Riding With A Heart Rate Monitor

Last night I decided to try riding whilst wearing my Polar heart rate monitor. I have owned a Polar model for a couple of years but never really used whilst out on my bike. So after reading an article on the Polar website about how cyclists are benefiting from training using a heart rate monitor I thought I would give it a go.

So I strapped on my heart rate monitor via the chest strap. This is quite simple, you initially wet or dampen the inside of the chest strap and then locate on your chest centrally below the chest muscle.

Then I put on my Polar F7 watch.

This displays your heart as bpm or as a percentage. My intentions was to ride at an intensity of 70% + at all times, but without exceeding 95%.
A better and fuller explanation from the Polar website is below:

INTRODUCTION TO HEART RATE BASED TRAINING

People often wonder how much and in which intensities they should train. The simplest means of determining this is to listen to your own body. Heart rate based training gives clear guidance on how to train to reach your individual goals, based on your personal heart rate and heart rate variability. Although there are many subjective clues as to how your body is doing during exercise – such as perceived exertion, breathing rate, and physical sensations – none is as reliable as measuring heart rate.Being an accurate measure for workout intensity, recovery level and long-term progress, heart rate is a window to your own fitness. Each person reacts to physical strain individually, depending on the size of the heart, fitness level, skills, and daily changes of stress level. This can be seen in heart rate variability, which measures the variations in the time between successive heart beats. Unlike common misconception, heart does not beat as regular as clockwork. On the contrary, the healthier the heart, the better it adapts to different situations and changing circumstances. Polar training computers can detect these slight changes in heart rate variability by measuring beat-to-beat intervals in milliseconds.With regular training, the heart muscle becomes stronger, so it does not have to contract that often – therefore decreasing heart rate both during exercise and in rest, and increasing heart rate variability, which is a sign of fitness and a healthy heart. Polar has introduced number of features based on heart rate and heart rate variability that help athletes and active people in fitness assessment, guide them in their training and give tools for training follow-up. This way heart rate monitoring enables you to accurately adjust your training program, helping you vary your training depending on your fitness level and the goals you want to achieve by training.

EXERCISE ZONES

Exercise zones are ranges between the lower and upper heart rate limits expressed as beats per minute (bpm) or as percentages of your maximum heart rate (HRmax). HRmax is the highest number of heartbeats per minute during maximum physical exertion.Heart Rate Target ZonesExercise can be divided into three different intensity zones. Each of these intensity levels corresponds to various health and fitness improving mechanisms in your body. 

Light Intensity Zone

When your heart beats at 60-70% of your HRmax (HRmax %), you are in the Light Intensity Zone. Whether you have just started working out or you exercise fairly regularly, much of your workout will be in this zone. Fat is the body's main source of energy at this level of intensity; therefore this zone is also good for weight control. This intensity still feels fairly easy for most people and provides, for example, the following benefits:

• Helps in weight control
• Improves endurance
• Improves aerobic fitness

Moderate Intensity ZonePush on to 70-80% of your HRmax, and you are in the Moderate Intensity Zone. This is especially good for people who are exercising regularly. For most people, this is often the fastest pace they can maintain and still remain comfortable and free of pain. Exercising in this zone is particularly effective for improving aerobic (i.e. cardiovascular) fitness. If you are out of shape, your muscles will use carbohydrates for fuel when you are exercising in this zone. As you get fitter, your body starts using a higher and higher percentage of fat for fuel, thus preserving its limited stores of muscle carbohydrate. Exercising in the moderate intensity zone results in some additional benefits:

• Improves aerobic fitness
• Improves endurance
• Helps in weight control
• Accustoms your body to exercising at a faster pace
• Begins to raise the speed you can maintain without building up lactic acid

Hard Intensity ZoneAt 80-90% of your HRmax, you have moved into the Hard Intensity Zone. Exercise in the hard intensity zone definitely feels "hard". You will find yourself breathing heavily, having tired muscles and feeling fatigued. This intensity is recommended occasionally for fit people. Exercising in this zone is intensive, so it provides some unique benefits:

• Increases muscles' tolerance to lactic acid
• Improves hard, short effort ability

When you exercise in the correct intensity zones, it guarantees your enjoyment in your favorite sports. Alternate between intensity zones to improve your fitness and get variation in your exercise. Remember that the lower the intensity the longer you can comfortably exercise in it. Exercise in the higher intensity for shorter periods.Note: Polar target heart rate intensity definition is modified from international exercise science authorities' recommendations in which light intensity can reach lower than 60% of HRmax. 

My results and experiences were quite enlightening! I managed to mainatain a 73% heart rate intensity average with a maximum heart rate of 91%.
The big thing for me was how it changes your riding pattern or style. At times I was ridding much harder on sections of trail-way where I would normally have taken it a little slower, plus it made the hill climbs a lot steadier as I tried to maintain the heart rate rather than big pushes and then recoveries.
Overall my ride was much more enjoyable and interesting as I was focusing on not just my route and immediate pathway ahead but also on what my heart rate, how I was feeling and what speed I was doing.
The biggest change to my ride was gear selection. It made me think about what gear I was in most off the time. Considering the terrain ahead and what gear I needed to be in to ensure my heart rate and work rate aligned to keep my heart rate above 70%.
This morning I feel like I had a great ride and feel physically much better for it.
Worth considering for your next ride maybe? I will defiantly be using my Polar heart rate monitor much for my training rides.

My ride details and route is available to view on my Sports-Tracker profile http://www.sports-tracker.com/#/workout/gtrudgett/in7qaov40kqkpo1v