Heart rate zones for numpties
Discussion
I used my heart rate monitor last night for the first time.
I now have some numbers and a Suffer Score on Strava. What do they mean?
My resting rate is 55bpm and I saw 175bpm on a hill last night. Is this good or bad?
I have heard people talk about zones and would like to know more.
Ta
Steve
I now have some numbers and a Suffer Score on Strava. What do they mean?
My resting rate is 55bpm and I saw 175bpm on a hill last night. Is this good or bad?
I have heard people talk about zones and would like to know more.
Ta
Steve
So much confusing stuff about hr.
5 zones or 6?
Resting hr should be when you wake up before you get out of bed; check for a week and take an average. Not the same as the lowest on a particular bike ride.
Max hr also lots of definitions, again not the same as a peak on one ride. Should be what you can sustain for a period (say 20 or 60 mins) instead of a spike caused by a hill.
55 seems low to me but we are all different. On Ridelondon I averaged 164 and had a suffer score of 402 - frightened the life out of me!!!
5 zones or 6?
Resting hr should be when you wake up before you get out of bed; check for a week and take an average. Not the same as the lowest on a particular bike ride.
Max hr also lots of definitions, again not the same as a peak on one ride. Should be what you can sustain for a period (say 20 or 60 mins) instead of a spike caused by a hill.
55 seems low to me but we are all different. On Ridelondon I averaged 164 and had a suffer score of 402 - frightened the life out of me!!!
Let me help...
0 = dead.
20 = big mig pumping sludge around his body
50-70 = resting for norms.
80=100 good steak dinner.
120 - 130 = vmin to vmax of average mamil
180 = realisation of how much the nice man at the rapha shop has told you, you owe him for your skinny late and ib shorts.
200+ = what most riders on bike radar will tell you is their vmax.
240 = big mig when his sludge is up to operating temperature.
0 = dead.
20 = big mig pumping sludge around his body
50-70 = resting for norms.
80=100 good steak dinner.
120 - 130 = vmin to vmax of average mamil
180 = realisation of how much the nice man at the rapha shop has told you, you owe him for your skinny late and ib shorts.
200+ = what most riders on bike radar will tell you is their vmax.
240 = big mig when his sludge is up to operating temperature.
When I did my spinning instructors course with a very experienced coach he preached that MAX HR is [i]genetically[/] programmed and cannot be altered; as such whether your max HR is 180 or 220 it is no real indication of fitness.
However being able to operate at a high threshold is a pretty good indicator.
I found this table to be a pretty good indicator once you 'map' the RPEs across.
However being able to operate at a high threshold is a pretty good indicator.
I found this table to be a pretty good indicator once you 'map' the RPEs across.
Not convinced HR is useful for much else than riding at tempo really.
RPE is king.
Your max is the max you've ever hit btw, not what you can do for ten mins. The 220 age is rubbish. A high max means not a lot. A low resting means not a lot, though when I say mine is 35-37 in the morning people think I must be ill. And suffer score means absolutely nothing.
RPE is king.
Your max is the max you've ever hit btw, not what you can do for ten mins. The 220 age is rubbish. A high max means not a lot. A low resting means not a lot, though when I say mine is 35-37 in the morning people think I must be ill. And suffer score means absolutely nothing.
I think you have to put this into perspective okgo. For many cyclists this is the first step into some kind of structured training and it will provide an excellent guide to finding your rough RPE, In fact for many years this is all trained athletes had to go on. Notwithstanding most of us are not athletes and are just looking to understand ourselves, our sport, and of course improve.........and now I'm off to buy a power meter 
Agree wrt zones - I reckon you need about 3; easy, tempo, and holycrap. Forget the fat burning delusion and all that kind of stuff.
RPE is king when you're an experienced athlete with plenty of training behind you (most of which is probably calibrated against a power meter). When you start out at the level of 'what are heart rate zones', you have f*** all idea of judging RPE - just accept that it's (pretty much) always going to hurt, and if it doesn't, you're not trying hard enough
HR isn't perfect, but it's probably the best thing you've got. It gets affected by external circumstances; stress, heat etc, as well as exercise. It's laggy - it will take a few minutes to catch up when you hit that hill, and a while to come back when you roll over the top.
Max is absolute max - if you want to know what yours is, run up a hill steadily increasing effort until you puke - then maybe try again. Cycling doesn't really cut it. Don't sue me if you have a heart attack! Find the peak, but be realistic about sharp spikes caused by bad readings, synthetic shirts and the like.
