Originally Posted by NomadVW
So, I started working with heart rate monitor in December and am kinda just floundering around a little. Want to hear opinions from other folks to see what they think.
I did a max HR test on the rollers, ramping up slowly until I was pumping as hard as I could (prolly not great for the resistance unit, but... well that's replaceable
). I determined max HR to be 185. Once a week or so, I do an all out 63km ride, out and back. During one of these, I followed the "instructions" in all the books I've read and believe my LTH to be around 168.
I picked up Sally Edwards "The Heart Rate Monitor Book for Cyclists" and have been flipping through the routines in there to find some that would fit me. I'm primarily a medium distance rider. I do around 250km per week with one century a month, and on a normal day my "all out" 63k ride avgs between 32-34kph. (that's ride time, as there are no significant stops that would impact overall speed). I normally do that distance/speed right at the 166bpm mark (last 4 of those avged, 167, 161, 165, and 166 - in that order) - just below LTH (start to finish, includes warmup time of about 1-2 minutes, but not cool down time.)
Nearly two hours straight a few beats below your LTHR? Not likely unless you're a really good bike racer. Keep in mind your LTHR (by many definitions) is about what you can maintain for 40-60 minutes. Your LTHR is probably closer to 10 to 12bpm above the HR you can do for two hours. I think you need to re-adjust your zones.
Understand that the main problem with basing your training on MHR is that we all have different HR's that will occur at our own LT. Your LTHR might occur at 78% of MHR, and mine would be close to 87% of MHR. Some people will find it at 90% of MHR. The % is no indication of fitness-it's pretty much all genetic. The good news is that once you've been training for 2-3 months _and then_ find your actual LTHR, the HR at your LT doesn't change by more than a few beats throughout the season. Your "zones" will stay pretty much where they were at the time of your first test.
I suggest you pick up some of the Chris Carmichael or Lance Armstrong books about training, to start with. Have a look at the "Cycling Peaks" website and hunt around there for their training zones. Joe Friel's book would help too.