Target Heart Rate

[Arrofalcon]

For the last two weeks, I've been using my indoor stationary bike (since it's WAY too icy and cold outside to go right now).

My Polar HRM says my rate should be in the 156-172 range for MODERATE.

The Polar does this 5-minute OwnZone thing, where I am supposed to do warm-up like activities.

There are 5 stages, each a minute long, and for each minute my activity is supposed to get progressively harder.

My question is: Should I be using the heart rate zone based on my RUNNING warm-up, or cycling warm-up if my main workout is on the bike?

For example, right now I am following the Polar's instructions:
1 minute, slow walk.
1 minute, normal walk or +10 BPM
1 minute, brisk walk or +10 BPM
1 minute, slow jog or +10 BPM
1 minute, brisk jog or +10 BPM

Is it still OK if I am using my heart range from RUNNING for use in CYCLING?

Thanks.

 

[Alex Simmons]

My question is: Should I be using the heart rate zone based on my RUNNING warm-up, or cycling warm-up if my main workout is on the bike?

Neither. Assess you average HR from a cycling time trial effort, or your max HR attained after cycling exceedingly hard. Provided you are healthy enough to do so.

Then assess training levels from there. See the HR zone calculator sticky thread for that.

 

[Arrofalcon]

So would you recommend a warming up cycling trial (maybe 10 minutes of easy paced cycling), then maximum speed and find my maximum heart rate?

My max heart rate while following the HRM's zone of 156-172 was 176BPM, but that's wasn't all-out as fast as I could either. That was just as fast as I got in that workout session (which wasn't that hard BTW).


I could always stay in the 65%-85% range as well. Just in case.

 

[Alex Simmons]

Well if you want to use Max HR as a basis for defining training zones, then, I suggest either inspecting your race data, say after a long sprint at end of a hard race, or a longish hard hillclimb where you sprinted the last 200 metres to see what HR you maximally attained.

Alternatively you can perform a graduated ramp test to exhaustion which will typically, provided you are not fatigued, induce Max HR, or something pretty close to it.

You can use that value and amend later if from hard race efforts you notice a higher value is repeatedly attainable.

While it's a power test, the principle of how to perform such a test is the same as in the following item:
MAP Test & Understanding Power