My Slow Responding HR

Training
1

Second attempt at this post… @Captain_Doughnutman - I recall you talking about slow responding HRs before I believe…

42M, 183 Max HR, 216 FTP, 70kg

I am in a 6 week block of trainig that has 2 VO2max workouts per week. Mondays, I do Denali progressively working up the ladder of + versions. (6on/6off @ 105-112%) During these efforts, my HR tends to finish around 165. On Wednesdays, I do a short VO2max interval workout. (Taylor -2 last week, Bluebell this week, Rattlesnake next week, Rattlesnake +1 the following…) On these short intervals, my HR doesn’t get very high despite my legs screaming at me. At the end of the 1 minute Bluebell intervals, my HR usually was around 150. In the seconds after finishing the work portion, HR would climb a couple beats to around 155 then drop quickly and be down to 135 within 30 seconds. I kept thinking that as the intervals accumulated that I would start each one with a higher HR and finish with a higher HR but that wasn’t the case. My final interval on the 3rd set was lower than the final interval on my 1st set.

I don’t feel like my FTP is set too low, as my legs barely finished the last interval of Denali. Should I be focusing on the longer VO2 intervals where my HR seems to be more directly affected?

Jerrod

edit: Oddly, as I look at Taylor -2, which is 30 sec/30 sec my HR was also getting up into the mid 160s, but only recovering down into the upper 140s/lower 150s.

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Do you see affecting HR as a goal of a workout, rather than just a result of the work?

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I don’t have it as a goal of the workout, but I keep a watch on it as I don’t ride outside with power. Knowing that 20 minutes @ 92% keeps my HR around 158-160 allows me generally estimate my work rate while riding outdoors.

4

Your VO2max range and the power which inflicts the state of VO2max is very individual (and it also changes). TR chose 120% FTP because it’s at the lower end of the range where, hopefully, most riders would hit VO2max. Some people respond to short intermittent 30/30 type intervals, some people to longer steady state 3-4min intervals. It’s your job to find out what works for your individual physiology. Try out lots of stuff. :+1: