New toy: Garmin heart rate monitor

Like most cyclists, I am a self-confessed data junkie.  Because I love data, analysis, and retooling performance to achieve better numbers, I had resisted plunging all the way down the rabbit hole by getting a heart rate monitor.  But after last season’s cross racing experiment, I decided–I’m in.  Let’s do this, the right way.  With data and stats and some real training.  So I asked Santa, and Santa delivered.

My new HR Monitor is a Garmin and works with my Garmin Edge 500.  I tested it out on my “high intensity day” yesterday and here was the result, as provided by my Garmin data and Strava:

I’ve started playing with the Miller Formula to learn where I should be. I am quickly learning that a lot of this is subjective, and not everyone is the same. According to the formula, my maximum heart rate is 181. But clearly my numbers are actually higher.    These numbers are appropriate because it was a high intensity training ride, and designed to make my performance faster. But I should be hanging out in 130-150 zone to build endurance.

Heart Rate Zones for Exercising Chart:

* Healthy Heart Zone (Warm up) = 50 – 60% of maximum heart rate:
* Fitness Zone (Fat Burning) = 60 – 70% of maximum heart rate
* Aerobic Zone (Endurance Training) = 70 – 80% of maximum heart rate
* Anaerobic Zone (Performance Training) = 80 – 90% of maximum heart rate
* Red Line (Maximum Effort) = 90 – 100% of maximum heart rate

More to come on this as I learn more about training within heart rate zones.  The reading I’ve done so far indicate that mixing things up will make me strong, fast and with enough endurance to last.

-Karen

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