General Discussion Triathlon Talk » HR Gurus, what is going on with my HR??? Rss Feed  
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2014-02-04 5:36 PM

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Subject: HR Gurus, what is going on with my HR???
So I like to use heart-rate training when I am working on lactate threshold. I have been taking the same test (recommended by this website and multiple other sources) for years now. I do a warmup, then an all-out 30 min time trial and take my average HR over the last 20 minutes as my lactate-threshold heart rate. I even do the exact same route on my bike! I have used this test for running and cycling since I know your HR can differ between these two sports.
Here are some examples of recent test results:
May 2013 - my LTHR was 168
June 2013 - my LTHR was 174
Nov 2013 - this time it has jumped up to 178! I was riding my mountain bike for this one in full winter gear and I did it early morning on my
way to work.
Jan 2014 - this was my most recent one and it was 181! I also did this one on my mountain bike in full winter gear in early morning.
Now I know that your HR statistics can vary depending on weather, level of fatigue, time of day, etc. but it seems like my LTHR has seriously increased a lot! I am 29 years old by the way, male, in good shape. These results just seem a bit high to me.
Today I went out in the afternoon (on mountain bike in full winter gear) to do some sub-lactate threshold work. Heres the thing...during my intervals my HR was in the 160s (which should be in my zone 3 with a LTHR of 181), but I felt like I was riding at a lot higher effort! I felt like I was riding in zone 4 as in a time trial!
So what I am wondering is, can this difference be just because I rode in the afternoon? Or maybe I am just getting really good at my 30 min TT test and my results are higher than they should be. Like, maybe I am just good at bearing through the pain of an all-out time trial and so this 30 min test isn't working for me.
I realize that I could just be getting in better and better shape, but isnt a HR of 181 pretty high? Should I try a different test? Is it just because of the morning vs afternoon time difference? What is going on here? Thanks a ton for the replies!!


2014-02-05 6:31 PM
in reply to: Kermat89

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Subject: RE: HR Gurus, what is going on with my HR???

Okay, I'm not really good with HR and defining all these things so take my response for what it is worth, but since no one else responded.

I do a 20km TT at about 178 HR. I can maintain that. In sprints I can often get my HR to 190. I am a 36 y/o female. I am not unique amongst my friends. So based on that (sorry I said take my advice with a grain of salt), I'd say your LTHR of 181 is not crazy. Maybe you just didn't push yourself enough on previous tests and/or you are improving?

2014-02-19 4:08 PM
in reply to: Kermat89

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Delaware, OH
Subject: RE: HR Gurus, what is going on with my HR???
I believe that as your vo2max goes up, so too will your lactate threshold. More training= higher vo2max = higher lactate threshold. Check out exercise Physiology by Powers for a rundown.
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