Building Cadence.....

[sarahspins]

My heart rates normally run pretty high so this would not apply to everyone, but for example at a 70-80 rpm, I would want enough resistance to get my hr up to 152-155 and sustain that hr/cadence combination for an 8-10 minute interval. Then recover for 8 mins and do it again! For the 85-95 cadence, I find the gearing to maintain my hr at 159-162.

Okay, bear in mind I am relatively new to the whole monitoring HR thing, but my resting heartrate is always high... and has been for as long as I remember. In fact, the only time I remember it being "normal" was when I was severely hypothyroid after having my daughter (TSH was 16.7 or something stupid)... so how does a higher heart rate effect your max? Mine is not so far off from yours... and I know what my resting HR is (and it's higher than average) and now I'm wondering just how abnormal that is.

[tctrek]

Okay, bear in mind I am relatively new to the whole monitoring HR thing, but my resting heartrate is always high... and has been for as long as I remember. In fact, the only time I remember it being "normal" was when I was severely hypothyroid after having my daughter (TSH was 16.7 or something stupid)... so how does a higher heart rate effect your max? Mine is not so far off from yours... and I know what my resting HR is (and it's higher than average) and now I'm wondering just how abnormal that is.

Well, my heart rate upon waking is about 68. But once I'm walking around, going to work, etc. it runs around 83. When I get on the bike, it immediately goes to 100-105. On a super easy recovery ride, it runs around 125-130. One time I was doing a very long 7-8 degree climb and I sustained a heart rate of 173 for 22 minutes.

So, that's how high my heart rate is! Some people freak out when they hear it, but it's really normal for me. I've been checked by doctors and they say I have a hummingbird heart -- it's small and beats fast .

[kimikaw]

Lucked into another beautiful fall day, and was able to get about a 14 mile ride in after work. Kept an average cadence of 84rpm. So pretty good improvement from Sunday's 64. On a much, much hillier route, too.

And, wasn't sucking air as bad as on Monday. Amazing how quickly bodies acclimate to physical stress.

I think it's a bit of developing a muscle memory at the higher cadence versus the lower I'd been doing.

That said I once again feel it more in my hams and glutes post-ride. Just the faster cadence or the clipless pedals or all of the above?

And best of all didn't fall...getting hang of the clipless! Great day!

[KnottedYet]

Before getting too excited about high cadences (and in the 1970's we thought 60 rpm was hot stuff!) take a gander at your muscle: are you more a slow twitch or a fast twitch kind of gal?

Are you the sort who can go forever and not run out of steam, or are you a little bunny rabbit who goes very very fast? When you were in track, did you run 50/100/200 m, or were you in the 400m and up?

Forcing a slow twitch athlete to go at a higher rpm than they are built for is going to put their best asset (slow twitch fibers) to waste while stressing the small portion of fast twitch they have. (we all have some of each)

Force a distance runner (slow twitch) to race a short sprint, and not only with they lose, they'll also likely be gasping for breath and puking at the end of the race. (it's quite a spectacle! I've done it!) But no-one is going to point at the distance runner and say she's a poor runner and out of shape.

Don't kick yourself if your rpm doesn't meet some mythical "good" number. There's nothing magical about higher numbers, what's magical is riding well by taking advantage of your strengths and feeling fabulous! There are many different riders: Do what feels right.

[salsabike]

Before getting too excited about high cadences (and in the 1970's we thought 60 rpm was hot stuff!) take a gander at your muscle: are you more a slow twitch or a fast twitch kind of gal?

Are you the sort who can go forever and not run out of steam, or are you a little bunny rabbit who goes very very fast? When you were in track, did you run 50/100/200 m, or were you in the 400m and up?

Forcing a slow twitch athlete to go at a higher rpm than they are built for is going to put their best asset (slow twitch fibers) to waste while stressing the small portion of fast twitch they have. (we all have some of each)

Force a distance runner (slow twitch) to race a short sprint, and not only with they lose, they'll also likely be gasping for breath and puking at the end of the race. (it's quite a spectacle! I've done it!) But no-one is going to point at the distance runner and say she's a poor runner and out of shape.

Don't kick yourself if your rpm doesn't meet some mythical "good" number. There's nothing magical about higher numbers, what's magical is riding well by taking advantage of your strengths and feeling fabulous! There are many different riders: Do what feels right.

What a good post this is...

[Crankin]

TC Trek, my HR is pretty similar to yours, except my resting HR is down in the 50s when i awake. Just looking at my bike makes it go up to 90-100! Seriously, I know it goes up to 130 when I get on the bike and then might settle down until I climb. I stopped wearing my HR monitor about 2 years ago, since I was just focusing on that...
I have also been described as a hummingbird.

[tctrek]

TC Trek, my HR is pretty similar to yours, except my resting HR is down in the 50s when i awake. Just looking at my bike makes it go up to 90-100! Seriously, I know it goes up to 130 when I get on the bike and then might settle down until I climb. I stopped wearing my HR monitor about 2 years ago, since I was just focusing on that...
I have also been described as a hummingbird.

A waking heart rate of 50 is fabulous!! I've been tempted to ditch my HR monitor, but this season I have actually forced myself to stay in certain ranges and it has actually helped me. Hills where my heart rate used to go to 170, now goes to 160. So, I don't freak out about it, but I am conscious of it and I have figured out how to influence it a little.

