Used HR training for 30+ years, LTHR zone training for about the last 9 years. It can be as effective as power based as long as you know the limitations of the method. Specifically that heart rate is a reaction to stimulus (hard effort), and that it's worthless for short extremely hard efforts (ie: doing a 10 second hardest sprint - your heart rate may not go up till after your effort, especially on the fist effort if doing multiple reps). Thanks for posting this video, more people should know that you don't have to spend the cost of some bikes on a powermeter to be able to train for better performance.
Heart rate is the key, when you go to the doctor they don’t check your power out put. Being 50+ with a low pulse and low blood pressure is the key to being fit.
On the trainer, I train to power with workouts designed to ride at different power levels. Yesterday, I was doing Sweet Spot intervals. Today, I will try to keep it below LT1, a tempo or endurance zone ride. On the road, I just ride. The terrain, in New Hampshire, normally dictates. When we climb, we often climb for 20 minutes. And, we can do multiple categorized climbs in a ride. The climbs provide the hard intervals.
Heart read all day! I’m too broke to get a power meter. I found that some days i find it really hard to get into some zones so I’m glad I’m not the only who feels that way. Great video guys
I have a broad heart rate spectrum genetically and through years of training. Resting hr is under 40 bpm at its lowest and I can still, at the age of 43, reach numbers over 200. Highest I ever got was 214. Great video guys! 👍👏
I use a battery operated finger tip clip for heart rate check every mile or so when running. If my heart rate is below my goal.... I speed up. If heart rate is too high, I slow down. Gismo came from E-Bay about $30.00 to my door. Powered by two AAA battery. Avoid the ones powered by button battery due to cost of the battery. Gismo rides in my shirt pocket and is quick and easy to use. Looks just like the finger tip monitor you see in a Dr. office.
I use other heart rate zones: Recoveryzone:-75% Endurance zone (I live in Belgium and this is 'Duurzone 1'):75 -85% LTHR Tempo-zone ('D2'): 85-95% LTHR Threshold ('D3'): 95-100% HIIT-Zone: +100%LTHR I'm gonna use my zones untill my first race (in april) and after that, I'm gonna try you're zones
Guys I didn't understand (maybe it's difficulties of translation). Well, once you said that measure your Max heart rate, but later, to define a lact.treshhold you have to work out on max 30 min and 20 on avg. and then we will find out your starting point. But what's the point to measure max heart rate, while we take on basis lact.treshhold.
The point of max heart rate is to know when you're up to your limit. In reality, your max hr is when you basically fall of the bike because you can't go any more. Which would be dangerous. So when in real world you see your at your max hr as tested, you know you should probably not ramp up any further or even ease off a little. Otherwise you're risking your health.
Yes, data is very important. I use data for 5 years now. I have Fitbit Sense this time and scale with Fat% leanness and BMI measurement synced into Fitbit, and also tracking food intake nutrient data for the past 5 years, and synced into the app too. I have it all. Sense measures Heart Rate Variability, Skin Temperature, and SpO2 oxygen saturation as well, but the most widely used data is Resting HR. I think it is very useful to have data. It tells the story. But there are differences between different devices. For example, my former Fitbit Charge 2 device gave about 6-7 beats per minute higher resting HR than Sense. Because Sense measures it to be on average around 52-55, however in Charge 2 the range was higher, in the 58-62 range. And at least I know how much I am active in steps about 65k-70k steps per week, and in calories burned about 15k-17k per week from exercise. Yes, it is good to have data. I am an Equinox member ...
I have a RHR of sub 60 bpm but it averages around 180 bpm when I am doing my FTP test shoots up to near 200 bpm when I am on sprints. I have been cycling for years and my HR is pretty consistent like this. I wonder what it means to have a high HR during exercise....
Don’t really understand power or watts, just started using chest band hrm, came with my garmin package, as wrist band wasn’t telling me much, with new garmin watch it gives me tons of useful info that I actually can understand, who knew
Hey guys, something re LTHR. this idea just crossed my mind, but somehow I never see this suggested in cycling-centred disucssions. Why to try to figure out your LT by cycling and not running? Maintaining steady cycling effort for 30minutes is quite difficult due to externalities (traffic, riding surface, etc). doing the same while running is much easier and reliable!
This is all well for someone in their 20s and 30s but the long standing medical advice is that your maximum heart rate is 220 minus your age. The Karvonen method which you didn't discuss but which is well established uses a different set of calculations. First establish the base rate which is your maximum (220 - age) and subtract your resting heart rate. The target heart rate is then the base rate x intensity % and then add the resting heart rate. The first zone is 50-60% for endurance training and recovery training. The second zone 60-70% is for maintaining your fitness and burning fat. 70-80% is aerobic for improving heart and lung fitness. 80-90% is anaerobic and 90-100 is over-reaching and potentially harmful without adequate recovery which could be several days. At 60 years old and having re-started cycling 5 months ago, I started in zone 1 for the first few weeks, then concentrated on staying in zone 2 for 3 months, during which I lost 6 Kg, and now I spend the majority of time in zone 3 which has resulted in reducing my resting rate to 60.
