I think your friend is just recommending you do some very basic movement training. The levels 50% to 75% are very far on the easy side. I interpret that he is not (yet) asking you to start to push it. The difference between moving easily and not moving is significant, as is the difference between moving easily and feeling like your pushing it. I think he just wants to make sure you have been moving, and to see if you are capable of following a basically regular program. If so, you are trainable. That gives you a leg up on me, most days!!!!

In any case I wouldn't worry about anything at this point. It's probably even ok to use your 220-age value as the first estimate of HR max. When he tests you, he's going to figure out your max. Your value is probably wrong because the equation is usually wrong, but you're only going to use it for a week or so.

Yes, that's what I use. The Polar and Garmin xmtrs have snaps on the same centers.

This is the method I was trying to pull out of the dark recesses of my feeble brain, Just could not think of using LT as the way of estimating the MHR, by some other means. Thanks CFB, maybe I can sleep tonight. I doubt that Bruce's friend would use that, though. Have you done a MHR test? They seem kind of rough to go through, but not undoable for a rider/cyclist.

Bill

They seem kind of rough to go through, but not undoable for a rider/cyclist.

IMO, more in line for a healthy younger rider with intentions of being on the podium.

None if the ways mentioned really gets close to establishing a max, particularly on a bicycle. For most people cycling max is a few bests less than activities like running where greater parts of your body are working. This is the Carmichael and many others recommend.

Warm up for 15-20 minutes until you are working reasonably hard. Find a long but gradual hill and start climbing in moderate gear at a good cadence. Stay seated. After a minute, shift to the next gear while maintaining cadence. After a minute, shift again. Keep this up until you can't maintain the cadence and it really drops now. Shift one more time, stand, and sprint all out for 20 seconds. That will be your max or within a best or two.

This is all some interesting info. Right now I'm just going to continue my current regime of 45-60 min. doing spinning videos with my HR in the 120 -130 range for 5-6 days a week. Yesterday I did about 30 min. of a (50 min) video and then tried Aaron's 30 sec. sprint method. I ended up pretty much at the 220-age formula. Hard to believe that's anywhere near accurate since I'm generally working in the 120-130 range and that's at 80-87% of max. Shouldn't I be feeling seriously stressed at that %? FWIW at that % I can easily have a conversation and don't have any particular lactic acid burn. There's so much about this I don't know. The good news is the prospect of starting a training program has got me training consistently. It's kind of like what Road Fan said.

The only way I've been able to achieve MHR is on my yearly 3000'+ climb. Part way up, I take it up to LT or as close as I can hold for 45', then accelerate into panting mode, holding that for ~10', then sprint into the parking lot. I won't see a higher HR all year. Top is only 6000', so I can still go hard.

I have been using a HRM for about two years now simply because I like to see data from my workouts. It hasn't necessarily caused me to change the way I train. If you don't want to spend a lot of money you can try a couple of "pro-deal" websites. www.theclymb.com and www.leftlanesports.com are both great places to pick up good workout and cylcing stuff at steep discounts. They don't cost anything to sign up, just set up a username and password. I have ordered loads of stuff from both sites without issue.

Yep, you should be working pretty hard at 80-87% of max.

You sound like you are in good shape. It's very difficult for a fit person to get anywhere close to max using that method of 30 second sprints. The only way that might get you close is working very hard to begins with (for example at a pace where you can't hold a conversation) and then you do a 30 second sprint.

I'm thinking your max is 20 points or so higher than your guess now.

Yesterday I went to the gym and did a 55 min. spinning video for strength...lots of standing and seated climb power segments. This was my 6th day out of the week so I'm actually being consistent and working. A lot of that time I was working in the 130-136 bpm range. Based on estimated max HR I had come up with I was hitting 90%. I'm pretty sure that's not accurate at all as has been said. The first sign of real duress for me is always lactic acid burn in my quads around my knee area. But, what I got yesterday for burn was not all that bad. Really looking forward to the testing and development of a program. And, really appreciate everyone's contribution here. I've learned a lot.

