Cardio workout

ben@31

Hi does anyone have any advice on how I can get my heart rate up high when cycling.

Cadence 100rpm
Speed 16 to 18 mph ish
Heart rate 160 bpm

*downwind the speed 1-2mph faster with a lower heart rate of 150bpm

If I go up a gear, the only thing that happens is the cadence drops and my legs get tired the heart rate stays 150-160.

Is this because my legs are not used to cycling yet and give up before the cardio does?

I do alot of cardio on a treadmill and bit of circuit training and find I get a sweat-on easier with them.

jgsi

Fast spins do it for me... cadence 120 - 130 higher if you can keep your technique neat - no bouncing!

adam0bmx0

Hill sprints!

ShutUpLegs

Pedal faster

PlymouthSam

HIIT = High Intensity Interval Training.

In a nutshell, Sprint to a lampost etc then spin slowly the same distance then repeat 10 times.

Brilliant way of boosting CV capability and fat burning.

dw300

Lol .. this guy could be 75 years old, in which case he's doing ok.

If he not though, man up and ignore the burn!

ben@31

dw300 wrote:

Lol .. this guy could be 75 years old, in which case he's doing ok.

If he not though, man up and ignore the burn!

Lol, I'm 32 actually. Although my stiff muscles sometimes feel like I'm 75 years old.

My mind says "ignore the burn" and "still have the fitness and lifestyle I had 10 years ago". My legs say "we're not playing".

ben@31

PlymouthSam wrote:

HIIT = High Intensity Interval Training.

In a nutshell, Sprint to a lampost etc then spin slowly the same distance then repeat 10 times.

Brilliant way of boosting CV capability and fat burning.

What distance / time, do you suggest for interval training. I might give it a go.

Here is lacking in hills, I was even thinking of cycling to the nearest "hill"And cycle up it, back down the way I came and then back up it a few times.

dw300

ben@31 wrote:

dw300 wrote:

Lol .. this guy could be 75 years old, in which case he's doing ok.

If he not though, man up and ignore the burn!

Lol, I'm 32 actually. Although my stiff muscles sometimes feel like I'm 75 years old.

My mind says "ignore the burn" and "still have the fitness and lifestyle I had 10 years ago". My legs say "we're not playing".

It sounds like you are new to cycling, but already have good cardiovascular fitness .. would that be right? Either that, or you've not got any current fitness, but your brain remembers back to when you did .. in which case you're just going to have to get the miles in again.

If its the former .. and your legs won't let you get to what your CV system is capable of, then you need to train until they do. Doing things such as hill repeats to fill your legs with lactic in a short time, and then you cycling slowly until it clears, would help. These intervals could be as short as 30s depending on your fitness. Repeat this hundreds of times and your threshold will rise.

If its the later, then just get the hours in and throw in some high intensity intervals when you feel you've got good legs, so that you're raising all aspects of your ability.

DavidJB

Its always a battle between your legs and cardio...one is always better than the other.

StillGoing

Can someone explain as I don't get it? If you're trying hard, surely oxygenated blood to the muscles is being depleted. In order to pump more oxygenated blood to the muscles the heart has to work harder. The harder you're working the more oxygen you need to take in and the harder the heart works to pump it all around. If the OP was very unfit for his age and could only max at 160bpm then I assume the question is how to train to increase max HR, but if it's he can only attain 160bpm but has a max HR of around 190bpm+, then surely he should just peddle harder? The question suggests he can achieve higher a HR doing other forms of exercise so surely he just needs to put more effort in when cycling or have I missed something?

ben@31 wrote:

Hi does anyone have any advice on how I can get my heart rate up high when cycling.

Cadence 100rpm
Speed 16 to 18 mph ish
Heart rate 160 bpm

*downwind the speed 1-2mph faster with a lower heart rate of 150bpm

If I go up a gear, the only thing that happens is the cadence drops and my legs get tired the heart rate stays 150-160.

Is this because my legs are not used to cycling yet and give up before the cardio does?

I do alot of cardio on a treadmill and bit of circuit training and find I get a sweat-on easier with them.

slowondefy2

ben@31 wrote:

My mind says "ignore the burn" and "still have the fitness and lifestyle I had 10 years ago". My legs say "we're not playing".

Mind replies, "Shut up legs". End of conversation.

PlymouthSam

ben@31 wrote:

PlymouthSam wrote:

HIIT = High Intensity Interval Training.

In a nutshell, Sprint to a lampost etc then spin slowly the same distance then repeat 10 times.

Brilliant way of boosting CV capability and fat burning.

What distance / time, do you suggest for interval training. I might give it a go.

Here is lacking in hills, I was even thinking of cycling to the nearest "hill"And cycle up it, back down the way I came and then back up it a few times.

*confession time..... I havent done HIIT on a bike, just out running, i did it on a football pitch.

On a bike you could do 30 seconds sprint 30-45 seconds rest then repeat.

*just a guide. And im not to be held responsible if your fitness is to drastically improve and you get legs of steel

i do however have paypal

stueys

Strong advocate of 'the time crunched cyclist'. Good interval plans to follow. Suffer feast videos on a turbo also work pretty well.

iampaulb

when im riding, im always in zone4 of my HR that goes when i sprint of climb a hill

so id say to raise your HR find a hill and climb it, or sprint like your mark cavendish.

Tried some sprints the other day, i got up to 27 mph (from standing start) which i though was fast, but my heart felt like it was going to burst through my chest

ed_j

This:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RahvWjoU9Xc