THE SURPRISING HISTORY OF THE "HRmax=220 -age" EQUATION. Robert A. Robergs, Roberto Landwehr. JEPonline. 2002;5(2):1-10 "Despite the acceptance of this formula, research spanning more than two decades reveals the large error inherent in the estimation of HRmax (Sxy=7-11 b/min). Ironically, inquiry into the history of this formula reveals that it was not developed from original research, but resulted from observation based on data from approximately 11 references consisting of published research or unpublished scientific compilations. Consequently, the formula HRmax=220 -age has no scientific merit for use in exercise physiology and related fields."
@@franmcgowan4068 First, you did not comment on the Karvonen method which also uses the 220 minus age but with the difference that it subtracts the resting heart rate (RHR) from that before adding it back after multiplying by the intensity required. Then, well established, reputable and scientific organisations such as the US Heart Organisation and the US CDC use the 220-age method. Please see, www.heart.org/en/healthy-living/fitness/fitness-basics/target-heart-rates and www.cdc.gov/physicalactivity/basics/measuring/heartrate.htm. The latter refers to: health.gov/sites/default/files/2019-10/CommitteeReport_7.pdf which is a comprehensive study by medical experts and has much useful guidance on VO max and metabolic equivalent task scores which I use to monitor and record energy expended during exercise: whether cycling, walking, running or swimming. Empirical evidence is as strong as a scientifically derived hypothesis which you do not provide. For example, because I am 60, my recommended max HR is 160. On a recent ride of over 50 Km, in the final leg of a couple of of kilometres my HR was at 160 and I could not go faster. So it may not be perfect but for I reckon for more than 95% of us who watch this channel regularly the 220-age is a good enough basis to plan and to execute fitness training rather than racing. As I stated at the start, this programme might be suitable for younger elite cyclists such as the presenters but for ordinary blokes like me the Karvonen method is good enough and does not require a subjective assessment of when lactic acid is building up in the muscles, nor an equallly subjective assessment of degrees of difficulty from 1 to 10.
@@MarkSmithSa Using this method my max HR would be 173 with a Zone 1 of 85-90. But 85 is my resting HR. My endurance zone would be not cycling at all. My actual max HR is 196. Using 173 is absurdly low for me.
@@jasonmcgrody9472 OK Jason, you are 47 with a RHR of 85. Your recommended safe maximum rate therefore is 220-47=173. Your Karvonen base rate is 173 - 85 (maximum minus RHR) = 88. Multiply the base rate of 88 by 0..5 and then add back the RHR of 85 = 129. Do the same for 60%: 88*0.6+85= 138. And so on. Thus zone 1 is 129 to 138. Zone 2 is 138 to 147. Zone 3 is 147 to 155. Zone 5 is 155 to 164. Given that you have a comparatively high RHR of 85 I would suggest that you take it easier than you seem to think is alright. Medical advice is that a normal heart rated is from 70 to 100 but that allows for all adult ages and it is recognised that older people tend to have higher RHR (and blood pressure but that's another subject). Whenever I have been doing plenty of aerobic training in my early 20s my 'fit' RHR has been around 60 especially when I did a lot of running it was down to 35. In recent years when my RHR has been in the region of 85 because I have not been exercising for extended periods (work related) and thus unfit, or when I have been unwell. I'm 60 with a RHR of 60. You are 47 with a RHR of 85. If you didn't before, may I suggest that you read all of my original comment for which you have to click on "Read more" which I copy below for convenience: "At 60 years old and having re-started cycling 5 months ago, I started in zone 1 for the first few weeks, then concentrated on staying in zone 2 for 3 months, during which I lost 6 Kg, and now I spend the majority of time in zone 3 which has resulted in reducing my resting rate to 60."
Yeah, you hit the point. I am using the Wahoo heart monitor(strap) and the wahoo BlueSC for cadence and speed. using either with the app on my ride out and with my Elite Force Novo turbo trainer when Zwifting. Happy with that till I'll get the money to invest in wahoo computer (which I found quite expensive comparing to Garmin).
I go to the gym and measure my heart rate with an elliptical machine. It works great for intensity training, and seems to translate to real cycling workouts, which I measure with my Garmin in combination with my FitBit for heart rate measuring.
Would be good idea to add HR zones to your normal training videos (on top of cadence and perceived effort) to help. I really enjoy the training, but perceived effort is difficult to gauge and don't find cadence a particularly helpful guide. Great job!!
I use a combination for my training. It's based largely on how I feel as in energy and rested. But sometimes that all changes one im on the bike, so my training can be rather dynamic some times with a 30 minute session morphing into a full 90 minute session, sometimes with the full range of cadence drills, grinds, sprints, etc with the end result being having touched on every zone. But when that occurs,it's usually only once every couple of weeks at the most. But I'm not training for anything (but the Blue Ridge Brutal is scheduled for 2022), so this is just a fun ride on mainly on Zwift.
I am determined to spread the word about Forwago. This personalized plan turned my life around 180 degrees. Now I'm working out, started exploring some business opportunities, and in a healthy relationship.
