Unfit and need help

tmsbird

Hi everybody. just a quick couple of question about heart rate and training.
I've been away from cycling for a while and have just returned . I'm turning 50 in june and would like to do a 100 miles sometime this year, hopefully!
I've been using an exercise bike since xmas to try and get a bit back into shape so I've been doing about 40 mins (the saddle is so bad i can't stay on any longer!!) about 3 or 4 times a week, keeping my heart rate at around 150. I try to get out on the bike once a week and do about 10 miles which feels ok but my heart rate on the bike regularly goes up 202 and always stays really high. I've got a specialized secteur with a triple chain set but even on the lowest gear my heart rate skyrockets.
My questions are.
Am I going to die at that heart rate or should I just ignore it and get on with it?
Should I stick to the indoor bike and start doing harder works outs and control my heart rate better? I've just this week started to do 5 intervals of about 15 sec than 2 min rest and just ignoring the heart rate ( peaks at 180ish). It feels more like its improving my fitness. Once this has kicked in and improved my fitness then go back on the road?
Most of my routes have quite a few hills, not massive but enough to push the heart rate sky high. I haven't really got that long flat route all the mags talk about. I'm 5 foot 8 and 12 stone 6, although that has started to come down. My resting heart rate is about 70 or just under and has stayed like that since xmas when I started training.

kettrinboy

If your seroius about doing a 100 miler this year , i would put the indoor bike training on the backburner and start getting as many miles on the road as you can,the only way to get better on hills and riding into headwinds is to get out there and do it, ideally you would want to do the "100" no later than Sept/Oct so only 7/8 months left to get the training in, as far as the HR goes, when your hitting 202 bpm, what do you feel like, just breathing hard or on the verge of collapse, if its the former your HR monitor might be giving an incorrect reading, from your fitness position i would get to a decent base fitness before pushing your HR to its limits,on how to do this,do a thread search, theres been a few threads on this topic.

sungod

max heart rate varies a lot between individuals, at 50 the maximum hr for most people is a lot lower than 202, so you aren't 'average' in this respect

if you heart etc. are all in good nick, the high maximum might be an advantage in the long run, but i'd get a check up just to be on the safe side

imho you need to work on base fitness first and build aerobic endurance, if your hr is going to 180 on 15 sec intervals with 2 mins rest i really think you are pushing too hard too soon

do long steady rides for a couple of months, 2-3 hours, aim for a steady hr that is comfortable, breathing deep but not hard, maybe hr 130-140, it sounds like this isn't going to be easy with your hilly routes though!

aim to increase distance every week, but not by more than 10-15% per week, i.e. if you've only been doing 50k rides, don't suddenly jump to 80k

hills get easier as weight drops and fitness improves, honest :-)

Velonutter

I'm 51 and really quite fit, my resting heart rate is 48 and I max out at just over 171.

At 50 in my opinion it is doubtful that your heart rate is getting anywhere near 200 unless you have been an exceptional athlete.

Generally as a guide your max heart rate is 220 minus your age and then the optimum being 80% of that, there are other more accurate formulas but as I say that is a guideline.

If your HRM is working correctly and you are truly reaching 202, then I would have a check up with your Doc.

tmsbird

Thanks for the reply s. At the alleged 202 if feel ok, I'm tired but I don't feel like I'm going to collapse and staying on the bike is usually stopped by feeling uncomfortable in that position and a bit saddle sore, but thats just getting used to it, rather than being to exhausted to continue. My heart rate has always gone very high even when I used to cycle a lot, no that I'm that much older it concerns me slightly I suppose. My goal I guess is to get fitter quicker. is pushing harder on the road or working on base fitness on the exercise bike better? The only way I can keep my heart rate down is by using the exercise bike on the road its almost bound to go off the scale!
When doing the intervals its only on the 5 one that it eventually reaches 180.

Thanks for the help so far.

mattshrops

if im being honest 100 miles might be optimistic for you this year from what you have described. ive got that goal for this year but ive been training from what sounds like a similar starting point to you for the last 6 months. so at this point ive just got my first 50 in.
maybe youre different and have a better base level of fitness to me(although it doesnt sound like it).
what ive found really useful is to set lots of small targets that you can hit in a couple of weeks, so if youre doing 10 miles aim for 15 , if youre averaging 12mph try to hit 13mph. then maybe try to do both at the same time. not too hard but youre gonna have to work to get there, nothing is as good for your motivation as success. Success leads to more success, and suddenly its all positivity and improvement.
why not set your long term goal for this year as one of the sportives which has a 50-60 mile short version and a 100 long. aim for the short as a realistic goal(which you should still be very happy to reach) the 100 can just sit in the back of your mind - you never know....
good luck - no magic formula-Ride,eat rest>repeat

Pokerface

Your HR monitor is broken. :?

I suggest getting one that works and then you can begin to use it to train a bit better.


Hitting 202 and "feeling OK' is a good indication something isn't working right, especially at age 50.

jgsi

Also your HRM is up the swanny... if it pointing to over 200 constantly.
Use Perception RPE . Google it... read it
By all accounts, your base fitness is nil... or better said
assume your base fitness is null .. so doing intervals and threshold work is not really what you want right now.
Get a solid Cv base... get good solid road miles in ... it dont mean pootle about either and get your heart rate zones worked out properly using RPE.
That should keep you busy and out of everyones hair for a few months....

tmsbird

Without wanting to get in anybody's hair again. I've been out this morning and finished my usual 10 mile route using my sons polar monitor. On a couple of the short sharp hills I still managed 192. So a slightly better reading than with my own monitor but still high. I think on balance I'll ignore the heart rate when I'm on the road and just use it on the exercise bike .
Thanks for the help the shampoo awaits