heart rate concerns

[neuroticcyclist]

I am 45 and need about 30 mins to feel warmed up. I make a point of taking it easy before tackling any hard part of the ride during that phase or else I feel my pulse going up too fast, triggering soreness, etc. However (and I have had a complete workout ith Vo2 max, etc.), if I do it right, I am very productive in terms of energy output, pulse never goes really high but I can do any climb I want to.

I think you need to figure out why you want your heart rate to go high. Many of us try to schedule Zone 1 and Zone 2 heart rate rides for long, base conditioning, trying to KEEP the heart rate in that zone. Then, other days, we do hill repeaters to get the heart rate up and have recovery intervals. Going for max or high rate all the time isn't the way my team's training program is put together.

I suggest you read Carmichael's The Ultimate Ride. He is Lance's coach and knows a lot about how to train (our program is based on those principles).

As for food - you need to learn to eat and ride or you will max out. Gatorade is sugar water and I cannot swallow it. Try something made for cycling like Indurox or Cytomax. Gel packs work too.

As for lifting, I do that in the winter. The rest of the training program is alternating, so you get the hard stuff in anyway. For example, yesterday was 25 miles of hard hill repeaters, so today was a fast 35 miles of "magic carpet". Tomorrow is a Zone 2 LONG training ride. (A little off the norm due to holiday weekend). So, the hard work that is similar to the lifting was done on the hills, finished off with the quick pace/spinning workout and tomorrow is a day of rest! But, variety gets it done.

[Lynne]

Veronica-my legs are very tired and I definitely frequently feel lactic acid buildup, even on days where I'm doing nothing other than a few stairs coming home (I assume lactic acid buildup is that feeling like you have no blood in your legs?). I've had a few days that ended with my legs shaking, although it's been a few weeks since that last happened.

Neuroticyclist-Ok, so when doing hills, slow way down on the flat or downhill to give your heart a chance to settle down? (I'd been doing hills once or twice per week, but I just started cycling to work, so I will have 10 miles each way (20 a day) with pretty good hills in there -I will be doing that every other day). What should it settle down to (what percentage of max heart rate)? And how many miles is a short hilly day? I've been doing about 30 miles w/hills and trying to do 40-55 on longer flatter days. And, on those flat days, what percentage of max heart rate do you try to keep yourself at?

After yesterday's ride, I did decide that I need to start riding mostly flat for about 20 mins before I take off on my ride (there is no other way to get where I need to go without hitting those hills which start the ride,short of driving somewhere which isn't feasible during the week). I think that might help; I can't help but think that getting my heart rate up to the max immediately into the ride isn't a good thing. And no, I really don't want my heart rate to go so high. It just tends to do that in a warmup. Even on days we've started on fairly flat terrain, I can feel my heart racing just getting warmed up (I didn't have a monitor, but it's not hard to tell your heart is racing). Based on the days I've worn the monitor, it seems my initial heart rate even on a flat will be in the 170's. I assume based on Veronica's comments that my max heart rate is probably not really 179 (well, it can't be if I hit 184 and that's far from the worst I've felt). If I assume it's closer to 185-186, then I'm starting out at at something like 92% of the max...is that detrimental to improvement?

Honestly, I'm not trying to get in shape for a competition or anything like that. I just really enjoy taking myself as hard and far as I can go. I know most ladies either train for some competition or just enjoy the rides-I'm kind of a combination of those two. I immensely enjoy pushing myself as hard as I can for as long as I can, but I don't want to hurt myself. That will just screw up future rides, you know?

[Dogmama]

It is possible that a high heart rate might be normal for you because of the size of your heart. Only a cardiologist can determine what is going on. Just for grins, why not schedule an appt with your doc?

As for lifting, I lift harder in the winter but I don't quit in the summer. I believe that lifting is an essential part of being healthy. I do more upper body work in the summer and work legs once or twice a week (and then I don't push heavy weights - I try to keep my reps at 12-15). If I ride the next day, I keep it moderate to easy. My leg work is primarily glutes & hams, I don't do direct quad work. So, I'll do deadlifts, squats, lunges and for the hammies, leg curls (seated is good because it approximates riding) and straight legged deadlifts. Oh, and calf work - standing and seated.

Hang in there.