What I think I saw was Hank prelude to hitting the deck on the 1m06 ish for 2021 ~ wet road and trying for knee touching tarmac cornering ( Rossi type riding ) but always love the way Hank is always up for any challenge on a bike👍👍😁
Very useful in terms of maximizing fitness gains while recovering adequately. Zone 3/5 or zone 2/3 can still be useful for race-specific prep, but generally threshold and above will stimulate bigger fitness gains
This answer really depends on you, where you are in your training, and where you want to be, when. To start your training, longer, easy rides are key. Put in hours of riding endurance and tempo rides. But after a while, you will stop making gains. If you want to add fitness after a while, you will need to add hard intervals. But, after two months, the gains from intervals will stop or slow too. So, we need to cycle our training. After 3-7 weeks, ease up and switch emphasis. And, if you really want gains, add in some weight training especially in your off-season and when you begin your training each year.
This was one of the best gcn videos ive watched👍👍👍.personally i dont use any gadgets ...just listen to my heart n body and fuel properly..may try that wahoo monitor...thks guys great video
Ahh yes, when the doctor rechecks his heart rate monitor equipment because my heartrate is at 27 BPM, I know I am healthy, since age 21. I remember one time being told by a doctor, "One of three things is going on, you are either very healthy or you should be in a coma with that heart rate. Or both on my monitors I used on you are damaged or not working fine." the moral victory is mine.
Why are so many of your rides on wet and muddy lanes?. No dry and sunny weather? No dedicated cycleways? I did learn a bit from your video though. Thanks
I don't know why I bother to put a HR monitor on, I don't look at that information anymore. Now that I use Di2 and Varia Radar I just use my head unit to look at my gears and notifications of vehicles coming up behind me.
I monitor my HR but totally ignore it when chasing my mates up a hill or to the next intersection. I ride my Cervelo carbon bike about 4000 Km a year purely for the joy of it.
Super helpful video! Thanks for putting this together (has really clarified some mistakes I had been making in measuring and using my zones). This type of content is what makes GCN so great. Thanks again!
Was thinking the same, there closer to sufferfest zones but still different. I gather the British cycling zones are for professionals who have more time to train in slower zones?
@@jasongillen2401 I believe it depends on the model different authors (Cogan, Friel etc.) use and if so then the zones aren't of much use without a training plan within the specific model. Please someone correct me if I'm wrong.
I just wish any video would explain the aim behind heart rate. So if I average say 160 BPM heart rate and I do the same bike ride faster and faster while my average heart rate stays the same, that means I must be getting fitter, right? That's the basics of it? 8:08 damn, Manon is beautiful.
That's the Karvonen formula, and it's not very accurate, especially for the over 40s. (It looks like you have no worries there.) I would suggest looking at this website from the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU): www.ntnu.edu/cerg/hrmax The NTNU formula is 211 - 0.64 x age. For me, Karvonen = 144 but NTNU = 164. (I understand that different activities have different HRmax associated with them. Running has a higher HRmax than cycling, because it uses more muscles. So don't try running to measure your max HR and apply that to cycling.)
It's not accurate enough. Using the formula my max heart rate should be 172, but it is actually 201 - big difference! 172 is my zone 5. The only way to find your max heart rate is to push it to the max (assuming you're healthy or your doctor has cleared such an effort).
If I know why my 'Zone 6' HR can I also calculate my LTHR from that? Got a fair bit of experience rowing 500/1000m tests for 1:30-3:00 minutes and the HRs from that, but lack the route and pacing for 30 min efforts to figure it out that way.
How do you sustain max effort for 30 minutes if you have to stop/slow for traffic lights, pedestrians, speed limits, ... every few minutes? That seems to be only possible on indoor trainers.
For more urban riding, it can be tough. If I had to ride urban, and wanted hard intervals, I would be doing short VO2 Max and Sprint intervals, riding as hard as I could for somewhere from 20 seconds to 4 minutes. And, i would want to learn to time lights in town and ride to where I could avoid light. The closest light to my home now is over 10 miles away. But, a few years ago, I lived in an urban area. My rides then always headed out of town.
Ok this video is very insightful but I have one important question: if i ride 5 minutes intervals in zone 5, does my interval block start when I increase my power output, or does the block start when my heart rate hits zone 5? For now I train as if my interval blocks start then moment I increase the power, while my heartrate takes some time to get up there. Is that the correct way?
@@roebbiej No. Though I will say that a smart trainer that calculates power and a basic crank arm power meter for outdoor riding were the best purchases I ever made for my bike riding. I'd sooner spend $350 for a single-sided crank arm power meter than new wheels or a carbon frame
What about those of us with heart pacemakers fitted? My max heart rate is fixed at 155bpm, cycling has enabled me to get very fit over the last 15 years but all training plans seem based on your heart rate and maximising this what do you suggest? My Dr just says be grateful for what you have and accept it is what it is.
