beneficial average HR for 40 mile rides?

neeb

Is an average HR of 80% or just under over 40 miles effective training for racing, or is it still in the "no man's land" of being neither good training nor recovery?

Obviously racing itself is at a slightly higher intensity (or a more variable intensity) and training needs to include shorter, higher intensity stuff too, but if I am doing a lot of 40 mile rides is 80% HR a useful figure to aim for?

Alex_Simmons/RST

80% of what? HRmax? Avg HR at threshold?

There's no such thing as "no mans land" in training. All riding above recovery levels is beneficial.

See here for broad HR levels based on HRmax:
http://www.cyclecoach.com/index.php?opt ... Itemid=145

If using HRmax, then make sure it's an actual tested max, not based on a generic formula.

neeb

I meant 80% of HRmax. Actually it's usually 78 or 79%.

See here for broad HR levels based on HRmax:
http://www.cyclecoach.com/index.php?opt ... Itemid=145

If using HRmax, then make sure it's an actual tested max, not based on a generic formula.

That would out put me in your zone 2, although nearer the bottom end of it than the top. I'm pretty sure my HRmax is reasonably accurate, it's the rate I can occasionally hit on the indoor trainer if I try to sprint at the end of a 20-40 minute simulated climb at maximum sustainable effort ( It's about 15 bpm higher than what the generic formula would suggest)

Although my average HR for these sorts of rides is fairly consistent, there's a lot of deviation from the mean as the terrain is usually quite rolling and I tend to attack all the small hills. So I am in your zone 3 for repeated short periods and down to zone 1 or zone R when recovering.

I'm also doing some other types of rides at higher and at slightly lower intensity, but for various practical reasons a lot of my training falls into this 40 mile, 80% HRmax average, rolling terrain pattern. Just wondering if I could train smarter by doing anything different, while still enjoying it and fitting it into the time I have available.

SBezza

My 40 mile rides would be done at a tempo pace, so about 75% to 85% of HRMax

This is general guide however, once you get to know the perceived effort is for that sort of effort, you can gauge it on that, and broadly HR will follow (well it does in my case, unless I am tired, but then I know what sort of drop I see in HR when tired).

Obviously on the hills, your HR will probably go over, but on the downhills it will be below, though pushing the pace on the downhills, helps minimise this. At a tempo pace there should be no recovering really, if you need to recover at any point, you have gone too hard. You need to try and keep a lid on it on the small hills, and just ride them tempo.

neeb

My 40 mile rides would be done at a tempo pace, so about 75% to 85% of HRMax

This is general guide however, once you get to know the perceived effort is for that sort of effort, you can gauge it on that, and broadly HR will follow (well it does in my case, unless I am tired, but then I know what sort of drop I see in HR when tired).

Obviously on the hills, your HR will probably go over, but on the downhills it will be below, though pushing the pace on the downhills, helps minimise this. At a tempo pace there should be no recovering really, if you need to recover at any point, you have gone too hard. You need to try and keep a lid on it on the small hills, and just ride them tempo.

That's interesting - I'm doing my 40 mile rides at pretty much the same average % of HRMax as you, but by the way you describe it I'm not doing tempo, as I'm deliberately pushing the HR up to about 90% for brief periods on the hills and recovering on the downhills. I guess on the flat stretches I'm probably keeping things fairly constant though.

If I did these rides at a more constant rate and saved the short, more intense efforts for other specific sessions, would there be significant benefits?

SBezza

Well you could mix and match I suppose, but I would keep recovery to tempo pace still, 90% for brief periods should be OK with a tempo recovery. As to the benefits of each I am not sure, just doing the same day in day out, will likely cause a plateau at some stage however.

I train differently for specific sessions, a 2 hour tempo ride would be about 40 miles for me, and if I am suppose to do a tempo ride I aim to keep my HR around the 75% to 85% mark. On the hills it will likely go to over 90% sometimes depending on how steep/long it is, but as soon as I get to the top it is back to tempo pace.

The only time I will get a recovery HR would be on downhills, where I can't push the pace.

Flat sections is where it is easiest to keep the HR in the correct zone I will admit.