New to heart rate training

[Dusty Bin]

Base miles? This is something else I have read about in this subject. What is base miles? How can you tell if you have ridden these base miles? Are these base miles counted from how many miles you have ridden where a HRM does not matter, or miles ridden with a HRM. In the last 3 weeks I have ridden 304 miles on my road bike but only 84 miles of this a HRM was used

Base miles = aerobic conditioning = rides of 2-4 hours (or more) at an effort which is comfortable and sustainable for the duration of the ride. Base miles only really matter if you are building your aeroic capacity in order to undertake higher intensity/interval training at a later date, as part of some kind of training plan. Otherwise, if none of the above applies to you, don't over-think it and just pedal.

 

[david k]

don't over-think it and just pedal.

good advice, chances are these will be base miles anyway

 

[The Jogger]

I tend to agree with VamP here, the best indicator of fitness is performance and a HRM is not very useful in quantifying performance for various reasons.

However, if you are into doing such things as timing your recovery etc then the HRM can be useful for giving an indication of general fitness changes. That said, the post by someone about about waiting for your HR to drop by 45 and it being "very good" or something, well that is, but its very nature bunkum. HR is very individual and also very variable, day to day and hour to hour so an arbitrary number has no use. You should probably just observe trends in your own data and forget about numbers such as "45" and phrases such as "insert number is very good".

Recovery Heart Rate
'Your heart will recover quicker as you become fitter. A recovery heart rate of 25 to 30 beats in one minute is a good score, and 50 to 60 beats in one minute is considered excellent. You should monitor your one-minute and two-minute recovery heart rate at least twice weekly to gauge whether your fitness level is improving. If it’s not, then you may need to alter your workouts so they are more demanding.'

Sally Edwards, MA, MBA, is considered one of the world’s leading experts on heart rate. She is the author of 20 books on fitness and sports, a professional triathlete and founder of Heart Zones (www.heartzones.com).

 

[GmanUK65]

Base miles = aerobic conditioning = rides of 2-4 hours (or more) at an effort which is comfortable and sustainable for the duration of the ride. Base miles only really matter if you are building your aeroic capacity in order to undertake higher intensity/interval training at a later date, as part of some kind of training plan. Otherwise, if none of the above applies to you, don't over-think it and just pedal.

I need to find out my base miles because over the next two years I would like to train to be able to cycle 200 miles a day so I am capable to do rides such as the LEL. Intensity/interval training would help me do endurance rides of 200+ miles a day. In the post above where I mentioned the 70 miles I rode yesterday, this took me 5 hours and 30 minutes, with 4 hours and 30 minutes at an effort which was comfortable and sustainable. My average speed was 13.1 mph. If I was doing this at this rate for 200 miles it would take me 15 hours. Obviously I am going to have to bring my pace up to maybe an average of about 20mph (guessing here) to do 200 miles in a reasonable time.

 

[Rob3rt]

Recovery Heart Rate
'Your heart will recover quicker as you become fitter. A recovery heart rate of 25 to 30 beats in one minute is a good score, and 50 to 60 beats in one minute is considered excellent. You should monitor your one-minute and two-minute recovery heart rate at least twice weekly to gauge whether your fitness level is improving. If it’s not, then you may need to alter your workouts so they are more demanding.'

Sally Edwards, MA, MBA, is considered one of the world’s leading experts on heart rate. She is the author of 20 books on fitness and sports, a professional triathlete and founder of Heart Zones (www.heartzones.com).

OMG Sally Edwards said it, it must be right........ ffs!

I need to find out my base miles because over the next two years I would like to train to be able to cycle 200 miles a day so I am capable to do rides such as the LEL. Intensity/interval training would help me do endurance rides of 200+ miles a day. In the post above where I mentioned the 70 miles I rode yesterday, this took me 5 hours and 30 minutes, with 4 hours and 30 minutes at an effort which was comfortable and sustainable. My average speed was 13.1 mph. If I was doing this at this rate for 200 miles it would take me 15 hours. Obviously I am going to have to bring my pace up to maybe an average of about 20mph (guessing here) to do 200 miles in a reasonable time.

You don't need to figure out your base miles, there is nothing to figure out, you need to do base miles, also known as "riding your bike".

 

[Dusty Bin]

Recovery Heart Rate
'Your heart will recover quicker as you become fitter. A recovery heart rate of 25 to 30 beats in one minute is a good score, and 50 to 60 beats in one minute is considered excellent. You should monitor your one-minute and two-minute recovery heart rate at least twice weekly to gauge whether your fitness level is improving. If it’s not, then you may need to alter your workouts so they are more demanding.'

Sally Edwards, MA, MBA, is considered one of the world’s leading experts on heart rate. She is the author of 20 books on fitness and sports, a professional triathlete and founder of Heart Zones (www.heartzones.com).

I don't think anyone is disputing that recovery HR is not an indicator of improving fitness. It's just that using performance as an indicator makes a lot more sense.

 

[Rob3rt]

I don't think anyone is disputing that recovery HR is not an indicator of improving fitness. It's just that using performance as an indicator makes a lot more sense.

