Advice on whether to get V02 and MHR tested

sampras38

If anyone can offer any advice I'd appreciate it.

I have some Sportives coming up over the next 4 months including the Wales Dragon and Marmotte. I've done the Dragon 3 times before but it'll be my first Marmotte. I've ridden all the climbs from the Marmotte before but in the most part at a leisurely pace (apart from a race against some friends up Alp Duez).

I have a long history of fitness so have a fairly good idea how to train, but I was wondering if it would be worth getting properly tested in lab to help with my zone riding for the Marmotte. I have done a few maximum heart rate tests of my own over the last few years but if I've got it wrong I thought it might perhaps hinder my zone training and the Marmotte event itself. I want to get round the Marmotte as quickly as possible so don't want to get my prep wrong.

My other question was whether or not getting tested now would be too late to make a difference?

I've had friends get their V02, MHR and wattage tested and have always been curious as to what my stats would be, just never got round to doing it.

If anyone's heard of him, Gary Palmer has been recommended to me and I've read a decent Sportive prep book he's written. Talks a lot of sense.

Sorry for the ramble but if you can offer any words of wisdom, all comments grately received.

hugo15

If you can afford it then why not? I went to a talk by Garry last year and also know someone who got tested by him. We were both very impressed with him. I'm in a similar position to you, read a fair bit about training over the last year or so and would be interested in getting tested. Might do it for my 40th later this year.

sampras38

Thanks Hugo.

ric/rstsport

If you're setting up training levels/zones based on HR (which you appear to be doing; as opposed to power output) and are basing the levels on HRmax then they're fairly insensitive. That is, if you know your HRmax to within a few beats per minute it won't make much difference.

You can self-test to ascertain your HRmax -- e.g., find a hill that is about 5-mins long. Ride hard for 5-mins directly before the hill. Then ride the hill all-out and as you approach the summit, give it everything. (obviously, for such a maximal test you need to ensure that you are *healthy* before hand).

Even if you use a power meter to set your training levels, you can self-test to find your own zones (e.g. the MAP test we use at RST Sport).

A better use of your money would be to get some training advice which Garry may offer (i don't know) with his testing -or get some professional coaching (we offer coaching, not certain if Garry does). Even when people think they have the training part down, you'd be surprised with what an excellent coach can do to drag more fitness out of a rider.

I coach riders (at all levels) some of whom had carefully constructed training regimens, and it takes experience and careful planning to drag more fitness out of them, especially as they start to come up to their genetic limits.

Of course, though if you like to compare numbers that can be fun with friends. you just need to make sure you're comparing numbers in an equal way (e.g. if you're tested with an incremental ramp test to exhaustion as we use, then you have to ensure that the protocol is the same to compare with friends as these tests are protocol dependent)

Garry, btw, is a well known sports scientist.

Ric

sampras38

Thanks Ric, and I appreciate the reply, although in the main I knew most of what you say already. I've done a MHR test similar to how you describe before (on a 3 min hill around 10%) but have never been sure when to take the reading. Some say immediately and others a few minutes later. Either way I think I'd benefit from professional's opinion such as Gary and it certainly can't hurt. I also knew he was a sports scientist (I studied it at Uni too) and know a few people who know him.

I think my main question overall was whether I would benefit from seeing someone like him with only 3 months or so before the event.

ric/rstsport

You'll likely hit HRmax after you peak the top of the hill. But this would be a few seconds afterwards, not minutes afterwards. No one would measure HR "minutes" after a maximal effort to get your HRmax. Some people may measure a few minutes later to ascertain your "recovery" though.

However, my point still stands, that is: worrying over a few beats per min for a HR test to set your zones is practically immaterial. There's enough slop in training levels and whether you're at the top or bottom of one zone that it doesn't make any difference. What will make a difference is the type of training you do in prep for your event, and with 13 weeks you have plenty of time to make a difference.

what i sense you're saying is something like this: i'm going to do a 5-min hill effort hard. should i do it at 170 b/min or 175 b/min?

what i'm saying is that it's immaterial whether it's 170 or 175, but that it's done a) hard and b) maybe a 5-min hill effort isn't the right thing to do (i've just made up an example to illustrate, but i could have guessed wrongly what you mean).

Ric

sampras38

Ok Ric, thanks again for the info. I've been training pretty well over the last few months and split my week into a variety of different sessions. Long rides, intervals on turbo, hill repeats etc, and all going ok. I've been away on holiday for 2 weeks recently and the rest was very welcome. Been back a few days and done a couple of 90 min turbo sessions ande a hilly 80 miles today around the Chilterns and Dunstable Downs and legs feel ok.