Is a 30 minute max effort even possible, as stated in this video? This seems odd to use that number to calculate all the others. Maybe I misheard 3 as 30? 🤔
I've been training using a power meter indoors for the last 8 months. I've been using heart rate for about 5 years. Here's something I can't work out at all. On an outdoor ride, my HR on average is much higher and the estimated watts much lower than when I'm on the indoor trainer. I'd assume that I'm simply not working as hard outdoors but my HRV indicates I'm recovering from a hard workout. All I can come up with is that Strava can't factor in the condition of the road surface into their calculation of the est av watts. Is it possible the disgusting pavement conditions in my city are the x factor? #gcndoesscience
If you’re talking about Strava estimated watts, its definitely not uncommon for those to be wildly wrong. If I let it estimate, it often hits at about 50% of what the actual power meter records. Not being pro level aero, or having a pro level efficient drivetrain, bad surfaces, not properly taking the actual wind into account, etc etc. They are also not consistently wrong enough in a certain percentage to work with as just a benchmark. In short: fully ignore estimated watts. If it’s not coming from a power meter it’s useless.
My Whopp died on me after a month of use twice per day. Now I pedal 😃 per mile. Cycling commuter goals: (1) did I get where I wanted to go on time and (2) did I 😃 a lot?
I got Zwift (5 zones), I got a Wahoo head unit with HR monitor (5 zones), is there a way to make a version of this for 5 zones? I feel like there must be a way to adapt to 5 zones... and I'm running out of birthdays folks.
I've recently disused my power meter because the numbers are exactly that - NUMB-ers - and the rides felt clinical and cheap. I use HR only now. I wish I could ride with a sense of what the HR is but I can't. The sensor lets me know when I'm whimpering and should pedal harder - and when I'm close to blowing a gasket - and is simple enough to let me enjoy the birds, the contours of the road, and all the stuff I'm leaving behind.
Last year before it got to cold for me to ride , resting heart 43bpm, took my first ride of 2021 resting heart rate, 55bpm. The better my cardio the lower my resting heart rate thats what I like to watch.
One of the best GCN videos I have seen. Really helpful.However, I’m still confused about the relationship between maximum heart rate and lactate threshold heart rate.If your training zones are based on the latter, what relevance does the former have?
Max heart rate is likely higher than LTHR since you can only achieve that max for a short time before your muscles are too fatigued to maintain it. Lactate threshold heart rate is the max rate that you can sustain for longer efforts
If you're quite powerful and fit already heart rate not the best option to train with. Heart rate will slowly get higher and first few minutes of intervals or even first 1-3intervals will be with lower heart rate than in needed zone ,but power will be were you need.If you will try to increase your heart rate it'll not be your correct power zone. Also heart rate could be changed by million factors and again you'll training not in correct zone.I think for good athletes their feelings more important than heart rate numbers
Used HR training for 30+ years, LTHR zone training for about the last 9 years. It can be as effective as power based as long as you know the limitations of the method. Specifically that heart rate is a reaction to stimulus (hard effort), and that it's worthless for short extremely hard efforts (ie: doing a 10 second hardest sprint - your heart rate may not go up till after your effort, especially on the fist effort if doing multiple reps).
Thanks for posting this video, more people should know that you don't have to spend the cost of some bikes on a powermeter to be able to train for better performance.
Heart rate is the key, when you go to the doctor they don’t check your power out put. Being 50+ with a low pulse and low blood pressure is the key to being fit.
Yes indeed my friend 58 today!
Rubbish. I know someone at 58 with all those things currently in ICU having had a near fatal cardiac arrest.
What gets measured gets managed
Pulse and heart rate are actually not indicative of any kind of fitness really - you can have a low pulse/HR and be in poor shape.
Fit, probably yes. That is definitely not enough, though.
This content is pure quality
I kick it old school and use Rate of Perceived Exertion :) Once in a while, I'll use my heart rate monitor
On the trainer, I train to power with workouts designed to ride at different power levels. Yesterday, I was doing Sweet Spot intervals. Today, I will try to keep it below LT1, a tempo or endurance zone ride.
On the road, I just ride. The terrain, in New Hampshire, normally dictates. When we climb, we often climb for 20 minutes. And, we can do multiple categorized climbs in a ride. The climbs provide the hard intervals.
Heart read all day! I’m too broke to get a power meter. I found that some days i find it really hard to get into some zones so I’m glad I’m not the only who feels that way. Great video guys
Magene do a good chest strap heart monitor. £20 quid and it works brilliant. Model : H64
When racing I get an average heart rate of around 180 for 45 minutes including descends.
I do however don't remember my name at this point.
I have a broad heart rate spectrum genetically and through years of training. Resting hr is under 40 bpm at its lowest and I can still, at the age of 43, reach numbers over 200. Highest I ever got was 214. Great video guys! 👍👏
My resting heart rate is 21 and max out at 220, I kill bears daily and take the skin of chicken..
I use a battery operated finger tip clip for heart rate check every mile or so when running. If my heart rate is below my goal.... I speed up. If heart rate is too high, I slow down. Gismo came from E-Bay about $30.00 to my door. Powered by two AAA battery. Avoid the ones powered by button battery due to cost of the battery. Gismo rides in my shirt pocket and is quick and easy to use.
Looks just like the finger tip monitor you see in a Dr. office.