Can't comment on Garmin HR straps not working in cold weather since I live in Florida. I had used a Sigma watch style HRM for several years and it worked flawlessly and was dead accurate. My wife had a Garmin HRM from her Forerunner 405CX that she replaced with a Wahoo BT HRM strap so she could capture her HR on her phone. I started using the Garmin HR strap and so far have not had any issues with it, but then, we really don't have much cold weather here.

I'm using the Garmin HRM connected through a Wahoo RFLKT+ to my iPhone. I understand the problem with the delay because it routinely takes a minute or so for the HRM to be recognized by my phone. I think the problem there is the RFLKT+ since it has to convert the Ant+ signal to BlueTooth and send it to the phone. Once connected, it hasn't failed me yet. Keeping my fingers crossed that it continues to work well.

I gauged my HRmax on a steep climb that I am barely able to summit cadence 40rpm standing and muscling the bike.
It takes me about a minute but I am already warmed up and revved up for the approach to the hill. I'm sufficiently rested and caffeinated, and it's hot weather.
I assume that my observed max heartrate is a few beats slower than a true max.
My HR runs a little slower in cold conditions.

I'm not locked in to certain percentages or zones. My HRmax is probably 187bpm. I know that if I average 160bpm or higher, I am going to fall apart after about 2-1/2 hours riding. 155 avg is about right for a 60-90 minute ride. If I want a recovery ride, I better keep HR under 135. If I can't get HR under 140 during ride breaks, I need to find shade and get more fluids ASAP and possibly sag out to avoid a seizure. On shorter time trials I need to keep around 168-173 until the last mile.

To me, the important factor in choosing a HR monitor:
* Ability to easily upload the stats to a PC and then to some online sites (strava, my company's wellness website)
* Good battery life both in sensors and in computer.
* Ability to transmit underwater for swim workouts
* Ability to attach unit to either wrist or bike handlebars
* Ability to talk to gym equipment
* Open-format protocols, not proprietary -- in both transmitter and bike sensors.
* Use with my Garmin Ant+
* Viewable when I am wearing heavy gloves and long sleeves. Handlebar mount prefered.
* Buttons positioned so I don't hit them when flexing my wrists
* Wristwatch unit metal must be stainless steel (allergic to nickel in other alloys)

I haven't found a single HRM that meets all these criteria.
So I am using a Polar RCX5 for the first part of the year to get wellness points; and for swimming.
I use the Garmin HR monitor after I've maxed out on wellness points.
I haven't had success wearing two HRM cheststraps at the same time. Inevitably they shift around and the leads lose their skin contact.

As far as the cheststraps, I have had very good success with the more current elastic straps with the thin rubbery backing under the contact snaps.
The "soft strap" previous Polar model needed wetting down and gel to get good contact.
The Polar cheststraps don't crease like the Garmins do, which has more to do with comfort than reliability.
Although it's not really obvious, Polar does have different length cheststraps. They aren't one-size-fits-all.

OK so because I basically don't know what I'm doing with regards to HRMs I bought this Polar H7 Heart Rate Sensor not realizing it does not come with a watch and can only be used with my phone. I had thought it came with the watch and could also be synched to a cell phone. In any event it's all enclosed in the typical plastic with a note to check compatible IOS and Android devices. It gives a website that I'm going to go on right now. But, I'm wondering if this is going to be a PITA and if it's going to be difficult to mount my phone so I can use this on the bike. FWIW my phone is an Android with Verizon.

Depending on the manufacturer of your phone, there should be a K-Edge, or some similar item, that mounts on the bars and accepts the device in its slot. You may need a case for the phone, in some cases.

Bill

Just checked my phone's Android iteration against Polar's site info and it won't work. Very annoying because when I went to the Amazon site and reviewed the product description it does not make it clear what it works with. Oh, well.