can somebody please xplain?

TheGreatGatsby

went out for a 50 miler this morning and although I was pushing an average of 17 mph I struggled to get my HR over 140 and it was generally about 120 or below.

If I was tired then surelythe effort would have pushed my HR up? Why would it be so low?

Gats

Alex_Simmons/RST

1. You are fitter, or
2. You are fatigued

It is not uncommon for a depressed HR when fatigued. Others get a high HR when fatigued. HR is like that.

Ric_Stern/RST

to add to Alex's comments: HR can be depressed due to the training you do (e.g., if you train every day) and HR can also be depressed in cold weather.

HR as the name suggests is *only* the speed of which the heart is pumping blood. What we really need to know is cardiac output, which is the total volume of blood being ejected in litres per minute. Cardiac output (Q) is the product of heart rate and stroke volume.

ric

SteveR_100Milers

Judgeing by one of your other posts Gats (a century ride a week, plus 50 miles a day) then sounds like you are doing too much.

TheGreatGatsby

I guess it may be down to being slightly fatigued after yesterdays effort and not having given myself enough time to recover.

I'll ride again tomorrow morning and see if its any better.

Gats

Mike Willcox

TheGreatGatsby wrote:

I guess it may be down to being slightly fatigued after yesterdays effort and not having given myself enough time to recover.

I'll ride again tomorrow morning and see if its any better.
Gats

And if you don't feel better then keep trying until you do eh? Let us know how you get on.

TheGreatGatsby

heh heh heh yeah something like that - I was worried I was getting a cold but I guess we'll see tomorrow.

Gats

dennisn

Try not to obsess about going 17 mph on one day and and doing the same thing the next
and the next and so on and so on. This is the road to burnout and it won't take long.
Vary your training. Work shorter and harder a day or two a week then longer and easier
the rest. Don't do the same thing day after day after day. This is pretty a basic training
idea and coaches can help you get the most out of a varied training routine.

Dennis Noward

jpembroke

I remember your posts on C+ a year or so ago. Can I just ask if you are perhaps overtraining?

And are you eating enough?

SteveR_100Milers

I would guess that Gats is burning somewhere in the region of 8000-10000 Kcals a week with his training regime, so how on earth anyone could overeat in that situation?

jpembroke

Over eating is not the issue. I said 'are you eating enough?', not 'are you eating too much?'. Please read my post again.

pjm-84

I find if I can't force my heart rate up then I'm fatigued or coming down with something.

If I feel tired on a ride and my heart rate is very low then I will put an maximum effort in to see if I can get my heart rate up and roughly guage the findings as follows:

Sub 160 = not right / not firing - go home
160 - 170 = tired
170 - 180 = Ok
180 - 190 = Nothing wrong pull yourself together .....
190+ phew

Track rides or winter road rides my heart rate is low with HR averages for the ride of around the low 130s / high 120s.

If I'm dehydrated my heart rate will be roughly 20beats higher.

If I'm bonked then my heart rate plummets.

SteveR_100Milers

jpembroke wrote:

Over eating is not the issue. I said 'are you eating enough?', not 'are you eating too much?'. Please read my post again.

No I understood you post perfectly. Gats might be worried he is eating too much - you are checking that, and I am reinforcing the view that its almost impossible to eat too much (given his regime) so it shouldnt be a concern to him.

TheGreatGatsby

Just got back from a quick 30 miler and HR was back where it should be so I guess it was just still recovering from sunday.

No matter how much exercise I do the calories I burn are never enough. Each week the scales taunt me and don't move despite eating heathily. Thats just the way it is.

Gats

jpembroke

I don't understand. I'm concerned that he is eating too little; not too much. In my OP I asked if he is a) overtraining, and b) eating enough, for the amount of riding he is doing. I realise that for this amount of miles he needs to be consuming alot of calories and I am concerned that perhaps he is not doing this. In your original reply to me you said "how on earth could anyone overeat in that situation?". I agree! I wasn't accusing him of overeating, I was suggesting that he was overTRAINING and UNDEReating. As you say "Gats might be worried he is eating too much", but I am exploring whether the opposite is actually the case.

You are absolutely right, eating too much should not be a concern to someone who does this amount of miles but for some people it can become an issue. As I said above I remember Gats' rather worrying posts in C+ a while back. I think perhaps it is up to Gats to let us know what is going on (if he wants to) and for me/us to stop speculating.

SteveR_100Milers

I think we are in violent agreement!

jpembroke

We are? Oh good. Still confused though.

TheGreatGatsby

thanks for the concern but I guess at 11.5 stone (was 10.7 when I left Whistler) I think I'm probably eating enough for two! I am trying to get back down to 11 or under though thats true but am trying to do it sensibly. Weird though despite eating and riding the weight still doesn't shift.

But thats beside the point - the point was if the HR was due to being tired/rundown etc and judging by todays ride it was just an unrecovered result from a hard ride the day before.

Thanks for the input though!

Gats

SteveR_100Milers

jpembroke wrote:

We are? Oh good. Still confused though.

You are worried he is not eating enough

I am reassuring him (admittedly in an obtuse manner) that he cannot possibly overeat given his mileage, and therefore implying he is in danger (also) of under eating.

Sorry, I can't use plain simple English sometimes...!