Archinutt

I hear so much about training with a heart monitor. I have one now.......sooooo what is the process of training with it?

Any good websites or other sources?

Tom Stormcrowe

Free info sites
https://www.trainingpeaks.com/trainin...gintensity.asp
https://www.tri-ecoach.com/art2.htm
https://www.ultracycling.com/training...ing_part2.html

Pay Plan
https://fsconcepts.com/home/content/view/38/39/
https://www.wholeathlete.com/programs.htm

Google is my brain!

keithm0

I like the book Total Heart Rate Training by Joe Friel. I haven't tried many of the training recommendations, but his explanation of heart physiology and its relationship to training is fascinating.

jaxgtr

If you got a Polar, they have tonnes on info on their site. https://www.polarusa.com/default.asp

fuzzymemory

Last summer I got a heart rate monitor for my gym workouts. Without going into a long explanation of how/why, I'll leave it at this: It tells you if you need to work harder, or to back off if you are stressing your heart.

Longer explanation:
You have to get your heart beating at a certain rate to maxamize fat burning. This rate differs depending on your age, weight and fitness level. If you know your heart should be in a range of 130-140, then you know to pedal harder when it drops below that level, and you know to back off for a few minutes when your heart rate spikes above it. Mine was $35, and came with a watch that had the HR - so when lifting weights, running or using the eliptical trainer, I knew where I was and aimed to keep my heart rate at a given spot for the majority of the time I was in the gym. Same applies to the bike.

jaxgtr

Hey as a side note on this, when I started riding last year and after I picked up my HR monitor, my resting HR was 77,. On Wednesday night while in the hospital after my surgery, the HR monitor alarm kept going off. When the nurse came in and was looking at it, she told me it was going off cause my HR was going below the bottom setting, she reset it to 35 as my resting HR was 40. Not bad for a fat guy, eh.

Archinutt

Nice, thanks!

markhr

easiest and most comprehensive book I've used

Dr. Sally Edwards Heart Zone Ttraining Guide Book

other heart rate books by the same

twobikes

Even more information can be found at: https://www.howtobefit.com/heart-rate...ng-article.htm

The more I read about using a heart rate monitor, the more I realize a lot of what I read varies quite a bit. Formulae (formulas), like 220 minus your age are only a starting point. They assume your condition declines about one heartbeat per minute per year, which may or may not be true. Your maximum heart rate is probably 10 to 15 beats per minute higher than the answer given by this formula. The only way to know your maximum heart rate is to warm up well and then go all out until you are about ready to drop. Your heart rate just before you drop is your maximum. There are more detailed and more eloquent ways to describe this elsewhere.

Some say there is no fat burning zone, while others say they lost considerable weight by exercising within it. The idea is to exercise aerobically so oxygen is present and a majority of your energy stores come from stored fat rather than stored sugars or burning muscle tissue. Long and slow exercise sessions that do not leave you gasping for breath at the end are encouraged. The fat burning zone is generally considered to be around 60 to 70 percent of your maximum heart rate. An exercise session needs to be between 20 and 70 minutes in length. The first part of the session burns off stored carbohydrates so fat can be burned for the rest of the session.

But, there are even different ways of figuring percentage of maximum heart rate. The simple method is to multiply a percentage figure in decimal by your probably maximum heart rate. So, 0.6 [percentage] x 175 [maximum HR] = 105 bpm [60 percent of maximum]. Another method yields considerably higher numbers. It subtracts your resting rate from your maximum heart rate. The answer is called your heart rate reserve (HHR). Multiply the percentage figure by the HHR and add the resting rate to it. So, 175 [maximum] - 65 [resting rate] = 110 [HHR]. 110 x 0.6 = 66. 66 + 65 = 131 [alternative calculation for 60 percent of maximum HR]. If this leaves you confused, I am, too.

The German Sports University in Cologne produced a study called Cycling and Health. It suggests two or three workouts per week at 45 to 70 minutes in duration. It also suggests one workout on the weekend of about two hours. It says rest is as important as working out for progress. It suggests exercising between 65 and 80 percent of maximum heart rate. Stay close to the 65 percent figure for weight loss and close to the 80 percent figure for conditioning. This study does not mention heart rate monitors, except to say a person on a bicycle riding comfortably will pretty much fall into this range automatically. The full study is available for free download in English or German at: www.selleroyal.com/news

There are actually five training zones. Those requiring more beats per minute begin to move from aerobic training to anaerobic. It is often suggested a person trains a bit in each of several different zones through the week.

ang1sgt

Good Day to all! Happy to be on this side of the dirt to be sure!

