Isopower Ergo intervals, HR and Vo2

[rmur17]

I know HR can vary for a multitude of reasons not related to exercise intensity but ...

This fall I did a block with quite a few long isopower L4 intervals.

For the 1st 5-min average HR (Ahr) might be low 140's ... then slowly and steadily increase to the low 160's, upper 160's and occasionally low 170's (when i'm really hitting it) before failure. This pattern was repeatable - an increase of 20 bpm or more past the 1st 5-min of the interval.

Questions: is any of that increased HR due to the 'slow component' of Vo2? As my max. HR is 180 or less, could I be getting close to Vo2max during such intervals? Other thoughts?

My typical interval length is 20-40 min with the occasional full-blown hour. Intensity varies inversely with duration from 1.05 to 1.00 FTP

 

[acoggan]

I know HR can vary for a multitude of reasons not related to exercise intensity but ...

This fall I did a block with quite a few long isopower L4 intervals.

For the 1st 5-min average HR (Ahr) might be low 140's ... then slowly and steadily increase to the low 160's, upper 160's and occasionally low 170's (when i'm really hitting it) before failure. This pattern was repeatable - an increase of 20 bpm or more past the 1st 5-min of the interval.

Questions: is any of that increased HR due to the 'slow component' of Vo2? As my max. HR is 180 or less, could I be getting close to Vo2max during such intervals? Other thoughts?

My typical interval length is 20-40 min with the occasional full-blown hour. Intensity varies inversely with duration from 1.05 to 1.00 FTP

Cardiac drift exceeds VO2 drift, i.e., just because your heart rate drifted close to VO2max doesn't necessarily mean that your VO2 did. In fact, if the power were really below your maximal lactate steady state/critical/functional threshold power, you wouldn't expect much VO2 drift at all.

 

[rmur17]

Cardiac drift exceeds VO2 drift, i.e., just because your heart rate drifted close to VO2max doesn't necessarily mean that your VO2 did. In fact, if the power were really below your maximal lactate steady state/critical/functional threshold power, you wouldn't expect much VO2 drift at all.

okay... but these are usually at or slightly above FTP say 1.03 for 30min to pick one example. And I very recently did a full-on hour test so my FTP is pinned down quite well.

Is that 20 bpm or more drift indicative of anything? Other than I'm too fat

12-14C and one fan at my right shoulder with another small fan on the load-generator (which blows up my back and I'll literally shiver if doing only tempo power).

Oh well, I guess one of these days I'll just have to break down and do some *real* training!

 

[acoggan]

okay... but these are usually at or slightly above FTP say 1.03 for 30min to pick one example. And I very recently did a full-on hour test so my FTP is pinned down quite well.

Is that 20 bpm or more drift indicative of anything? Other than I'm too fat

12-14C and one fan at my right shoulder with another small fan on the load-generator (which blows up my back and I'll literally shiver if doing only tempo power).

Oh well, I guess one of these days I'll just have to break down and do some *real* training!

I'd think of it this way: as the power approaches/exceeds maximal lactate steady state/critical/functional threshold power, the 'slow component' to VO2 kinetics will become evident/more prominent, to the point that if you try to do efforts at, say, 50% of the way between that power and the minimal power elicting VO2max, you might drift all the way up to VO2max in just a handful of minutes. On top of that, though, you're going to have superimposed an additional upward drift in heart rate, due to, e.g., increased vasodilation in the skin for cooling purposes. What that means is that there will always tend to be greater upward drift in heart rate than in VO2, although the exact magnitude of this non-paralleledness (is that a word? ) will depend upon environmental conditions, etc.

 

[rmur17]

I'd think of it this way: as the power approaches/exceeds maximal lactate steady state/critical/functional threshold power, the 'slow component' to VO2 kinetics will become evident/more prominent, to the point that if you try to do efforts at, say, 50% of the way between that power and the minimal power elicting VO2max, you might drift all the way up to VO2max in just a handful of minutes. On top of that, though, you're going to have superimposed an additional upward drift in heart rate, due to, e.g., increased vasodilation in the skin for cooling purposes. What that means is that there will always tend to be greater upward drift in heart rate than in VO2, although the exact magnitude of this non-paralleledness (is that a word? ) will depend upon environmental conditions, etc.

interesting ... my perception of a couple of 20MP tests that I threw in there say 1.05-1.06 FTP was that I was pretty close to aerobic max. Power was nowhere near what I could hold for a 5MP test but the last 3-min of the 20 felt pretty maximal.

thanks for the insight ...

 

[SolarEnergy]

Is that 20 bpm or more drift indicative of anything? Other than I'm too fat

I don't know if this will help but I see hr drift in my rider's files. All the time when they're training indoor. And around 20bpm isn't unusual.

Now, as far as I'm concerned. The drift is more around 30bpm. That starts from 150, and goes up to 178-180. All that is occuring during the first 45min of a workout. I generate less power indoor (not enough guts).

How does this differ from a typical summer L4 workout? Well outdoor, I just hit 173-175 within the first 5-10minutes, and the number goes up to 178 by the end or a 60min TT.

In other words, for me, the findings have been that outdoor, I just start at a higher power level, hit higher HR numbers sooner in the workout, but the ceiling seems to remain the same. If I had enough courage to try a 60min on the trainer at my summer's power level, I bet there would be virtually no drift.

 

[ric_stern/RST]

I'd think of it this way: as the power approaches/exceeds maximal lactate steady state/critical/functional threshold power, the 'slow component' to VO2 kinetics will become evident/more prominent, to the point that if you try to do efforts at, say, 50% of the way between that power and the minimal power elicting VO2max, you might drift all the way up to VO2max in just a handful of minutes. On top of that, though, you're going to have superimposed an additional upward drift in heart rate, due to, e.g., increased vasodilation in the skin for cooling purposes. What that means is that there will always tend to be greater upward drift in heart rate than in VO2, although the exact magnitude of this non-paralleledness (is that a word? ) will depend upon environmental conditions, etc.

This ginger haired idiot has done some work on VO2 slow component etc

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/...=pubmed_AbstractPlus&term="Burnley+M"[Author]

ric