Power & Heart Rate Anomoly

larrynipon said:

I went out for the first time in 4 months today. I plugged my data in, and compared it to the exactr same ride as the same time last year. Last year, I had been training with Carmichael for 3 months prior to that outing. This year, I've been TOTALLY sedentary. I was a few minutes slower, my average power output was down around 7%, but my average heartrate was 9 beats higher. The anomoly is that I was able to hold a higher heartrate longer, and my MAX HR was 184! I haven't seen that high a rate in over 2 years. I'm not sure what the significance of that is. I'm not even sure whether that's a good or bad thing...any insights would be appreciated. 😕

What you have expeienced is entirely expected. Due to your lack of training, your blood volume has dropped significantly. As a result, to achieve the same (or similar) amount of blood flow to the working muscles, you heart must beat faster. With a bit more training, you will see your heart rate decline for any given power output. Remember, power is a measure of performance, not heart rate.

Thank you Michael

Smartt/RST said:

What you have expeienced is entirely expected. Due to your lack of training, your blood volume has dropped significantly. As a result, to achieve the same (or similar) amount of blood flow to the working muscles, you heart must beat faster. With a bit more training, you will see your heart rate decline for any given power output. Remember, power is a measure of performance, not heart rate.