I’ve often been told I should train with a heart rate monitor and that I should stick to very specific heart rate ranges when riding; is this a good way to monitor training ?
- Date added:
- Lundi, 01 Juin 2009
- Last revised:
- Lundi, 01 Juin 2009
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Answer
Not always. A heart rate monitor is a great tool and can help you know how hard you are working when you are riding at a constant sub-maximal pace. However, it is important to know that heart rate is affected by many factors like hydration, fatigue level, outside temperature, time of day and stimulants like caffeine. Therefore, you can use your heart rate as a indicator, but you must avoid making it the end-all be-all of your training. In most situations, the perceived level of exertion is just as good as your heart rate for monitoring your effort, and has added benefit of teaching you how to listen to your body.
For very short and intense efforts, the heart rate monitor is not a good litmus test at all. Heart rate always takes a bit of time to adjust to the demands you are making on your body and for sprints or short intervals it makes for a poor way to measure how hard you are going. Those lucky enough to have a power measuring device (SRM, Powertap) will be able to take advantage of it here, others will have to rely on RPE (rate of perceived exertion).
For very short and intense efforts, the heart rate monitor is not a good litmus test at all. Heart rate always takes a bit of time to adjust to the demands you are making on your body and for sprints or short intervals it makes for a poor way to measure how hard you are going. Those lucky enough to have a power measuring device (SRM, Powertap) will be able to take advantage of it here, others will have to rely on RPE (rate of perceived exertion).