Originally posted by uciflylow
Is a heart rate monitor going to help you that much unless you push yourself to the point of chest pain? I may look into getting one if it will help me push harder. Mostly what I have to keep in check is how hard I push my muscles and tendons and practice good form.
I think it depends somewhat on why you're training, but I find my HRM quite useful in maximizing the amount of time I spend "in the zone" when I'm riding. Since for me aerobic fitness is the training goal, I try to stay around 75-85% of my maximum heart rate pretty much all the time.
Of course, you have to know what your max rate actually is, and that has to be tested empirically. In other words, you have to go there. It's another worthwhile reason to get a cardiac workup including an exercise stress test. If you've been overweight, out of shape, a smoker, then determining your MHR by climbing a hill until you fall over and then checking your pulse (if any) is probably not the best strategy!
I'm continuously surprised by how frequently my perception of how hard I'm working doesn't match my heart rate. It's always lower than I think it is when I'm riding into a headwind, for example, and I have to push harder to get it higher. On the other hand, I can be cruising along on the flats feeling relaxed and enjoying the breeze when the damn thing starts beeping at me.
RichC