General Discussion Triathlon Talk » What is going on? Low HR high PE on the bike. Rss Feed  
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2015-05-05 1:53 AM

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Subject: What is going on? Low HR high PE on the bike.
I was looking for some advice. I just did a filed LT test on a spin bike. I have a really hard time getting my HR up compared to running. My legs always get tired and burn even at a low HR. My LT HR for running is about 172(field test only), But my average for this test was 142 for the 20mins, with a max HR of 159. My PE was in line with what I was suppose to be doing according to the test.The test was done on an old spin bike.
I bought a training plan from Sufferfest, here is the LT test I did. I actually warmed up about 10 more mins ofeasy spin at the start.

3:00 Warm-up at effort of 2/10
3:00 3/10 Warm-up
3:00 4/10 Getting warmer!
3:00 5/10 Warmer still!
3:00 6/10 Tempo
3:00 7/10 Strong effort
3:00 2/10 Recovery
4 x 1:00 Fast pedal with 1:00 recovery
3:00 Recovery at 2/10
20:00 Pain, agony, misery and FTP
3:00 Cool-down!

Im 38, have been doing OD triathlons for 2 years with a PR of 2:29. and my half marathon PR is 1:44, to give you an idea of my fitness level.

I would like to know Why is my HR so hard to get up? Should I use the 142 as my LT# to determine the zones for the training plan? It seem like my go all day PE and zone is around 125BPM, but then a harder PE i would say is my Tempo effort is only about 5 or 6 BPM higher.

Finally if this is a problem, Id really like to know hp to fix it.

Thanks
Scott


2015-05-05 4:22 AM
in reply to: scottyramone

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Subject: RE: What is going on? Low HR high PE on the bike.
Hard to say. For most people the LTHR is a bit lower on the bike. I think 5-10 beats/minute is typical. Mine for comparison (I think) is 173 on the run and 164 on the bike. Your run LTHR is similar to mine so that does sound like a big differential on the bike. Wondering if the issue could be with the bike itself. Maybe the resistance isn't optimal for you to do/sustain a max effort? If it's too low a resistance, maybe you're just "spinning your wheels" which might be physically hard but not get heart rate up enough. Or maybe the resistance is too high and you're unable to push hard enough to get a higher HR? I used to do a lot of my training on a stationary and I know my HR would be all off unless I set the resistance so I was riding at a similar cadence to my road bike outside (about 80-90 on a hard effort). Any lower or higher and the values would be really different than on the road.

I know also that bike fit can play a role. My fit isn't as good with my road bike and at the same heart rate I have a higher RPE (and lower speed) than with the tri bike. Oddly, it's more noticeable at easier to moderate efforts than really hard ones. The tri bike just seems better at translating my effort into greater speed with less perceived effort. Maybe your seat's too high or low, or something else about your position is really suboptimal and keeping you in a fairly low HR zone despite pain, agony, and misery.
2015-05-05 10:33 AM
in reply to: scottyramone

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Subject: RE: What is going on? Low HR high PE on the bike.
That's a pretty huge gap between your run threshold and bike threshold, much larger than I'd expect.

How is your bike fitness specifically compared to your run fitness, and what kind of work do you do on the bike, and how does that compare to your running work?
2015-05-05 11:32 AM
in reply to: scottyramone

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Subject: RE: What is going on? Low HR high PE on the bike.

Perhaps its also the test methodology, field LT test has the main interval at a 30 min duration with taking the average of the last 20'.  What was your run method used?

http://www.beginnertriathlete.com/cms/article-detail.asp?articleid=633

2015-05-05 11:58 AM
in reply to: Donto

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Subject: RE: What is going on? Low HR high PE on the bike.
I have the same "problem" as you and have been puzzling over it for years. It is very hard to get my HR up on the bike. I see friends' HR data and it blows my mind! I'm not sure what it all means though and what it would take to get my HR on the bike to 160+, because even getting it to 140 is a sprint-like effort for me. What is your resting HR? Mine is routinely <40 so maybe that plays into it? I have no idea.
2015-05-05 8:26 PM
in reply to: #5113112


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Subject: RE: What is going on? Low HR high PE on the bike.
Its not a problem, that's normal. You cannot compare the two.


2015-05-05 8:28 PM
in reply to: #5113330


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Subject: RE: What is going on? Low HR high PE on the bike.
That's why you train running by pace, bike by watts and throw the heart rate strap away.
2015-05-05 8:44 PM
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Subject: RE: What is going on? Low HR high PE on the bike.
I wonder if part of it is the situation and environment? On the trainer I can feel like I'm suffering but my HR doesn't get up that much. Put me on a mountain bike trail where I want to beat my buddies up a big hill and I can get my HR much higher.

Edited by donw 2015-05-05 8:45 PM
2015-05-06 11:04 AM
in reply to: scottyramone

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Subject: RE: What is going on? Low HR high PE on the bike.
Looking over the last couple of months, my ave and the ave of my max for each are:

Biking:
Average HR: 130 BPM
Max Ave HR: 152 BPM

Running:
Average HR: 145 BPM
Max Ave HR: 161 BPM

My resting HR is around 45

So I think I'm in the same boat. I've never done any threshold testing or anything like that.
2015-05-06 12:04 PM
in reply to: Donto

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Subject: RE: What is going on? Low HR high PE on the bike.

Originally posted by Donto

Perhaps its also the test methodology, field LT test has the main interval at a 30 min duration with taking the average of the last 20'.  What was your run method used?

http://www.beginnertriathlete.com/cms/article-detail.asp?articleid=633

scottyramone, do you have a profile of your HR during the 20' test interval you did?  With a 142 avg but a max of 159 (which likely occurred near the end) likely means that your HR has a decent lag to effort applied.  I'm the same way when it comes to running and riding, my HR is slower to respond than some other people I have trained with.  This is why doing the test with a 30' main interval time and taking the average during the last 20' of that interval is important. And it's another reason why I quit using HR as the metric on the trainer after 2 weeks as the lag made doing short intervals practically useless and instead went to using virtual power.

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