Respiratory system

[dave602z]

As an ex-smoker of 8 months and a MTB'er of 7 months, I have found that, when I'm going up a big climb, my legs do not hurt (relatively speaking), but I have trouble keeping my heart rate down, and keeping my breath. My max heart rate is about 198bpm, and it gets unpleasant when it goes over 187bpm. I can hold between 180-185bpm for most of the climb.

This leads me to believe that my respiratory system, is lagging behind my muscle system (if you know what I mean).

I'm 36 with just under 1000 miles under my belt (on and off road, but on a MTB), and I could do with losing about a stone.

Any suggestions how I can improve my respiratory system, I have tried running but it takes to much out of my knees.

Cheers

Dave

 

[zewol]

There ain't much things to help you lower your heart beat when going uphills...you'd better lower your 'regular heart beat' (to know this one just take your frequency when awaking in the morning , before you do anything)

I good but very hard training I did interval running for 30 seconds sprints at 100% of my capacity 5 times a serie , for three series...that may be a bit rough for you if you are having knee problems, but doing intervals on a bike is mostly the same thing.

A good way to do it is to find a long straight flat road portion where you can make your sprints (try not to chose a very passing road because you might not keep a nice straight line if you really push the pedals hard!

try to make your sprints on a high gear where you would struggle to push for a long time, but not too hard so you exhaust your legs right away....

I hope you get the point about my explanations...feel free to consider various opinions on these boards ,as I think my hints may help you , it may not be the best thing for you...!!!

 

[zewol]

If suffering is not wath you are looking for... you may wath to try to do short but intense training sessions in order to acustom your heart to work hard and by that way increase its blood pumping capacity.

30 min. is a good lenght for these kinds of rides...think of a time trial , guys push themselves to their limits for a short period of time while still keeping their heart rate under their max heart rate.

try using a mid-high gear and keep the same pace all ride long , and if you encounter hills on your way , try pushing a bit more on these (concentrating on your weakness).

good luck

 

[Aztec]

When I came back to the bike early this year after a very long layoff, I had exactly the same thing. Very high HR, and yet my legs had plenty of life in them. After 1000 miles, the situation was still the same.

I'm at around 1500 miles now, probably more I think, and it's slowly starting to change. I am definitely noticing the legs feeling more of the weak link, and my HR is slightly lower.

 

[dhk]

Just my opinion, but I think it takes lots of base miles and hours to develop the cardiovascular system for biking and bring the real improvement you're looking for. You're asking your leg muscles to do a lot of work here, but without the capillary and vascular plumbing to move large volumes of oxygen from the lungs to your leg muscles, your heart is working hard with limited results.

This may sound "old-school" , but suggest you concentrate on base miles at about 65% of max HR for the next 1500-2000 miles or more. You can ride more hours/week this way without the stress and exhaustion that comes with going above your lactate threshold. I'll bet your HR will decrease a lot if you give it time.

The hard training Zewol describes above is certainly good for more advanced riders in limited doses, but I'd be concerned about over doing it if you're in your first season.

Dan

 

[zaskar]

why worry about what your hrt is when climbing? just climb the hills. my hrt is all ways the highest when i climb it always will
be, as long as you get faster on the hills and can climb longer
without lactic acid burn that's what matters.

I also agree with DHK.......... BASE MILES.

 

[Tara Louise]

i found this informaton most helpful and it really sounds like you know wat u r talking about
thank you

taza lou

Originally posted by zewol
B]If suffering is not wath you are looking for... you may wath to try to do short but intense training sessions in order to acustom your heart to work hard and by that way increase its blood pumping capacity.

30 min. is a good lenght for these kinds of rides...think of a time trial , guys push themselves to their limits for a short period of time while still keeping their heart rate under their max heart rate.

try using a mid-high gear and keep the same pace all ride long , and if you encounter hills on your way , try pushing a bit more on these (concentrating on your weakness).

good luck [/B]