I use other heart rate zones:
Recoveryzone:-75%
Endurance zone (I live in Belgium and this is 'Duurzone 1'):75 -85% LTHR
Tempo-zone ('D2'): 85-95% LTHR
Threshold ('D3'): 95-100%
HIIT-Zone: +100%LTHR
I'm gonna use my zones untill my first race (in april) and after that, I'm gonna try you're zones
I use
Z1
Guys I didn't understand (maybe it's difficulties of translation). Well, once you said that measure your Max heart rate, but later, to define a lact.treshhold you have to work out on max 30 min and 20 on avg. and then we will find out your starting point.
But what's the point to measure max heart rate, while we take on basis lact.treshhold.
The point of max heart rate is to know when you're up to your limit. In reality, your max hr is when you basically fall of the bike because you can't go any more. Which would be dangerous. So when in real world you see your at your max hr as tested, you know you should probably not ramp up any further or even ease off a little. Otherwise you're risking your health.
Yes, data is very important. I use data for 5 years now. I have Fitbit Sense this time and scale with Fat% leanness and BMI measurement synced into Fitbit, and also tracking food intake nutrient data for the past 5 years, and synced into the app too. I have it all. Sense measures Heart Rate Variability, Skin Temperature, and SpO2 oxygen saturation as well, but the most widely used data is Resting HR. I think it is very useful to have data. It tells the story. But there are differences between different devices. For example, my former Fitbit Charge 2 device gave about 6-7 beats per minute higher resting HR than Sense. Because Sense measures it to be on average around 52-55, however in Charge 2 the range was higher, in the 58-62 range. And at least I know how much I am active in steps about 65k-70k steps per week, and in calories burned about 15k-17k per week from exercise.
Yes, it is good to have data. I am an Equinox member ...
What you have described as "lactate threshold" is actually lactate turnpoint. (Or lactate threshold 2 (LT2) as some call it).
1:44 NO BAR END PLUGS!!!!!!!!!
Extra weight.
I have a RHR of sub 60 bpm but it averages around 180 bpm when I am doing my FTP test shoots up to near 200 bpm when I am on sprints. I have been cycling for years and my HR is pretty consistent like this. I wonder what it means to have a high HR during exercise....
Is Hank wearing a crop top when modeling the wahoo HRM in the beginning at 0:18 or is that Conner wearing Hank's shirt?!
That’s exactly the video that I’ve been looking for. And it’s good. I really like all the presenters at the moment
Thanks & good job. I use a heart rate monitor when riding.
Heart rate is a nice way to measure your condition in relation to power.
Zone 6 and Hank can still talk!! whoaaa!
Polar has up to now been my sole companion.I have added strava.Super cool time we in.Incredily useful video!
Don’t really understand power or watts, just started using chest band hrm, came with my garmin package, as wrist band wasn’t telling me much, with new garmin watch it gives me tons of useful info that I actually can understand, who knew
@1:05...Did Hank get a little loose?
Heart rate all the way
Hey guys, something re LTHR. this idea just crossed my mind, but somehow I never see this suggested in cycling-centred disucssions. Why to try to figure out your LT by cycling and not running? Maintaining steady cycling effort for 30minutes is quite difficult due to externalities (traffic, riding surface, etc). doing the same while running is much easier and reliable!
Yesterday 2 hour zwift ride was 1hr 39mins at threshold 😂 glad I watched this now
This is all well for someone in their 20s and 30s but the long standing medical advice is that your maximum heart rate is 220 minus your age. The Karvonen method which you didn't discuss but which is well established uses a different set of calculations. First establish the base rate which is your maximum (220 - age) and subtract your resting heart rate. The target heart rate is then the base rate x intensity % and then add the resting heart rate. The first zone is 50-60% for endurance training and recovery training. The second zone 60-70% is for maintaining your fitness and burning fat. 70-80% is aerobic for improving heart and lung fitness. 80-90% is anaerobic and 90-100 is over-reaching and potentially harmful without adequate recovery which could be several days.
At 60 years old and having re-started cycling 5 months ago, I started in zone 1 for the first few weeks, then concentrated on staying in zone 2 for 3 months, during which I lost 6 Kg, and now I spend the majority of time in zone 3 which has resulted in reducing my resting rate to 60.
THE SURPRISING HISTORY OF THE "HRmax=220 -age" EQUATION. Robert A. Robergs, Roberto Landwehr. JEPonline. 2002;5(2):1-10
"Despite the acceptance of this formula, research spanning more than two decades reveals the large error inherent in the estimation of HRmax (Sxy=7-11 b/min). Ironically, inquiry into the history of this formula reveals that it was not developed from original research, but resulted from observation based on data from approximately 11 references consisting of published research or unpublished scientific compilations. Consequently, the formula HRmax=220 -age has no scientific merit for use in exercise physiology and related fields."
@@franmcgowan4068 First, you did not comment on the Karvonen method which also uses the 220 minus age but with the difference that it subtracts the resting heart rate (RHR) from that before adding it back after multiplying by the intensity required. Then, well established, reputable and scientific organisations such as the US Heart Organisation and the US CDC use the 220-age method.
