tigger
Über Member
This brings to mind an interesting (scientific) paper I read about controlling heart rate with breathing and 'tricks' to keep a low HR. ONe that I tried in the 'controlled environment' of the turbo in the garage was 'omm-ing' - humming a mantra while on the turbo. This is quite amazing at it's ability to drop your heart rate - apparently it works by changing the breathing pattern which in turns relaxes muscles which aren't actively engaged thus reducing oxygen demand thus HR drops. I would warm up at about 150w for 15 mins which got my HR to about 70%HRM, then start the omm-ing and when I got the frequency right, my HR would gradually drop about 10bpm for the exact same wattage. Using it in the recovery between intervals was even better in terms of the speed you dropped the HR down.
Tricky to do while in a race of course, but time trailling....of course, you might get some funny looks or some followers, never know
I practice controlling my breathing using a HR monitor on a turbo. For me, the way you breathe in and out has a huge effect on HR. Also how relaxed you are generally and even what you are thinking (stressful / angry thoughts will give you a much higher HR than relaxed / peaceful ones). My HR is always higher on the road than on the trainer for seemingly less effort. This is because you have to be more alert on the road. Typical average HR for me on a 1 - 1.5 hr good hard power / TT type session on the hilly roads around me is 165-170 BPM. If I tried to achieve the same average on a turbo for 1 - 1.5 hrs I'd be dead!
