Trouble getting my heart rate up?!?

If I am runnning then I have no problems getting my HR up to 80% and staying there for an hour or more however on a bike I struggle to get above 65%. Switching to a higher cadence doesn't seem to work. Going to a higher gear and mashing the pedals does get the HR up but I tend to build up lactic acid too quickly. I've been running for several years but I have only recently (3 weeks ago) got into cycling.

The reason is because HRmax is modality dependent along with VO2max. Trained runners will have higher HRmax and VO2max when running compared to cycling, whereas trained cyclists will be the opposite.

Thus, you will need to redetermine your cycling HRmax so that you are training at the correct intensities.

ric

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My max HR on the bike is 178. Running It's 188. As a logical by-product, my anaerobic threshold
is 173 running, but only 165 cycling (done conconi test in both activities). I'm 29. My resting pulse
this morning was 40 bpm. Ok so using Karvonen (SP?= formula for an estimated Max HR of 191 (220-29), my 80% will be (191-40)x0.8 + 40 = 161 bpm., which is 4 beats below anaerobic cycling threshold.
Using the right data, this is : (178-40)* 0.8 + 40 =151, which is a more logical number.
So, for me working out the max on the bike would be crucial to determine training zones.
Nowadays, knowing my AT, I plan my sessions around AT percentage. It works for my. For example, my "bulk" aerobic trainings are between 0.85AT and 0.75AT.

Well, this is only my short experience. Hope that helps!

As has been said before on this forum though, 220-age is a reasonable description of the average max heart rate, but can be way off for any individual. For example, I'm 35 so my max heart rate should be 185 but I've seen my Polar HRM flashing 192 at me in the past month after getting to the top of a steep climb that I can only do out of the saddle...

Dean

And just to emphasize that the opposite can be true, I am a 57 years old, which calculates (using formulas) to an HR Max of 163, but my real HR Max for cycling is only 145.

Formulas are great for the average person, but who is average?

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just to clarify, the regression equation 220-age has a standard deviation of +-15 b/min, and thus is only useful for calculating group averages not individual averages.

ric

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As another example, I'm 39 but I hit 201bpm this year(versus 181 by formula).

Are you riding by yourself? If so, try riding with a few other people. Somebody in that group will be pushing it and you'll want to keep up with them

. . . spinning at 110-120 RPM AND holding or increasing your road speed should increase the heart rate. Are you backing off the effort at the higher cadence?

Believe your muscles and cardiovascular system need some time to adapt to cycling. I think that's what Ric means by "modality dependent". Since cycling uses different muscles than running, you've got to develop those specific muscles, as well as the specific C-V system to keep them supplied with oxygen.

After a season or two of cycling vs running, I'll bet you'll be able to hit your max HR on the bike without any problem.

Rather than mashing the pedals try spinning at a higher cadence. That should help to flush the lactic acid better.

Ric_Stern and DHK are right on the money. They know their stuff. Give it some time and you'll be able to crank out the heart rate just as you currently do with running. Even a schmutz like me can sustain 85% of MaxHR for 3 hours so I'm sure you can do it too.

I think I said that. :-)

Dean

Hey, thanks for the compliment, but I certainly am not in the same league with Ric here. I've just been at this stuff a while, having switched from running to cycling, and talk mostly from personal experience. I went to a couple weekend coaching seminars when I worked with speedskaters at our local club.....that's the extent of my training in sports science.

My problem is same as yours now: the HR goes too high on long climbs. Today I was climbing a steady 11% grade that goes for a mile, sitting down in my 30/25 at 5-6 mph, with HR at 175 (95% of max). Breathing was noticeable, but not a big problem, and the legs felt fine.

Some of the guys passed me right away, but I've learned I do better by staying within my own pace, with steady power output on a long climb. Sure enough, about 2/3 of the way up they were standing at the side of the road gasping for air.

BTW, one of the lightweight racers was along on the ride. His low gear is 39/23, which he was able to push sitting down at about 9 mph. I was just passing halfway when he screamed past downhill so he could do it again. These guys keep me humble.