Please see, www.heart.org/en/healthy-living/fitness/fitness-basics/target-heart-rates and www.cdc.gov/physicalactivity/basics/measuring/heartrate.htm. The latter refers to: health.gov/sites/default/files/2019-10/CommitteeReport_7.pdf which is a comprehensive study by medical experts and has much useful guidance on VO max and metabolic equivalent task scores which I use to monitor and record energy expended during exercise: whether cycling, walking, running or swimming.
Empirical evidence is as strong as a scientifically derived hypothesis which you do not provide. For example, because I am 60, my recommended max HR is 160. On a recent ride of over 50 Km, in the final leg of a couple of of kilometres my HR was at 160 and I could not go faster. So it may not be perfect but for I reckon for more than 95% of us who watch this channel regularly the 220-age is a good enough basis to plan and to execute fitness training rather than racing.
As I stated at the start, this programme might be suitable for younger elite cyclists such as the presenters but for ordinary blokes like me the Karvonen method is good enough and does not require a subjective assessment of when lactic acid is building up in the muscles, nor an equallly subjective assessment of degrees of difficulty from 1 to 10.
@@MarkSmithSa Using this method my max HR would be 173 with a Zone 1 of 85-90. But 85 is my resting HR. My endurance zone would be not cycling at all.
My actual max HR is 196. Using 173 is absurdly low for me.
@@jasonmcgrody9472 OK Jason, you are 47 with a RHR of 85. Your recommended safe maximum rate therefore is 220-47=173. Your Karvonen base rate is 173 - 85 (maximum minus RHR) = 88. Multiply the base rate of 88 by 0..5 and then add back the RHR of 85 = 129. Do the same for 60%: 88*0.6+85= 138. And so on. Thus zone 1 is 129 to 138. Zone 2 is 138 to 147. Zone 3 is 147 to 155. Zone 5 is 155 to 164.
Given that you have a comparatively high RHR of 85 I would suggest that you take it easier than you seem to think is alright. Medical advice is that a normal heart rated is from 70 to 100 but that allows for all adult ages and it is recognised that older people tend to have higher RHR (and blood pressure but that's another subject). Whenever I have been doing plenty of aerobic training in my early 20s my 'fit' RHR has been around 60 especially when I did a lot of running it was down to 35. In recent years when my RHR has been in the region of 85 because I have not been exercising for extended periods (work related) and thus unfit, or when I have been unwell.
I'm 60 with a RHR of 60. You are 47 with a RHR of 85. If you didn't before, may I suggest that you read all of my original comment for which you have to click on "Read more" which I copy below for convenience:
"At 60 years old and having re-started cycling 5 months ago, I started in zone 1 for the first few weeks, then concentrated on staying in zone 2 for 3 months, during which I lost 6 Kg, and now I spend the majority of time in zone 3 which has resulted in reducing my resting rate to 60."
You could roll in a few free training plans for GCN+ subscribers.
Great video! How do I access the TrainingPeaks training plan you mentioned? Thanks guys!
Description
Yeah, you hit the point. I am using the Wahoo heart monitor(strap) and the wahoo BlueSC for cadence and speed. using either with the app on my ride out and with my Elite Force Novo turbo trainer when Zwifting. Happy with that till I'll get the money to invest in wahoo computer (which I found quite expensive comparing to Garmin).
I go to the gym and measure my heart rate with an elliptical machine. It works great for intensity training, and seems to translate to real cycling workouts, which I measure with my Garmin in combination with my FitBit for heart rate measuring.
Thank you GCN! Really helpfull stuff.
Would be good idea to add HR zones to your normal training videos (on top of cadence and perceived effort) to help. I really enjoy the training, but perceived effort is difficult to gauge and don't find cadence a particularly helpful guide. Great job!!
I use a combination for my training. It's based largely on how I feel as in energy and rested. But sometimes that all changes one im on the bike, so my training can be rather dynamic some times with a 30 minute session morphing into a full 90 minute session, sometimes with the full range of cadence drills, grinds, sprints, etc with the end result being having touched on every zone. But when that occurs,it's usually only once every couple of weeks at the most. But I'm not training for anything (but the Blue Ridge Brutal is scheduled for 2022), so this is just a fun ride on mainly on Zwift.
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Great vid! Thanks GCN.
A) Conner's heart rate should be higher at that altitude. B) Hank climbing a volcano with a bike on his back broke his heart rate monitor.
What I think I saw was Hank prelude to hitting the deck on the 1m06 ish for 2021 ~ wet road and trying for knee touching tarmac cornering ( Rossi type riding ) but always love the way Hank is always up for any challenge on a bike👍👍😁
❤❤❤ Thanks you for explaining heart zones. It’s something I’ve been meaning to do with out a power meter.
You're welcome! Hope it helped 🙌
One of the greatest videos about training you have ever made. Simple and useful. Thanks! 😎
@GCN : which kind of motorbike are you driving during these videos ? thanks.
I use both chest strap and watch monitor, watch monitor tends to be slightly lower.
