General Discussion Triathlon Talk » moving from trainer to road- HR increase... Rss Feed  
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2010-03-22 10:44 AM

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Subject: moving from trainer to road- HR increase...
I've trained on a trainer and/or spin bike A LOT (for me)  this winter. Because I often go at lunch time, my sessions haven't been long (35-45 minutes) but I've trained 4-5 times a week, sometimes 6x. As I got more fit, I found it harder to get my HR above 100, but I'd increase resistance or cadence and would usually ride about 112-116 bpm gradually riding in the 124-130 range, with the average being low 120's.   Saturday I did my first outdoor ride in months, and found my HR above 130 almost immediately, maybe 5 minutes in to the ride.  It was relatively flat terrain, but with a decent headwind, riding big ring (53) in the front, and somewhere around 15-17 ring in the back, low 80's cadence.  I slowed down and decreased resistance and ended up with an average of 128 for about 90 minutes. Still I'd have thought my HR would have been much lower, especially to start out.  I'm thinking maybe my resistance on the trainer might be too low, thus my indoor rides are not similar enough to real ring.   Has anyone experienced this?


2010-03-22 11:21 AM
in reply to: #2740071

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Subject: RE: moving from trainer to road- HR increase...
I agree with your assessment that the resistance was too low on the trainer/spin bike. The first year or so on the trainer I did way too much easy riding. I've seen it with others as well. It wasn't until I had a dedicated workout (e.g. Main set with 3x10' hard*, 3' recovery) that I saw HR numbers more inline with outdoor riding. Without wind resistance, you need to have it applied elsewhere.

* you can define "hard" by HR, RPE or power.

-Tim
2010-03-22 3:57 PM
in reply to: #2740071

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Subject: RE: moving from trainer to road- HR increase...
"As I got more fit, I found it harder to get my HR above 100"

I have to admit:  that sounds awfully low for someone who is putting out much effort.  I can get my HR over 100 just by thinking about something exciting (like barbeque).

However, these numbers really don't mean much without some context (such as your LTHR or some other similar measure that will allow you to set up somewhat meaningful HR zones).

That said, my HR does go up a wee bit from trainer to outdoors (in the sense that my outdoor LTHR field test results tend to be 2-3 bpm higher).  I think this difference is somewhat common, but I'm not sure.
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General Discussion Triathlon Talk » moving from trainer to road- HR increase... Rss Feed