jcpups608

I tried posting this in the the TnN forum but no luck.

I did my first 2x20 anaerobic threshold test with HR and need some help making sense of the numbers, first a little background.

Riding for two seasons, the first season on a single speed casually, last season much more seriously on a road bike(hadn't ridden a bike prior since i was probably 12 or 13 yo) .

I'm 29, 5'10.5" 130+/-2lbs and I do have a weekly training regiment(indoors, winter here) that includes intervals, tempo, and endurance on the rollers with light weight training mixed in(two non-riding days).
I'm putting in all the numbers so it will be easier for you to see where I'm at.

Test was done on kreitler 4.5 dia. rollers with resistance fly wheel, new belts. No fan. Temp. 80
10 min warm up
#1 20min
Max HR-181
Avg HR-176
Avg mph-25.98
max mph-27.73

5 min recovery.
#2 20min
Max HR-183
Avg HR-175
Avg mph-25.48
Max mph-27.96

Mph is kept more for cadence purposes since my computer doesn't have that function. My estimated cadence was ~108 at 26.5mph which is where I tried to keep my effort(I'm comfy between 95 and 115 during hard, and harder efforts). I was working hard the whole time but the last 5 min were ruff, the last 2 min of #2 I almost quit, the last min I excepted the pain and that's where the max mph of 27.96 was hit. There was pain(the good kind), spit, drool, and snot involved.

Questions:

Does it look like I did the test correctly?

Is 183 my anaerobic threshold HR? If not, how would I calculate?

What's the difference between LT HR and AT HR? if any.

Note: I plan on racing this season and need a more structured way to train, also, Im getting powertap soon and I want to try to combine power and HR based training so I figured I'd get started.
This racing season will be purely learning and training. Take it slow now to go fast later.

Thank you in advance for any information that might be useful.

TheJackMove

It looks like you did the test more or less correctly, whether or not that that gives you correct or useful information is a little different. Outside is always a little different than on a trainer, and you really need more information to get accurate information about AT or LT, but what that tells you is that your heart rate that corresponds to your functional threshold power is probably somewhere between 175 and 183 (closer to 175 maybe). You will probably learn a lot once you get your powertap and do some riding and real testing. You probably want to get a book like Training and Racing with Power or the Cyclists Training Bible, they discuss these things in depth and have some pretty useful plans for adding structure to your training. LT is a term that can be used for a couple of things, and if you read about it you will probably learn about some more useful measures of fitness, but googling those terms or getting those books may be the most helpful thing to do. You can start with the Training Peaks website (the "articles" section), it has some good information for free on it.

jcpups608

Thanks, the two books you mentioned are on my list of things to get. I understand the accuracy can be a little suspect indoors but I needed a place to start and this test seemed to fit the bill.