What do you think about the 80/20 polarized training method? So not spend any time in Zone 3 but go easy 80% and really hard for 20%
Very useful in terms of maximizing fitness gains while recovering adequately. Zone 3/5 or zone 2/3 can still be useful for race-specific prep, but generally threshold and above will stimulate bigger fitness gains
If you're beginner zone 3 is very helpful but for other 80/20 is most efficiency method
This answer really depends on you, where you are in your training, and where you want to be, when. To start your training, longer, easy rides are key. Put in hours of riding endurance and tempo rides. But after a while, you will stop making gains. If you want to add fitness after a while, you will need to add hard intervals. But, after two months, the gains from intervals will stop or slow too. So, we need to cycle our training. After 3-7 weeks, ease up and switch emphasis. And, if you really want gains, add in some weight training especially in your off-season and when you begin your training each year.
This was one of the best gcn videos ive watched👍👍👍.personally i dont use any gadgets ...just listen to my heart n body and fuel properly..may try that wahoo monitor...thks guys great video
I don't have a power meter on the bike, but from zwift I know my heart rate zones and equivalent power.
Ahh yes, when the doctor rechecks his heart rate monitor equipment because my heartrate is at 27 BPM, I know I am healthy, since age 21. I remember one time being told by a doctor, "One of three things is going on, you are either very healthy or you should be in a coma with that heart rate. Or both on my monitors I used on you are damaged or not working fine." the moral victory is mine.
this is far more useful than the "cheap bike vs highly overpriced bike" stunts. great work here and USEFUL!!!
Why are so many of your rides on wet and muddy lanes?. No dry and sunny weather? No dedicated cycleways? I did learn a bit from your video though. Thanks
I don't know why I bother to put a HR monitor on, I don't look at that information anymore. Now that I use Di2 and Varia Radar I just use my head unit to look at my gears and notifications of vehicles coming up behind me.
I monitor my HR but totally ignore it when chasing my mates up a hill or to the next intersection. I ride my Cervelo carbon bike about 4000 Km a year purely for the joy of it.
Super helpful video! Thanks for putting this together (has really clarified some mistakes I had been making in measuring and using my zones). This type of content is what makes GCN so great. Thanks again!
Why are the zones SO different than the ones British Cycling (and their calculator) uses?
Was thinking the same, there closer to sufferfest zones but still different. I gather the British cycling zones are for professionals who have more time to train in slower zones?
@@jasongillen2401 I believe it depends on the model different authors (Cogan, Friel etc.) use and if so then the zones aren't of much use without a training plan within the specific model. Please someone correct me if I'm wrong.
I just wish any video would explain the aim behind heart rate. So if I average say 160 BPM heart rate and I do the same bike ride faster and faster while my average heart rate stays the same, that means I must be getting fitter, right? That's the basics of it? 8:08 damn, Manon is beautiful.
What about using 220 less your age to find the max heart rate?
That's the Karvonen formula, and it's not very accurate, especially for the over 40s. (It looks like you have no worries there.) I would suggest looking at this website from the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU): www.ntnu.edu/cerg/hrmax
The NTNU formula is 211 - 0.64 x age. For me, Karvonen = 144 but NTNU = 164.
(I understand that different activities have different HRmax associated with them. Running has a higher HRmax than cycling, because it uses more muscles. So don't try running to measure your max HR and apply that to cycling.)
Compare 220 less age with 210 less 0,5 of age less 0,022 of weight plus 4. If results are comparable that’s fine. If not better measure it in real.
As they say in the video, heart rate is personal. Think of it like height. Would you buy a bike because it was the right size for an average female?
It's not accurate enough. Using the formula my max heart rate should be 172, but it is actually 201 - big difference! 172 is my zone 5. The only way to find your max heart rate is to push it to the max (assuming you're healthy or your doctor has cleared such an effort).
why use wahoo ticket when wahoo element can detect whoop if you put it HR broadcast mode?
what is the difference between using a polar heart rate or use the huawei band 4 pro ?
If I know why my 'Zone 6' HR can I also calculate my LTHR from that?
Got a fair bit of experience rowing 500/1000m tests for 1:30-3:00 minutes and the HRs from that, but lack the route and pacing for 30 min efforts to figure it out that way.
How do you sustain max effort for 30 minutes if you have to stop/slow for traffic lights, pedestrians, speed limits, ... every few minutes? That seems to be only possible on indoor trainers.
For more urban riding, it can be tough. If I had to ride urban, and wanted hard intervals, I would be doing short VO2 Max and Sprint intervals, riding as hard as I could for somewhere from 20 seconds to 4 minutes. And, i would want to learn to time lights in town and ride to where I could avoid light. The closest light to my home now is over 10 miles away. But, a few years ago, I lived in an urban area. My rides then always headed out of town.
Ok this video is very insightful but I have one important question: if i ride 5 minutes intervals in zone 5, does my interval block start when I increase my power output, or does the block start when my heart rate hits zone 5?
For now I train as if my interval blocks start then moment I increase the power, while my heartrate takes some time to get up there. Is that the correct way?
Yes. A major drawback to using HR is the delay in getting your HR up.
@@jasonmcgrody9472 power meters ain't cheap though
@@roebbiej No. Though I will say that a smart trainer that calculates power and a basic crank arm power meter for outdoor riding were the best purchases I ever made for my bike riding.