This past Monday morning I awoke to what I thought was a Heart Attack. I had the chest pains across the top of my chest and numbness in my left arm and leg. These symptom woke me from a sound sleep. I laid in bed for an honor thinking I had just slept wrong on my side, but after an hour of trying to get these symptoms to go away, they were still there.

Yes I went to Hospital
Yes I got a FULL Work up.

And Thank God I'm okay.

What I did find out is that during the stress test, most times I am no where near my maximum heart rate while on my bikes.

I do have a heart rate monitor and I'm learning to use that now. I'll be riding on the trainer most of the rest of this year, so I can pay attention to how this thing functions.

My advice to any of you, If you feel it coming on....Get yourself checked out! Better safe than sorry!

Chris

markhr

glad to hear you're ok and good luck with the HRM

troutbreath

Glad you are OK. Your salutation made me laugh. Any day above ground and vertical is a good one (and there is some fun to be had horizontally).

Air

It's a good day to be breathing!

ang1sgt

Any day on the right side of the dirt is a good Day! As a Mountain Biker that loves dirt, I certainly don't want to be under it.

I'll be going out in the morning to try out the Heart Rate monitor while riding. My Doctor doesn't want me to have a specific rate to shoot for just yet, just monitor it and bring the results back next month on our follow up visit.

Thanks for the concern folks!

Chris

gmule

I have a little experience that I would like to share with the group. When I first started riding I was losing weight at a steady pace. I went from 275 down to 220. Then I stopped losing. At first I figured that I was just on a plateu and I would resume the weight loss a little while later. That little while later was 3 months and no more progress. After reading lots of information on the forums here, I decided to buy a HRM. I am glad that I did. What I discovered was that my fitness level had improved so much that even while riding at what I thought was a decent workout I was only averaging a HR of 100bpm and I was eating food based on my thinking that I was burning X amount of calories for the work out. Now I use the HRM to keep me on pace and my weight loss has resumed.

flip18436572

This is a true story for many people. As an example, I quit running on a treadmill, because of knee joint pain because I am still too heavy. I tried it this morning and wearing my HRM, I never reached my 160 max that I used to hit in less than 3 minutes of running at 7.2 mph. I ran a mile and still never hit 160. It is amazing at how quickly your heart health improves with some exercise.

Spartan112

I'm having similar issues, though I found by adding running to my regiment I was able to kick start my weight loss again. I've lowered my RHR to 41 from somewhere in the low 80's...this may be fueled by my BP meds, we'll have to check with the doc in December.

Mobiker50

Hi, Chris, glad to have you on this side of the dirt.

I actually HAD the heart attack in November, 2001. Then I went it one better and had a run of a bad heart rythym during my rehab about 4 months later, so they implanted a defibrillator. Through the first four years of having the defibrillator, it went off (shocked me) three times, each time because my heart had gone into this bad rythym thing again. Last time was July, 2005.

I started riding bicycles in early 2006 because I'd lived most of the past four years holding my breath, afraid to get my heart beating too fast (hey, this thing is the ULTIMATE heart rate monitor) that it would shock me again. But I decided that if I didn't do something I was going to die anyway. I lost weight, got better at riding, made my cardiologist happy and am now able to have a normal life (where walking up a flight of stairs doesn't make me wheeze).

Anyway, I've got a REGULAR heart rate monitor, and am planning on incorporating it into my riding shortly, although I've got to admit to being a little bit shy about seeing just how fast my heart IS beating
But I do know I'm not stressing myself too much, recovery is quick after hills or fast riding, and I'm able to hold a steady pace (16-17 mph on flat asphalt, 14-15 mph on chat trails) for an hour and a half or so. But it will be good to see how this actually tracks.

By the way, I'm enrolled in a study aimed at learning just how much exercise people with a defibrillator can safely do. They're studying people who do competitive or team sports, but when I told them about my bicycle riding they said, "Yeah, we want you in the study group!" Could be there's something strenuous about this bicycling after all