[J R]

Hi all,

When determining training HRs and zones, do the same heartrates apply to different types of exercise?

For instance, can someone use bicycling to test HR thresholds, then apply them to running or uphill hiking? Or vise versa?

Thanks for any advice!

Topic

[Anonymous]

Anonymous on August 30, 2019 at 9:07 am #27576

No.

Different sports will have different muscular demands. And different levels of experience will have different levels of efficiency. So heart rates and zones will vary from sport to sport.

For example, most of my training has been weight-bearing for the past twenty years and exclusively for the past six. I’m less serious about my performance in those sports, and I’m curious about cycling, so I’ve started biking. My legs are decently strong for weight-bearing sports, but weak for cycling. And I have very little cycling experience. So I can’t hit the same heart rates cycling that I can running or skimo-ing.

Variations per sport also apply to VO2 and lactate tests.

[J R]

J R on August 30, 2019 at 11:05 am #27577

Thanks Scott!

So if my sport is Mountaineering, with mainly a lot of uphill hiking, what would be the best exercise to do my HR zone testing? Stairs with a pack? Inclined treadmill (too fast of running sometimes stresses my left foot)?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous on August 30, 2019 at 4:20 pm #27595

Stairs or an inclined treadmill without extra weight would give you the most helpful information.

Stairs would work, but the test could be interrupted if you get to the top before the end. A treadmill is ideal because you’ll be able to complete the entire test without interruption.

Again, don’t use weight for the test. Extra weight is good for training in the appropriate period, but for testing, you want purely aerobic information. Extra weight will mix aerobic with higher muscular demands. The extra muscular demand may not give you the same heart rates that a purely aerobic test will.