Cadence/Speed/Hr Q

[maillotpois]

Wow - I was finding the RBR quote and posting it at the same time you were SK. It just took me an additional minute to get it in there.....

Great minds. Or something.

[Cassandra_Cain]

You know, after having a power meter now, I don't think I could go back to HR.

I've found it wildly unreliable, although I've started to spot some of the factors.

I'm mentioning this as the original poster, she asked about heart rates and all.

Good example....didn't get a good night of sleep? your HR will be higher than normal even if you keep the workload the same. riding high at altitude? your HR will be lower and so will the stroke volume, lowering your VO2 max - thus your performance. not drinking enough water or are dehydrated? yeap, HR gets affected. Worrying? uh-huh, more HR fluctuation.

In each of these cases, if you went strictly by HR, you'd end up altering your riding without needing to.

If I couldn't use a PM, I would honestly use RPE as I find that's much more consistent. Also it keeps you from having your rides being governed by a number on a watch which isn't always indicative of your condition.

A good compromise is to use both your HRM and RPE....if you are riding at a given pace and your HRM reads high, think about how you feel - does it agree with what the HRM says?

If you are interested, you can read more about RPE here:

http://www.sportfit.com/sportfitglossary/RPE.html

I think cadence was clearly explained above. Just an additional word about that....riding at a higher cadence, say 100 vs. 80, will result in a higher heart rate for the same amount of work. The caveat is, if you ride at the lower cadence you may end up fatiguing yourself faster. You'll find what range works for you - you'll naturally tend to pedal in it consistently.

[Veronica]

Good example....didn't get a good night of sleep? your HR will be higher than normal even if you keep the workload the same. riding high at altitude? your HR will be lower and so will the stroke volume, lowering your VO2 max - thus your performance. not drinking enough water or are dehydrated? yeap, HR gets affected. Worrying? uh-huh, more HR fluctuation.

In each of these cases, if you went strictly by HR, you'd end up altering your riding without needing to.

When riding at altitude or dehydrated your expectations of your performance should be altered.

V.

[Cassandra_Cain]

When riding at altitude or dehydrated your expectations of your performance should be altered.

V.

Yeah but if you are using your HRM as a guide and not by RPE or Power, then you'll have no way of knowing any better. If the original person wants to ride above say, 150 bpm, and she's having trouble getting past 140 while at 6000 feet - what does she do? Try to get up to 150? Or does she ride at 140? How is she going to know the workout is having the desired effect if all she does is look at the HRM? Without RPE, it is just a number.

Nor would you know how much your performance is altered just by, whereby there is a fairly clear relationship between VO2 max and altitude which you cannot measure by HR.

[Veronica]

Yeah but if you are using your HRM as a guide and not by RPE or Power, then you'll have no way of knowing any better. If the original person wants to ride above say, 150 bpm, and she's having trouble getting past 140 while at 6000 feet - what does she do? Try to get up to 150? Or does she ride at 140? How is she going to know the workout is having the desired effect if all she does is look at the HRM? Without RPE, it is just a number.

They are all just numbers.

I don't know how you could ride without thinking about your perceived exertion, unless you're totally disconnecting from your body as you ride.

BTW my experience at altitude has been the opposite. My HR gets higher, not lower.

V.

[SadieKate]

Wow - I was finding the RBR quote and posting it at the same time you were SK. It just took me an additional minute to get it in there.....

Great minds. Or something.

Probably the "or something."