How much time should I spend in my aerobic zone in a given workout? - Triathlon Week

03-06-2007, 12:13 AM

This is the site I use to get my MHR.
[Only registered and activated users can see links. ]

From this site, based on my RH = 45 and my age at 28, my aerobic zone (70% -
80%) should be 149-164.

My question is, if I do 1h30 hours of spinning, should I try to get about 40
min of my time in this zone?

Reason I'm asking is because I can do about 40-50 min at an avg of around
144-146 BPM but I don't think I could ever maintain 40 min of spinning at
around 155 and up to 164. The way I currently break down a 1:30:00 workout
would be a 20 min warmup slowly bringing my HR up to about 135-140 and then
spin (and maintain) my HR at between 140-149 for about 40-50 min (giving me
an avg of around 144 I guess) and then cooldown (maybe 10 min at around 130
and 20 min at 120-125)

Should I try to vary my sessions so I get a few minutes in that proposed
zone? (149-164) Maybe bring up my HR to 155 for 2 minutes and then recover
at around 135 and bring it back up to 144 and then get a few more minutes at
around 155 or so? This way I would have the greater time spent at about 140
or so and a small % (maybe a total of 10 to 15 min) at around 155 in a 1h30
spinning session?

Thanks!

09-03-2007, 01:56 AM

On Mar 5, 8:12 pm, "Remi" <[Only registered and activated users can see links. ].ca> wrote:
> This is the site I use to get my MHR.[Only registered and activated users can see links. ]
>
> From this site, based on my RH = 45 and my age at 28, my aerobic zone (70% -
> 80%) should be 149-164.
>
> My question is, if I do 1h30 hours of spinning, should I try to get about 40
> min of my time in this zone?
>
> Reason I'm asking is because I can do about 40-50 min at an avg of around
> 144-146 BPM but I don't think I could ever maintain 40 min of spinning at
> around 155 and up to 164. The way I currently break down a 1:30:00 workout
> would be a 20 min warmup slowly bringing my HR up to about 135-140 and then
> spin (and maintain) my HR at between 140-149 for about 40-50 min (giving me
> an avg of around 144 I guess) and then cooldown (maybe 10 min at around 130
> and 20 min at 120-125)
>
> Should I try to vary my sessions so I get a few minutes in that proposed
> zone? (149-164) Maybe bring up my HR to 155 for 2 minutes and then recover
> at around 135 and bring it back up to 144 and then get a few more minutes at
> around 155 or so? This way I would have the greater time spent at about 140
> or so and a small % (maybe a total of 10 to 15 min) at around 155 in a 1h30
> spinning session?
>
> Thanks!

Remi,

First off, I think it's important to realize that everyone is
different as far as their HR is concerned. Your level of fitness,
fitness history, age, and a multitude of other factors all play into
you HR levels. I have a training buddy of mine that is the same age
as me (28) and we've been following the exact same training schedule
for the same triathlon. Cycling, his HR is consistently about 10-20
bpm lower than mine at any given level of exertion, and while running
that spread is even greater.

Point is, everyone is different. And that makes it very difficult to
force your HR training into generic "zones" that are nothing more that
rough estimates that don't really apply to anyone in particular. The
best way to really determine your HR zones is to have a metabolic
testing done. Basically you get on a bike trainer and get hooked up
with a mask that detects your oxygen and CO2 output over various
levels of exertion. The same would be done with running, if you are a
runner. They can then calculate YOUR exact HR "zones" which would be
your anaerobic threshold, your steady state (aerobic) range and warm
up ranges. A local tri club or fitness center can probably carry out
those tests, and they are well worth it if you are really serious
about understanding you training zones.

I'm going to go out on a limb and suggest that the reason you can't
maintain 155-164bpm for 40 minutes is because that range may be just
at, or slightly above your anaerobic threshold, the zone you'd reserve
for high intensity intervals, sprinting, etc. Whatever your aerobic
zone is, that's where you want to spend most of your time training
depending on what your training goals are. You should be able to
maintain that HR level "indefinitely" and it should be at a level
where you can carry out a conversation. If you're huffing and puffing,
legs/lungs are are on fire, and the last thing you want to do is talk,
then you're anaerobic.

What you are describing in your last paragraph is essentially interval
training which should be done sparingly, again depending on you level
of fitness and overall goals. As long as you have a solid base (call
it several months) of aerobic training, then you should be ok to start
adding in some intervals.

I don't know if that was the answer you were looking for, but I hope
it sheds some light on the subject.

Good luck...!