Carmichael Training Zones

Sam Kennedy

I'm following the "Lance Armstrong Performance Program", and I am looking at the heart rate zones, and they seem a bit low:

Range     %MSHR     Description
1         50-70     Easy Riding, recovery training
2         50-91     Endurance base training
3         88-90     Aerobic capacity training
4         92-94     Lactate Threshold training
5           94+     Maximum aerobic training / increasing vo2max

I don't like how the percentages are of "maximum sustainable heart rate", which is your average heart rate over a 3 mile time trial. For me it is 175, 50% of that is 87.5, which is really low.

I also need to push my heart rate over 180bpm to train my lactate threshold, but according to this, I only need to be at ~160bpm, which I cruise along quite happily at.

I don't like how the training zones overlap, how am I supposed to know what system I'm training?

Has anyone got any suggestions for better ranges than these? These don't seem very accurate.

jibberjim

Sam Kennedy wrote:

I don't like how the training zones overlap, how am I supposed to know what system I'm training?

You're never training a single system, at all intensities a mixture of things are being trained.

Heart Rate or Power or any other zones are really just markers to get you exercising at a particular intensity, they don't really mean anything.

bigpikle

if you're going to use his plan, use his zones. Its not going to work if you use your own HR zones and his programme of workouts.

Just make sure you do the test as he suggests to get the number you are meant to use, and follow the plan. Or do your own thing entirely...

ded

Sam Kennedy wrote:

...average heart rate over a 3 mile time trial. For me it is 175, 50% of that is 87.5, which is really low...I also need to push my heart rate over 180bpm to train my lactate threshold

Then you didn't try hard enough in your time trial! If you know that your threshold is above that value then you didn't follow his instructions, which (if I remember correctly) are along the lines of "go as hard as you can for 3 minutes" (or 8 minutes, whatever). Which should take you above that threshold....

Sam Kennedy

Thanks for the input

I will re-test today, when I originally did the test, it was my first time out after being off the bike for 3 months. The test actually fits in quite well with what was scheduled for today, so I will replace the tempo section with a 10 minute all-out effort. (I will make sure I work harder this time!).

ded

I'm pretty confident of where my limits/zones are but I know that if I am off the bike for a bit then HR can be a bit low, because my legs/system are not up to the task in hand! So my heart never reaches what I know it can do. Conversely, there are days when I am sure my HR is elevated due to non-bike/non-exercise factors. Which I guess is why so many coaches/books now recommend training with power...

I think the long and short of it is, if your HR zones and perceived exertion seem miles apart then you have probably got your HR zones wrong (or you need to see a doctor! :shock: )

cipollito

I'm following Carmichael's advice from "The Ultimate Ride" and I understand it this way: In order to increase power at any threshold, you should spend time training below that level to "develop the capacity to work harder" before crossing that line.
Take lactate threshold, for example. This is the level above which you are accumulating lactate faster than you can clear it. If you train just below, you can spend much more time at a fairly high power level while you body adapt to the higher blood-lactate concentrations. If you train above this level, as you know, you cannot sustain the effort and adaptation time as long.
Your lactate threshold HR also correlates to your 1 hour TT effort, which is likely closer to 160-165 than 180.
I think if you do the test after each 4-week block, your 8-minute HR and the training ranges will get closer to what you think they ought to be.

I hope I have it straight, or my season is in trouble