I'd sooner spend $350 for a single-sided crank arm power meter than new wheels or a carbon frame
@@jasonmcgrody9472 yeah me too.
What zone do I take off my stabilisers?
What about those of us with heart pacemakers fitted? My max heart rate is fixed at 155bpm, cycling has enabled me to get very fit over the last 15 years but all training plans seem based on your heart rate and maximising this what do you suggest? My Dr just says be grateful for what you have and accept it is what it is.
Become an endurance monster?
Yes I can keep going all day until the old legs give up well before the heart.
Convince Honda to make pacemakers and then swap out the pacemaker for a VTEC one.
Heart rate monitor is my preference
good for all
I can barely talk on a moderate climb but then I am lugging quite a lot of weight :D
I read something about the sweet spot, do you guys know something about it?
Is a 30 minute max effort even possible, as stated in this video? This seems odd to use that number to calculate all the others. Maybe I misheard 3 as 30? 🤔
I've been training using a power meter indoors for the last 8 months. I've been using heart rate for about 5 years. Here's something I can't work out at all. On an outdoor ride, my HR on average is much higher and the estimated watts much lower than when I'm on the indoor trainer. I'd assume that I'm simply not working as hard outdoors but my HRV indicates I'm recovering from a hard workout. All I can come up with is that Strava can't factor in the condition of the road surface into their calculation of the est av watts. Is it possible the disgusting pavement conditions in my city are the x factor? #gcndoesscience
If you’re talking about Strava estimated watts, its definitely not uncommon for those to be wildly wrong. If I let it estimate, it often hits at about 50% of what the actual power meter records. Not being pro level aero, or having a pro level efficient drivetrain, bad surfaces, not properly taking the actual wind into account, etc etc. They are also not consistently wrong enough in a certain percentage to work with as just a benchmark. In short: fully ignore estimated watts. If it’s not coming from a power meter it’s useless.
I've found Stravas estimated power to be extremely low. It was obvious once I got a power meter.
My Whopp died on me after a month of use twice per day. Now I pedal 😃 per mile. Cycling commuter goals: (1) did I get where I wanted to go on time and (2) did I 😃 a lot?
#askgcn I'm confused so how was I able to sustain a hr zone of 6.1 for a 10 mile tt?
*Just to set a Base:* 5 min MAX Climb? 30 min MAX Effort? _...3x30 sec training intervals are looking good to me_ :-)
i prefer a conconi-test rather than a 30 minute full gas
can't see the trainingpeak link mate.
we've added it back in - sorry!
Happy St Patricks day Conor
I got Zwift (5 zones), I got a Wahoo head unit with HR monitor (5 zones), is there a way to make a version of this for 5 zones? I feel like there must be a way to adapt to 5 zones... and I'm running out of birthdays folks.
Good point
I've recently disused my power meter because the numbers are exactly that - NUMB-ers - and the rides felt clinical and cheap. I use HR only now. I wish I could ride with a sense of what the HR is but I can't. The sensor lets me know when I'm whimpering and should pedal harder - and when I'm close to blowing a gasket - and is simple enough to let me enjoy the birds, the contours of the road, and all the stuff I'm leaving behind.
Use HR monitor on biking and runs
feel good video for us who can only afford a heart rate monitor haha
for a country that loves cycling it's unfortunate that it rains a lot there
That slide at 1:05 tho. Touching cloth...
Last year before it got to cold for me to ride , resting heart 43bpm, took my first ride of 2021 resting heart rate, 55bpm. The better my cardio the lower my resting heart rate thats what I like to watch.
Bro riding a flixbus bike next to the sexiest Pina 😮💨
One of the best GCN videos I have seen. Really helpful.However, I’m still confused about the relationship between maximum heart rate and lactate threshold heart rate.If your training zones are based on the latter, what relevance does the former have?
Max heart rate is likely higher than LTHR since you can only achieve that max for a short time before your muscles are too fatigued to maintain it. Lactate threshold heart rate is the max rate that you can sustain for longer efforts
See the GCN UA-cam testing to find zone 2 or anything with Dr. Inigo on GCN
Hart rate monitor 🇿🇦
According to my garmin... I was in zone 5 for 1 hour 18 minutes😭💔💔💔
Im too poor for those things so I use a trusty ol $2 bike computer with magnets for the wheels and train based on feel and speed.
Update: Got a set of magene cyclocomputer, cadence and heart rate sensors
If you're quite powerful and fit already heart rate not the best option to train with. Heart rate will slowly get higher and first few minutes of intervals or even first 1-3intervals will be with lower heart rate than in needed zone ,but power will be were you need.If you will try to increase your heart rate it'll not be your correct power zone. Also heart rate could be changed by million factors and again you'll training not in correct zone.I think for good athletes their feelings more important than heart rate numbers
I just ride my bike.
And that makes you cool.
The aim of training is to ride faster for longer. So ride faster for longer and let the heart do what it does. (Don't forget to warm up first).
I didn't understand anything of what you both just said. I just pick my bike jump on and ride bet I fitter then Connor... at the bar btw
Black cycling kits make no sense.
lot of mouth breathing going on! Maybe learning nasal breathing would be more optimal.