TSS vs hrTSS
I posted a question about power meters for mountain bikes and got some good answers, but as I researched it and thought about it I realized I probably asked the wrong question. I've been mountain biking since last fall and using a heart rate monitor since I don't have a power meter for the bike. So the question maybe should have been, "Do I need a power meter or is using hrTSS good enough?"
I went into Training Peaks and looked at several rides that I've done on my tri-bike with a Powertap C1 powermeter and compared the TSS to hrTSS and in most cases the TSS was higher than the hrTSS especially on FTP and Vo2 Max workouts. I also took a look as some rides on my road bike which has a PT hub. Those rides tended to be longer and more leisurely, i.e., lower intensity, because I was usually riding with Susan or exploring places in France recently. In those cases my hrTSS tended to be higher than my TSS, usually by quite a bit.
I don't know how useful a powermeter will be on a lot of the mtb rides I do since a lot of it is steep climbs that last for a few minutes and sometimes it's all that I can do to push the pedals around to keep going up and not falling over. But what I am concerned about is possibly under counting my TSS on these rides and digging myself into a hole especially as an older athlete. Any thoughts?
I went into Training Peaks and looked at several rides that I've done on my tri-bike with a Powertap C1 powermeter and compared the TSS to hrTSS and in most cases the TSS was higher than the hrTSS especially on FTP and Vo2 Max workouts. I also took a look as some rides on my road bike which has a PT hub. Those rides tended to be longer and more leisurely, i.e., lower intensity, because I was usually riding with Susan or exploring places in France recently. In those cases my hrTSS tended to be higher than my TSS, usually by quite a bit.
I don't know how useful a powermeter will be on a lot of the mtb rides I do since a lot of it is steep climbs that last for a few minutes and sometimes it's all that I can do to push the pedals around to keep going up and not falling over. But what I am concerned about is possibly under counting my TSS on these rides and digging myself into a hole especially as an older athlete. Any thoughts?
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Having said that I'm sure you could work the numbers, adjust them and by listening your body limit (hopefully avoid) overtraining. Even with TSS I've walked myself in to a brick wall here and there. My thoughts if you do use hrTSS.
- keep tracking the hrTSS but if you know it's a more leisurely mountain bike ride then adjust the TSS a little less and similarly for a hard higher intensity ride add some TSS. Not the best but at least you will have a number that hopefully reflects your actually TSS better. Use the data you have from the road bike to base your changes.
- start tracking other metrics distance if possible (time otherwise) and intensity, resting morning heart rate, weight, how the workout felt, and levels of muscular soreness and fatigue. These are useful to track even with TSS.
For me the morning HR is a big indicator. If you have been tracking it for 2 or 3 weeks, have not had a long layoff then a raise in morning 4-6 beats per minute for me I'm close to needing some down time. Some articles say above 7, i'd be pretty shelled in the OS by that time. One easier day or two or a day off and I'm feeling better.