Originally Posted by
69chevy
I'm either a freak of nature, a cardiac time bomb, or that isn't always true.
80% of my max heart rate (191) is 152.8 bpm. 191 is the highest I've ever recorded and it was a full effort up a 10% grade.
Literature says that zone 5 is only sustainable in short bursts (less than a minute).
I sustained what literature calls my zone 5 for over an hour.
I'll admit I'm a HR noob, but can you enlighten me. (OP... If you don't want side discussions, I'll take this elsewhere.)
Joe Friel's zones:
Bike Zones
Zone 1 Less than 81% of LTHR <_____
Zone 2 81% to 89% of LTHR _____ - _____
Zone 3 90% to 93% of LTHR _____ - _____
Zone 4 94% to 99% of LTHR _____ - _____
Zone 5a 100% to 102% of LTHR _____ - _____
Zone 5b 103% to 106% of LTHR _____ - _____
Zone 5c More than 106% of LTHR >_____
Using those zones, by definition you can sustain the bottom of zone 5 for an hour. That's not a freak of nature, that's spot on zone as defined: your average heart rate for a one hour maximum effort.