Sustainable/maintainable heart rate for long climbs ?

weeksy59

Morning all,

stick with me on this one... as you can see by my post count, i'm not a bike newbie... however i'm a newbie in here... i do MTB stuff... (i know, stone the heretic).

So next year we're planning a dual trip to take in the Pass'portes du Soleil and a climb of Alp D'Huez.

Obviously being in the UK, it's tough to simulate long climbs, and also added to the fact a lot of my training is gym based using spinning machine, i really have no clue what to expect from the climb.

Based upon XC racing, trail centre riding and day to day stuff, i'd say my overall fittness is pretty decent. But what i'm curious to is Av heart rate over a climb.

Today i was simulating climbing resistance and a cadence of about 65rpm for 45 mins. My Av heart rate was 145bpm, mostly around 141bpm. Which i felt was fairly sustainable, although possibly down to 137 for something a fair bit longer. But i don't know if that's something i should be looking to maintain, or if that's a bit low or a bit high... or....

So, some toughts, ideas etc wanted please all.

Thanks
W.

chiark

i am starting to think I am either near death, or my garmin HRM is dramatically over reading... I typically sustain over 170 for 45 minutes on my rides.

I hope the garmin is over-reading... Must try to sort that out!

rick_chasey

Cycle for flat out for 90 minutes.

See what your average heart rate is over that period.

Bingo.

StanwaySteve62

chiark wrote:

i am starting to think I am either near death, or my garmin HRM is dramatically over reading... I typically sustain over 170 for 45 minutes on my rides.

I hope the garmin is over-reading... Must try to sort that out!

Same here, at 150 bpm I'm in a very easy zone.
It's weird because I'm fat and old 17st and 48

weeksy59

Rick Chasey wrote:

Cycle for flat out for 90 minutes.

See what your average heart rate is over that period.

Bingo.

Based upon other gym work i do, that comes in about 150-152.

my MHR is around 176. (although theoretical may be more of course).

weeksy59

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/106180158


Above is an example of a recent training ride, i only ride on a FS MTB, with 26" wheels and dirt rubber, so forgive my slow speeds. But gives an indication of my heart rates etc.

cougie

Everyones heart rates are different - so pointless comparing.

Also the calculation is often wrong - so if you're going to the bother of buying a HRM - then you need to do a proper Max Heart Rate test.

Alpe D'Huez is a decent climb - but enjoyable. Train on the hills as much as you can - get out onto the roads and ride as many climbs as you can. We've no Alps in the UK but we have got some shorter steeper climbs. Do hill reps.

And make sure you have low gears to get up there too. You'll have a ball.

inseine

Firstly, i think you need to think about warming up and cooling down a bit more. I can see from your Garmin there is a bit of a gap between the start and finish but you really should think about 10mins of each. Anyway I don't think that your max is 176 if you are hitting 175 as part of a ride like this and also if you're averaging 156 (IIFC) then you should be able to hold a steady average higher than this on a climb so I think your climbing HR of 144 is way too low and should be nearer 160. Of course you'll be well cooked after that but that's your choic and it depends what else you are doing on the ride.

merak

Everyone's heart rates are different. The formulae people use based on age are useless. I am personally a high beater, max HR of 200, aerobic limit 185ish, and if I want to ride really long, eg 200km plus audax I look to keep HR below 150 which is a very easy level for me. Obviously , you can't do that while climbing Alpe d'Huez, but as long as you are below your aerobic limit and you not already knackered you should be OK as the climb should take less than 90 mins (it's about 14km). In my experience, climbing in the mountains is partly aerobic fitness and partly be accustomed to sitting on the bike and working on a slope like that for a long time - it al;ways gets me in the small of the back. Don't underestimate Alpe d'Huez - you might plan to climb at a particular herat rate, but you'll likely go higher just stopping yourself rolling back down,.

inseine

Same here, at 150 bpm I'm in a very easy zone.
It's weird because I'm fat and old 17st and 48

Dare I say that your weight (and unfitness?) will contribute to a high heart rate not a low one. BTW 48 is not old

weeksy59

I guess it's tough as indoor riding never really shows outdoors speeds/levels. To hit that 175 i was climbing a hill that's pretty steep gradient and pushing hard....

After the climb of Alp D'Huez we'll be doing an off-road descent of it (we're talking 2 pairs of rubber, road and dirt), possibly another Col in the afternoon, but depends how tired we are.

StanwaySteve62

inseine wrote:

Same here, at 150 bpm I'm in a very easy zone.
It's weird because I'm fat and old 17st and 48

Dare I say that your weight (and unfitness?) will contribute to a high heart rate not a low one. BTW 48 is not old

Thing is I am quite fit, do regular 50 mile plus Solo rides at around 16-17 mph and have a short club ride on a Wednesday 18miles and average around 19mph.

Ps started riding Jan 2010 and have so far ridden around 4000 miles so getting out a decent amount

amaferanga

StanwaySteve62 wrote:

inseine wrote:

Same here, at 150 bpm I'm in a very easy zone.
It's weird because I'm fat and old 17st and 48

Dare I say that your weight (and unfitness?) will contribute to a high heart rate not a low one. BTW 48 is not old

Thing is I am quite fit, do regular 50 mile plus Solo rides at around 16-17 mph and have a short club ride on a Wednesday 18miles and average around 19mph.

Ps started riding Jan 2010 and have so far ridden around 4000 miles so getting out a decent amount

Small heart and/or small stroke volume.

merak

inseine wrote:

StanwaySteve62 wrote:

Same here, at 150 bpm I'm in a very easy zone.
It's weird because I'm fat and old 17st and 48

Dare I say that your weight (and unfitness?) will contribute to a high heart rate not a low one. BTW 48 is not old

There's natural variation: as said above, I'm a high beater but 9.5st and 57, and while not a Cat 1 I'm pretty fit both over shorter distances and very long rides up to 600km - and I've riden for decades. Beat even higher when I was younger.

StanwaySteve62 wrote:

Small heart and/or small stroke volume

Just so - it's a genetically determined physiological variation.

StanwaySteve62

Funny ole game I also recover pretty fast and my heart drops to a resting of around 65-68

merak

StanwaySteve62 wrote:

Funny ole game I also recover pretty fast and my heart drops to a resting of around 65-68

ditto and 50 - 55 resting in the morning.,

weeksy59

my resting HR is 40bpm .

amaferanga

Who'd have thought this thread would turn into a willy waving contest of who has the highest max HR and the lowest resting HR....

inseine

My comment was to the post that it is 'weird' to have a low heart rate since he's 'old and fat' and I was saying it wasn't.

weeksy59

amaferanga wrote:

Who'd have thought this thread would turn into a willy waving contest of who has the highest max HR and the lowest resting HR....

I didn't think it had...

If i were trying to brag about how fit i am (or not) i wouldn't have put my Garmin info up