Agree, but I am disputing the arbitrary numbers being used to gauge fitness.

 

[uclown2002]

....................Obviously I am going to have to bring my pace up to maybe an average of about 20mph (guessing here) to do 200 miles in a reasonable time.

200 miles @ 20mph is a bit of a leap from 13.1 mph for 70 miles!

You might want to set a more realistic target.

 

[The Jogger]

OMG Sally Edwards said it, it must be right........ ffs!

And others, btw don't get so stressed out about it.
http://www.johnstonefitness.com/201...ess-hrrest-hrmax-hrr-recovery-hr-and-vo2-max/

http://www.cyclemoles.com/2013/05/1-minute-heart-rate-recovery/

https://www.google.co.uk/#q=what is the best way to measure your fitness level heart rate recovery&spell=1

http://www.polar.com/e_manuals/CS600/Polar_CS600_user_manual_English/ch09.html

Need I go on........maybe you should research the topic.......perhaps not.!

 

[Rob3rt]

And others, btw don't get so stressed out about it.
http://www.johnstonefitness.com/201...ess-hrrest-hrmax-hrr-recovery-hr-and-vo2-max/

http://www.cyclemoles.com/2013/05/1-minute-heart-rate-recovery/

https://www.google.co.uk/#q=what is the best way to measure your fitness level heart rate recovery&spell=1

http://www.polar.com/e_manuals/CS600/Polar_CS600_user_manual_English/ch09.html

Need I go on........maybe you should research the topic.......perhaps not.!

You are not convincing me. The numbers are arbitrary numbers that someone has equated to arbitrary fitness levels. None of these test procedures even specify what %age of your MHR you should be at before starting the test, therefore different people will start the test from different points, and the recovery rate will vary with how fast your heart was beating when you started the timer.

If you are going to monitor HR recovery as an indication of personal fitness, you would only compare with yourself, over a period of time and all you would get would be an indication of whether fitness has increased or decreased, not a measure of absolute fitness.

Next you will be telling us 220-age is an accurate way to determine a man's maximum heart rate!

 

[The Jogger]

You are not convincing me. The numbers are arbitrary numbers that someone has equated to arbitrary fitness levels. None of these test procedures even specify what %age of your MHR you should be at before starting the test, therefore different people will start the test from different points, and the recovery rate will vary with how fast your heart was beating when you started the timer.

If you are going to monitor HR recovery as an indication of personal fitness, you would only compare with yourself, over a period of time and all you would get would be an indication of whether fitness has increased or decreased, not a measure of absolute fitness.

Next you will be telling us 220-age is an accurate way to determine a man's maximum heart rate!

My point is if you measure your recovering HR as you take up training and monitor as you go along it is a good indication of your (hopefully) improving fitness. Which having done this in my running days, I found very useful. I also noticed the changes after a long period of not training were my recovery rate was lower.

As far as max, I had mine measured properly on a stress test and it was nothing like that 220 formula, so no I wouldn't quote that.

 

[GmanUK65]

200 miles @ 20mph is a bit of a leap from 13.1 mph for 70 miles!

You might want to set a more realistic target.

I said 20 mph as a guess but I think to ride 200 miles a day (which may take me up to a year to do) I will need to ride at a much higher average to ride 200 miles in about 5 to 7 hours

 

[uclown2002]

I said 20 mph as a guess but I think to ride 200 miles a day (which may take me up to a year to do) I will need to ride at a much higher average to ride 200 miles in about 5 to 7 hours

200 miles in 5-7 hrs?
That's just not happening; not by a long shot!

 

[Rob3rt]

My point is if you measure your recovering HR as you take up training and monitor as you go along it is a good indication of your (hopefully) improving fitness. Which having done this in my running days, I found very useful. I also noticed the changes after a long period of not training were my recovery rate was lower.

As far as max, I had mine measured properly on a stress test and it was nothing like that 220 formula, so no I wouldn't quote that.

Can't recall disputing that, all I disputed was the arbitrary number aspect of your post! I agree that recording the recovery rate over a period of time can indicate gains or losses in fitness (however you would need to introduce a consistent test protocol to get anything close to repeatable measurements, given that Hr is very variable), what you won't get is an indication of absolute fitness.

 

[GmanUK65]

You are not convincing me. The numbers are arbitrary numbers that someone has equated to arbitrary fitness levels. None of these test procedures even specify what %age of your MHR you should be at before starting the test, therefore different people will start the test from different points, and the recovery rate will vary with how fast your heart was beating when you started the timer.

If you are going to monitor HR recovery as an indication of personal fitness, you would only compare with yourself, over a period of time and all you would get would be an indication of whether fitness has increased or decreased, not a measure of absolute fitness.

Next you will be telling us 220-age is an accurate way to determine a man's maximum heart rate!

Ive tried to get my max HR by finding a big hill and riding it in a high gear but even this method I am not totally convinced it is my true max HR because when I run out of hill this still does not guarantee my max HR. I think the only true way of finding out is if it is done by someone else like a coach (something I havent got or even afford). Do you know of any other way of getting someone to help? Do bike shops do this service?