Heart rate

adammarlow85

Do you worry about your heart rate when you are out riding?

What is your average sort of heart rate on rides?

This is something that has concerned me a little with having some chest pains which has been cleared by my gp and tests etc.

Just interested to know if anyone takes much notice in their heart rate and if anyone else comes across any chest discomfort.

Thanks

fenix

Everyone has a different heart range.

Ideally you'd do a max heart rate test so you know how to gauge efforts but I'd not do that unless your GP gives you the go ahead.

If your HR bothers you - don't look at it ? What would you have done in the past ?

imposter2.0

Other people's heart rates will tell you absolutely nothing about your own. I used to train with HR, but I stopped racing several years ago and have not used a HR monitor since.

redvision

OP there are lots of things which can cause chest pains. Indigestion, breathing too hard, muscle spasms/ injuries, etc. If the Dr has checked you out and found no issues with your ticker then I wouldn't worry about your heart and perhaps consider whether you could have injured yourself or if the pain only occurs after certain exercises/ foods.

Fwiw I used to train to heart rate until I got my first cycling coach - he immediately changed my training to power based because of the sheer number of things which can affect your heart rate (caffeine, tiredness, etc). Power is just more reliable to train with and gauge your effort.

adammarlow85

Thanks for the reply mate..

Yeah I’ve been checked has all the tests scans etc. Just makes you anxious when it comes on!

parmos

i use my HR monitor all the time just to gauge fitness i suppose but off late i've dropped roughly a stone and my HR has come down a bit now so it seems i have to work harder now.

one thing i've noticed is that on a morning commute my HR is very low as opposed to the night commute anybody got a reasoning on this maybe the fact my body is just awakening etc as i basically get up and go

N0bodyOfTheGoat

Generally, since getting a power meter, I don't look at my hrm data so much. Seeing 170-190bpm while doing an all out effort climb is very normal for me, despite being 46, I know I can normally sustain something in the 160-175bpm ballpark for ~20mins. However, on an easy ride like yesterday afternoon, I might only average ~126bpm and only very briefly hit ~160bpm on inclines.

However, I've been looking at hrm data more recently to see what is going on during rides, since more than likely having mild COVID-19 in late March.

pblakeney

HRM use - As a limiter to pace effort on a long climb or into a headwind. Useful once you know what you can sustain.
As a virus detector. A much higher HR than normal on a known route? Time to rest up.
I don’t ride to power as I’m not a constant output machine. I have good days, I have bad days.
YMMV

mrfpb

parmos said:

i use my HR monitor all the time just to gauge fitness i suppose but off late i've dropped roughly a stone and my HR has come down a bit now so it seems i have to work harder now.

one thing i've noticed is that on a morning commute my HR is very low as opposed to the night commute anybody got a reasoning on this maybe the fact my body is just awakening etc as i basically get up and go

Fatigue, usually. Like when I'm in the last quarter of a long run, and my heart rate is much higher despite going slower (because I still haven't learnt to pact myself properly). It may also because your body is working on digesting food or other "housekeeping" tasks.

mrb123

My heart rate is always much lower for my early morning activities than for stuff I do later in the day. I've never understood how people manage to train to heart rate other than to use it as a guide against pushing too hard.

mrfpb

mrb123 said:

My heart rate is always much lower for my early morning activities than for stuff I do later in the day. I've never understood how people manage to train to heart rate other than to use it as a guide against pushing too hard.

I've only ever used it to get a more accurate calorie count.

I was also shocked at how much beta blockers suppressed my heart rate. But its obvious really.

imposter2.0

mrb123 said:

I've never understood how people manage to train to heart rate other than to use it as a guide against pushing too hard.

You just answered your own question...

StillGoing

HR is too variable and effected by so many things. What you've eaten, drank, altitude, illness, fatigue etc. Power is constant so it doesn't matter what you've eaten etc, 150 watts is 150 watts. It may be harder doing your FTP if you're ill or fatigued, but your FTP doesn't change because of it.

pblakeney

Precisely.
Your heart rate tells you your current condition, good or bad. Your FTP was a moment in time.

imposter2.0

For steady-state, aerobic efforts, HR aligns with effort level pretty well. Lots of factors might raise or lower your 'resting' HR, but if you are using percentage HR numbers or approximate zones based on an imprecise MHR number, that won't be a major issue.

Darius_Jedburgh

The old wives version was that your max should be 220 minus your age. No idea what that is based on, but I do exceed it on big climbs without noticing any effect.
When I was really, seriously fit my resting heart rate was below 40. Next time it gets that low there will be no way back for me!!

imposter2.0

The 220 thing is so irrelevant as to not even be worth discussing..

keezx

Thye only useful parameter to define zones is (anaerobic) threshold value.