It's funny how riding at the faster cadences used to really elevate my hr, but tonight I rode with an average cadence of 90 and an average hr of 147. Not bad for an old broad !

[tctrek]

Definitely agree. DH is a slow-twitch rider > He rocks a big gear, low (60-70 rpm) cadence and that's where he's best. It's very difficult for me to keep up with his power when he rides like that. When he tries to ride at a high cadence, he's very uncomfortable and out of sorts. He loses speed and is not happy when I pass him. Either way, he has a very low heart rate, but it does go up when he rides a faster cadence.

[jp4995]

Are you the sort who can go forever and not run out of steam, or are you a little bunny rabbit who goes very very fast? When you were in track, did you run 50/100/200 m, or were you in the 400m and up?

I am most definitely a fast-twitch gal. I ran the 200 and the 400 quite well in high school track but I was barely able to run 2 miles straight even though I was in tip-top shape.

Right now if I try and go for a run my HR hits 170-180 within the first 2 minutes of a run (and that's on an easy run) and stays there. My resting HR is around 78. My HR does recover fairly fast so if I go for a run I have to alternate jogging and walking.

However, I've been biking for a month now (almost at 200 miles total!), and I am able to do 15-20 miles averaging 12.5-13.5 mph without any issues. My HR generally sits around 130-140 most of the time and gets up to a max of 170 when I'm really pushing. I rarely feel out of breath unless I'm really pushing hard for a long time.

[ny biker]

Before getting too excited about high cadences (and in the 1970's we thought 60 rpm was hot stuff!) take a gander at your muscle: are you more a slow twitch or a fast twitch kind of gal?

Are you the sort who can go forever and not run out of steam, or are you a little bunny rabbit who goes very very fast? When you were in track, did you run 50/100/200 m, or were you in the 400m and up?

Forcing a slow twitch athlete to go at a higher rpm than they are built for is going to put their best asset (slow twitch fibers) to waste while stressing the small portion of fast twitch they have. (we all have some of each)

Force a distance runner (slow twitch) to race a short sprint, and not only with they lose, they'll also likely be gasping for breath and puking at the end of the race. (it's quite a spectacle! I've done it!) But no-one is going to point at the distance runner and say she's a poor runner and out of shape.

Don't kick yourself if your rpm doesn't meet some mythical "good" number. There's nothing magical about higher numbers, what's magical is riding well by taking advantage of your strengths and feeling fabulous! There are many different riders: Do what feels right.

I don't understand this. Which is the slow twitch person and which is the fast twitch - the one who can "go forever and not run out of steam" or the "bunny rabbit"?

And what if you're average when it comes to speed?

[OakLeaf]

The idea makes sense, but I don't know about the numbers.

I'm one of those slow-but-steady types. An all-out sprint for me is some people's marathon pace. But 100 miles on a bici has never really been a big deal for me. My natural cadence has always been in the high 80s. When I put on my first cadence monitor in 1985 that's what it was, and even though I normally try to keep it a bit higher (like, low 90s), that's what I revert to when I'm fatigued.

Then you look at pro riders, and see cadences much higher. As someone was pointing out, track riders (probably the most fast-twitch of the bunch) keep cadences of 120+. Lots of road racers have a natural cadence right around 100. That's kind of where I came up with the range of 85-100.

I think for a new rider, the question is (1) lessening the shearing forces on the knees, which for a lot of people means learning to increase their cadence (less power per pedal stroke at any given speed) and (2) learning to pedal smoothly. I don't for a minute think that everyone (or anyone, really!) should maintain a cadence of 140 all the time, but I strongly believe that everyone should be able to maintain a cadence of 140 for 60-120 seconds, without bouncing. Learning to do that will teach you to smooth your pedal stroke at any cadence. It's easy to pedal in squares at 70 rpm. Not so much at 140.

[kimikaw]

The idea makes sense, but I don't know about the numbers.

I'm one of those slow-but-steady types. An all-out sprint for me is some people's marathon pace.

.................................

but I strongly believe that everyone should be able to maintain a cadence of 140 for 60-120 seconds, without bouncing. Learning to do that will teach you to smooth your pedal stroke at any cadence. It's easy to pedal in squares at 70 rpm. Not so much at 140.

Like you I'm one of the slow and steady. When I swam competitively in HS, I did the long races, couldn't sprint for the life of me (and honestly, wasn't very fast at the long ones relative to my competitors either ). But that said, once I get in a groove, I can go and go. I hope to get my natural go to cadence in the mid-80's because even after only a couple of rides in that range, I see the advantages of the easier/smoother pedal force and ability to speed up.

Now to that 140rpm thing, boy, I get over 100 and I have one bouncy butt. Trying to take advantage of the many downhills around here to practice smoothing things out at the higher rpms - (while basically in a glide, because on these hills I would need to be up there around 140 to actually apply force).

[jp4995]

I don't understand this. Which is the slow twitch person and which is the fast twitch - the one who can "go forever and not run out of steam" or the "bunny rabbit"?

Slow twitch people are the ones able to "go forever" and fast twitch people are the natural sprinters. Muscles have both slow and fast twitch fibers, but some people may have "more" of one or the other. "Slow twitch people" is more of a generalization- some people are natural endurance athletes and can't run a fast sprint even with a lot of conditioning (and vice versa).

If you Google "fast twitch fibers" there are numerous articles available. There are also a lot of fitness routines that are supposed to help you activate one type of fiber or the other, but I have no idea how valid those are.