Having a heart rate monitor is one thing, knowing how to use it is next but probably the most important of all is knowing what level of heart rate you should be working at to ensure you get the best from yourself.
There are differing schools of thought on this subject, aren't there always, but there is an approach that I have used with success over the past 5 years, though I have no scientific evidence to prove it. My method is probably what some would see as a combination of techniques developed by Dr Maffetone and what is sometimes referred to in the UK as the Cycling Plus levels of training.
Maffetone suggests that you take your age and subtract it from 180; there are various additions or subtractions that you make to this figure (between 5-10 up or down depending on your fitness, racing success, illness or injuries). If your heart rate is below this calculated figure, you are working aerobically. Above the rate, you are working anaerobically.
The methods as described in the magazine Cycling Plus are developed from knowing your maximum heart rate as described below and working out four levels of training intensity.
Here's a description of each of the four levels and how to work them out. You'll hopefully find them useful if you don't possess a heart rate monitor and want to know how each level feels in order to gauge which you're riding at but don't rely on this feeling method as it does not take into account tiredness etc which will naturally affect the way you feel.
To find your Maximum Heart rate
1. Find a quiet stretch of road that will take you about five to eight minutes to cycle at your fastest pace. Ideally this should end going up a hill.
2. Warm up thoroughly, then ride as fast as you can, making sure you end with a hard sprint.
3. Take your pulse as you finish, counting for exactly ten seconds, multiplying by six and adding five. Or look at your heart rate monitor.
Note of caution: The above test is stressful and should only be performed after you have taken medical advice or if you know you are fit and have been training for some time.
To find your AT, choose a route similar to a time-trial course (or do it during a TT). Ride as you would in a TT and after 4-5 miles check your heart rate over a distance of 1-2 miles. The average of your heart rate will be your AT.
Level One
Your heart rate will be 45 beats or more below your maximum heart rate. If your maximum heart rate (mhr) is 180 bpm, this would be anything below 135 bpm. This form of training should feel very comfortable - the perception of effort required is low. It's the sort of pace you can easily ride along having a long and meaningful discussion with your riding partners.
This level of raining is used purely for recovery riding. If you've had a hard session the day before, it's the intensity to ride at. Ideal duration is an hour or less.
Level 2
Your heart rate will be between 35 and 45 bpm below your maximum. So if your mhr is 180 bpm, then your own personal Level Two is 135-145. This is a moderately hard effort. You'll be aware of your breathing which will be fairly regular, without being heavy. A brief conversation is possible but any longer and you'll be pausing to catch your breath.
This level is the cornerstone of your training as it improves your oxygen transport system and thus your aerobic power. Longer sessions (2-4 hours) will also help develop your body's ability to burn fat as a fuel, and therefore improve your overall endurance. Ideal duration for level 2 sessions is between one and two hours. Longer sessions are recommended once per week, Sunday mornings are usually best.
Level 3
Heart rate will be between 15 and 25 beats below your maximum i.e. mhr 180 your level 3 rate would be 155-165 bpm. You'll be riding at the maximum pace you can maintain as a steady, consistent effort. As mentioned elsewhere, it's similar to the type of effort you'd make in a short-distance time trial. Your breathing will be deep, powerful and regular and you'll need to concentrate hard because it's both physically and mentally demanding.
The stress of level 3 training is very similar to race-pace riding, and will prepare you for the demands of racing. It will also improve your racing speed. Level 3 sessions should be 20-30 minutes in duration, if you can't feel the effects after this period of time, then you weren't riding hard enough! This form of training is ideal for turbo training.
Level 4
This one you probably won't need your heart rate monitor for. These should involve efforts that elicit a heart rate less than 15 beats from your maximum, you may even see your maximum. These are essentially relatively short, maximum or very near maximum efforts. Typically sprinting, very hard accelerations or powering up short, steep climbs. Their purpose is to develop your ability to make short, very high-intensity efforts.
Ideal duration is ONE minute, which is then followed by a full recovery and repeated between two and eight times. A typical session would be one-minute maximum effort, repeated 2-5 times, with four to five minute's recovery time between each effort. Don't expect to have too much energy after an interval session and a recovery session is always best the following day.
Personal recommendation
As indicated earlier the levels I suggest are probably an adaptation of the above with the base of my training being what I refer to as Level 2 sessions.
To me, level 2 is my age subtracted from 180 and then adding five. This takes into account the fact that over the past 12 months I have kept fit, have not been injured or ill but have not raced. This makes my level 2 - 122-132 bpm. I train at these levels for anything between 1 and 4 hours.
I know that my AT is approximately 150 at the moment; I'm not as fit as I used to be and my maximum heart rate is 167 bpm. AT sessions are therefore conducted at heart rates of between 142-152 bpm, usually on my turbo.
As the racing season approaches, usually 6 weeks before. I introduce intervals, which are one minute of absolute ecstasy, not. I start with 3, building to a maximum of 8 in a session. Each interval is followed by complete recovery, or at least until my heart rate drops into low level 2.
The only other type of rides I do, and like most I don't do enough, are recovery rides though this year, cycling to work will become my recovery sessions.
You'll need to visit the Training Diary to see how I put the above sessions together into a progressive training programme.
For a wide selection of the best heart rate monitors from POLAR, click the name.