Problem with HR is it's a measure of input - of what you're pouring into the system, not what you're getting out - it may be feeding a lazy, gas guzzling american v8, a pure circuit racer, or an economical endurance engine.
Resting *should* decline with fitness as it is the one place where your output is consistent (naff all). However it's more likely to be affected by stress etc.
Threshold HR - (what you can sustain) may go up (some) with training, but your HR numbers will likely remain fairly constant. What will happen is that as you 'tune' your engine, you'll get more speed/power for the given input (HR). Having threshold closer to max is an advantage for obvious reasons.
Max is mostly irrelevant.
Forget using HR as a means of comparison with others - the numbers have no real weighting outside of how they relate to you from day to day.
RPE is king when you're an experienced athlete with plenty of training behind you (most of which is probably calibrated against a power meter). When you start out at the level of 'what are heart rate zones', you have f*** all idea of judging RPE - just accept that it's (pretty much) always going to hurt, and if it doesn't, you're not trying hard enough
HR isn't perfect, but it's probably the best thing you've got. It gets affected by external circumstances; stress, heat etc, as well as exercise. It's laggy - it will take a few minutes to catch up when you hit that hill, and a while to come back when you roll over the top.
Max is absolute max - if you want to know what yours is, run up a hill steadily increasing effort until you puke - then maybe try again. Cycling doesn't really cut it. Don't sue me if you have a heart attack! Find the peak, but be realistic about sharp spikes caused by bad readings, synthetic shirts and the like.
Problem with HR is it's a measure of input - of what you're pouring into the system, not what you're getting out - it may be feeding a lazy, gas guzzling american v8, a pure circuit racer, or an economical endurance engine.
Resting *should* decline with fitness as it is the one place where your output is consistent (naff all). However it's more likely to be affected by stress etc.
Threshold HR - (what you can sustain) may go up (some) with training, but your HR numbers will likely remain fairly constant. What will happen is that as you 'tune' your engine, you'll get more speed/power for the given input (HR). Having threshold closer to max is an advantage for obvious reasons.
Max is mostly irrelevant.
Forget using HR as a means of comparison with others - the numbers have no real weighting outside of how they relate to you from day to day.
okgo said:
I think the zones thing is complicating something that doesn't need to be with rgds HR, its useful for defining the tempo zone, beyond that I don't see too much use.
I totally agree, but I also find watching my HR useful if I am on a recovery ride and trying to keep below tempo. One eye on my HR and one eye on my cadence forces me to keep light on the pedals when the road starts to point upwards, I find it takes more concentration to stay focused on a recovery ride than it does any other sort of training. I would love to train on a PM but A; I can't justify the spend, and B; I am not racing, so it would be of limited use as I am not striving to improve a specific area of my performance.
I was having a chat with Darren Kenny yesterday and mentioned I wanted to 'improve'. He made a very good point in so much as most people confuse getting fit(er), with improving. He asked what I wanted to improve? Climbing? Time Trialling? Crits?, endurance?.....You can't be good at all of them, and they all require a different training plan - getting fitter is one thing, but getting 'better' requires a structured and focused approach!
MadDad said:
most people confuse getting fit(er), with improving. He asked what I wanted to improve? Climbing? Time Trialling? Crits?, endurance?.....You can't be good at all of them, and they all require a different training plan - getting fitter is one thing, but getting 'better' requires a structured and focused approach!
To be exceptional in any one area might mean sacrificing exceptional performance in another, but for most of us on here it's perfectly possible to improve all of those areas simultaneously as we are operating far below our potential.See, I said it was confusing! A simplified plan I am trying to follow is one day of hard effort followed by an easy day. Easy might just be no cycling or a gentle ride, sometimes long sometimes short. I try to vary hard days, hill repeats, intervals (different lengths and quantity) or an all out effort of 30-60 mins.
I ride on RPE. I'd categorise the gears thus:
Zone 1: breathing normally, can hold a conversation.
Zone 2: breathing fairly hard, conversation would be brief but could keep the effort up indefinitely.
Zone 3: going hard, might be able to shout a word or two. Could keep it up for a few minutes but not too long.
Zone 4: full gas, anaerobic, 10-15 secs before I have to lift off. No speaking.
Zone 1: breathing normally, can hold a conversation.
Zone 2: breathing fairly hard, conversation would be brief but could keep the effort up indefinitely.
Zone 3: going hard, might be able to shout a word or two. Could keep it up for a few minutes but not too long.
Zone 4: full gas, anaerobic, 10-15 secs before I have to lift off. No speaking.
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