Finding Tempo

[wiredued]

I have a magnetic exercise bike with ten resistance levels I tried level 8 at a cadence of 106 even after 30 minutes I could not get my heart rate up to 160bpm (tempo for me supposedly). Tempo is a pace you can maintain for 3 hours from what I've read but if I go to a resistance of nine I am pretty sure I wouldn't be able to do that and even after one hour will probably cause damage to my knees. So should I just go by level of exertion and stay with a resistance of 8 is that my true tempo even if my heart rate doesn't say it is?

 

[frenchyge]

Many in this forum would say that intensity is way above Tempo, which could be better described as 'spirited group ride' pace (which could still be a couple hours or more). It's an ambiguous term, but you might make sure you're reading your literature and training zones correctly. Some schema may establish the zones from a 30-min TT HR, but then the zones are based on fractions of that HR.

As far as the training bike goes, you can either raise the cadence on level 8, or switch to level nine and drop the cadence to 90-95. You say you're pretty sure you couldn't do level 9 for even an hour, but earlier you said that Tempo was the intensity you should only be able to hold for 30 minutes, so you shouldn't be expecting to do it for an hour. Sounds like level 9 is where you want to be to get your HR to 160. Still, something doesn't sound right. Is this for intervals? 30-min sessions?

 

[wiredued]

earlier you said that Tempo was the intensity you should only be able to hold for 30 minutes, so you shouldn't be expecting to do it for an hour. Sounds like level 9 is where you want to be to get your HR to 160. Still, something doesn't sound right. Is this for intervals? 30-min sessions?

Sorry I meant 3 hours... anyways I stopped after 30 minutes because I brought my rpm up to 116 for the last few minutes to try and break 160 on the hrm which left me to tired to continue at 106 rpm. 44 minutes at Tempo is what I am shooting for on the indoor bike before a cool down or just easy pedaling before another attempted at it. I think my heart is in better shape than my legs could that be the case?

 

[frenchyge]

Sorry I meant 3 hours... anyways I stopped after 30 minutes because I brought my rpm up to 116 for the last few minutes to try and break 160 on the hrm which left me to tired to continue at 106 rpm. 44 minutes at Tempo is what I am shooting for on the indoor bike before a cool down or just easy pedaling before another attempted at it. I think my heart is in better shape than my legs could that be the case?

In a figurative sense, sure. If you're just recently switching to an indoor bike, then you might try a few more sessions to adjust to the slightly different loading on the pedals. There are several threads about people who have trouble producing their typical power indoors, but I found that after a few sessions everything is back to normal. If that's the issue for you, then you may find it easier to get your HR up after your legs have adjusted to riding indoors.

 

[zaskar]

Sorry I meant 3 hours... anyways I stopped after 30 minutes because I brought my rpm up to 116 for the last few minutes to try and break 160 on the hrm which left me to tired to continue at 106 rpm. 44 minutes at Tempo is what I am shooting for on the indoor bike before a cool down or just easy pedaling before another attempted at it. I think my heart is in better shape than my legs could that be the case?

Why such a high cadence? i can ride tempo for 3 hours but not with a cadence of 106+. do you spin that fast on the road?

 

[wiredued]

Why such a high cadence? i can ride tempo for 3 hours but not with a cadence of 106+. do you spin that fast on the road?

On the flat at threshold for 20 minutes my average cadence is 104 and average speed 20mph. 106rpm doesn't bother me on the magnetic trainer it feels like resistance drops a little bit as cadence increases but even with that 116rpm was to much. All the workouts I've been doing lately have been random resistance and cadence so a steady tempo ride is a shock to me and it is difficult to pin down a comfortable steady pace and load.