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Power question for the experts

castallocastallo
in General Training Discussions
New to power training.
When I do prescribed z4 intervals, my power may be in z4 but my heart rate may be in z5.
Does it matter? Should I just ignore the HR numbers and focus solely on power?

Thanks

Comments

  • Peter GreaggPeter Greagg
    Just focus on the watts (that's why you are training with power).
    More precisely, watts are an input whereas heart rate is an output, and heart rate is impacted by other things like the environment, as well as the work you are doing. So heart rate often isn't an accurate measure of the work you are doing.
  • Al TruscottAl Truscott
    Coach R has, until the past month or so, not worn an HR monitor for years when training on the bike, so it's clear what he'd say. The Z5 HR to me says you have some fitness improvements to make. As you train over time, you would probably notice your HR going down week to week, even if you stay at the same power numbers for a given interval.
  • castallocastallo
    Today I did my first test since April. My VO moved up a couple w, but my 20 min test went DOWN from at 213 to a 194. Sorta flummoxed. My HR was nearly identical, as was speed. Garmin PM error? I calibrated before I started. And my intervals have been gaining in power week to week.
  • ezellrhezellrh
    Chris, a couple of questions:
    1. Were all the variables the same between the April test and the July test (i.e. same bike, same position, same PM, same testing environment - indoor/outdoor, same trainer or route, same tire pressure, etc)?
    2. Was your mental mojo 'right' for a test? i.e. were you in the appropriate level of physical excitement / motivation to test?
    3. Any life stress issues this week (i.e. poor sleep, long days at work, favorite baseball team losing, etc)?

    Assuming that the answer to 1 is "generally the same", 2 is "yes" and 3 is "no" (and your calibration was correct), then I'd rack it up to a bad day and look to your body of training (the quantitative data) to see you've gotten stronger. One test does not negate the work that you've performed in the interim between April and now.

    Is it possible to post your power files from each ride for a bit of analysis?
  • castallocastallo
    Thanks - yeah IVe got to figure out how to post those files - are they just the ones off the garmin?

    Your assumed answers all correct - so it must have been a bad day. And the next day, I went out and did 12 min hill repeats at 240 & 230 w so I feel like I've got more power there then the test showed.
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