 10s sprints thrown in and then at a point when your feeling good do a 30s flat out sprint, no pacing, just give all you've got. This type of thing is what i'd recommend to getting a max reading.

 

[HLaB]

A 5km effort isn't the best sort of effort to get to your max HR.

Try doing a warm-up of around 15 -20 mins with a few 10s sprints thrown in and then at a point when your feeling good do a 30s flat out sprint, no pacing, just give all you've got. This type of thing is what i'd recommend to getting a max reading.

I used to find a good long hill climb good for finding out max HR, a gradual warm up with a similar sprint at the end. There's no hill long enough here though
Here I have to make do with the turbo or a TT where I gradually build up HR and sprint at the end. For an effective TT though I think I shouldn't have enough left at the end to sprint though

 

[dim]

I used to find a good long hill climb good for finding out max HR, a gradual warm up with a similar sprint at the end. There's no hill long enough here though
Here I have to make do with the turbo or a TT where I gradually build up HR and sprint at the end. For an effective TT though I think I shouldn't have enough left at the end to sprint though

had a fairly fast ride this afternoon (one segment being 14.5 km long) .... I managed to push my hearbeat rate up to 172 ....

so do I change the settings on my Garmin and on Strava to max heart beat 172 for the meantime? It was set at 168 using the formula on the internet

when I have time, I will attempt your method on a long hill nearby

edit: I have just seen that the Garmin has automatically set my max hr at 172

 

[ufkacbln]

Different GPS and sites take the same data and apply their own algorithms, so there will always be a variation in readings

 

[ufkacbln]

You should have taken a drink, even water. You need to keep hydrated.

Don't get too bothered or entwined in HR readings ! It's a useful aid, but you need to know what they mean for you.

In the simplest form

You can use the HR zones to increase your effort without going to extremes

I used mine for weight loss

Simply took my average readings for the commute and then added 10%

Consequent rides I made sure that I was at the higher level, and hence expending more energy

Worked for me

 

[HLaB]

had a fairly fast ride this afternoon (one segment being 14.5 km long) .... I managed to push my hearbeat rate up to 172 ....

so do I change the settings on my Garmin and on Strava to max heart beat 172 for the meantime? It was set at 168 using the formula on the internet

when I have time, I will attempt your method on a long hill nearby

edit: I have just seen that the Garmin has automatically set my max hr at 172

Yip,I would change it, it may turn out its actually higher but its a step in the right direction. I see your edit and I didn't know Garmins done that

 

[T.M.H.N.E.T]

Yip,I would change it, it may turn out its actually higher but its a step in the right direction. I see your edit and I didn't know Garmins done that

They do FTP vo2 max and "recovery" these days. I set them once then just let the garmin figure out the rest