Heart Rate Monitor, Spinners, and Road Biking

1st theory: Does anyone else wear heart rate monitors in the class? In
a close in area, there is a good possiblity your reciever is picking up
someone else's monitor (happens all the time with me at the gym).

2nd: Are you using your bike, or a stationary bike? Many of the
stationary bikes are not too good at reading HR. The ones at the gym I
use don't go above 165bpm.

3rd: The Saturday rides are cooler. HRMs work best when wet with sweat.
If you're not sweating enough, you will get all sorts of strange
readings. You can coat the pads with spit or water when you put it on
and it will help a bit.

So, if you are riding your own bike in the spin class, and there are no
other HRM transmitters nearby, I would use the numbers from the spin
class. Otherwise, wait for a warm day to figure out your max HR and
take the readings with a grain of salt on other days.

BTW: I got a lot of good infomation from The_Heart_Rate_Monitor_Book
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0963463306/104-1392141-9618362?v=glance&n=283155

You really don't want to go above your AT for any real lengh of time.
The idea is that you work out at no more than about 80% of your max HR.
You should listen to what your body tells you more than what the
numbers say, at least as far as the high end. When I used one (I live
in a very cool, dry enviroment now and they don't work), I found it
more useful to keep me moving when my HR would drop. They are a lot of
fun, and are great sources of useful/useless information (HEY! that
hill made my HR jump way up!)

Eric

Eric said:

1st theory: Does anyone else wear heart rate monitors in the class? In
a close in area, there is a good possiblity your reciever is picking up
someone else's monitor (happens all the time with me at the gym).

Class? Hrm? I just ride and if I don't have a heart attack and I can
still feel my heart beat when I get back it was a good ride?
57 YO, 185BPM max so far, still here.

Quoted message said:

2nd: Are you using your bike, or a stationary bike? Many of the
stationary bikes are not too good at reading HR. The ones at the gym I
use don't go above 165bpm.

Stationary bike? Gym? Lightweight?

Quoted message said:

3rd: The Saturday rides are cooler. HRMs work best when wet with sweat.
If you're not sweating enough, you will get all sorts of strange
readings. You can coat the pads with spit or water when you put it on
and it will help a bit.

So, if you are riding your own bike in the spin class,

Buy a real bike.

and there are no

Quoted message said:

other HRM transmitters nearby, I would use the numbers from the spin
class. Otherwise, wait for a warm day to figure out your max HR and
take the readings with a grain of salt on other days.

BTW: I got a lot of good infomation from The_Heart_Rate_Monitor_Book
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0963463306/104-1392141-9618362?v=glance&n=283155

You really don't want to go above your AT for any real lengh of time.
The idea is that you work out at no more than about 80% of your max HR.
You should listen to what your body tells you more than what the
numbers say, at least as far as the high end. When I used one (I live
in a very cool, dry enviroment now and they don't work), I found it
more useful to keep me moving when my HR would drop. They are a lot of
fun, and are great sources of useful/useless information (HEY! that
hill made my HR jump way up!)

Eric

Just keep it beating fast enough to feel and be able to count it without
a chest strap or feeling your wrist, then you know it is up there.
Bill

Never Enough Money said:

My theory is that spinners classes are in air conditioned rooms at
about 72 degrees F. I leave pools of sweat on the floor beneath the
handlebars. The Staurday rides are arounf 55 degrees F and I am just
right. I suspect my body is having trouble cooling itself in the
spinners classes.

I've noticed the same phenomenon between my trainer and riding
outdoors. It could be because outdoors you have to do a number of
subtle things to maintain balance, turn, etc.; you're calling
additional muscles into play. Riding on a fixed trainer, balance and
turning are taken out of the equation. Then there's the mental factor
-- I think it's easier mentally to push yourself to the top of a hill,
to the next telephone pole, etc. than to simply "go harder/longer" on a
trainer. The other factors you mention (heat, humidity, wind, etc.)
undoubtedly add to the confusion.

-JR

Thanks - comments embedded.

Eric said:

1st theory: Does anyone else wear heart rate monitors in the class? In
a close in area, there is a good possiblity your reciever is picking up
someone else's monitor (happens all the time with me at the gym).

Seems if I was getting interference the HR would go high. I'm observing
low. In other words, I have to work harder on the real bike outside in
50 degree temps to get my HR to AT than I do in Spinners class.

Quoted message said:

2nd: Are you using your bike, or a stationary bike? Many of the
stationary bikes are not too good at reading HR. The ones at the gym I
use don't go above 165bpm.

I'm using the wrist watch model from Polar. I am riding one of the
cheap Swinn spinners bikes, not my own.

Quoted message said:

3rd: The Saturday rides are cooler. HRMs work best when wet with sweat.
If you're not sweating enough, you will get all sorts of strange
readings. You can coat the pads with spit or water when you put it on
and it will help a bit.

I'm plenty wet with sweat. I don't think that's the problem.

Quoted message said:

So, if you are riding your own bike in the spin class, and there are no
other HRM transmitters nearby, I would use the numbers from the spin
class. Otherwise, wait for a warm day to figure out your max HR and
take the readings with a grain of salt on other days.

BTW: I got a lot of good infomation from The_Heart_Rate_Monitor_Book
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0963463306/104-1392141-9618362?v=glance&n=283155

You really don't want to go above your AT for any real lengh of time.
The idea is that you work out at no more than about 80% of your max HR.
You should listen to what your body tells you more than what the
numbers say, at least as far as the high end. When I used one (I live
in a very cool, dry enviroment now and they don't work), I found it
more useful to keep me moving when my HR would drop. They are a lot of
fun, and are great sources of useful/useless information (HEY! that
hill made my HR jump way up!)

Eric

SlowRider wrote:
[snip]

Quoted message said:

I've noticed the same phenomenon between my trainer and riding
outdoors. It could be because outdoors you have to do a number of
subtle things to maintain balance, turn, etc.; you're calling
additional muscles into play. Riding on a fixed trainer, balance and
turning are taken out of the equation. Then there's the mental factor
-- I think it's easier mentally to push yourself to the top of a hill,
to the next telephone pole, etc. than to simply "go harder/longer" on a
trainer. The other factors you mention (heat, humidity, wind, etc.)
undoubtedly add to the confusion.

Sounds like a good theory. I know spinners requires a great deal of
mental drive for me - it's pretty boring even with the loud music and
hot babes around me.

Quoted message said:

-JR