[Flatlander]

Flatlander on November 28, 2019 at 10:15 pm · in reply to: AeT test issues #33191

Hi everyone,

I just wanted to close the loop on this post and thank everyone for sharing their thoughts with me.

I ran one final test and here are the results:

Date 11/26/2019
Start time 8:51 PM
After work? YES
Test machine Precor Treadmill
HRM Bontrager Chest Strap
Warm-up (minutes) 25:00
At test commencement:

• HR 131
• Treadmill Incline 10.0
• Treadmill Speed (mph) 3.5

HR, 1st 30 min. of test:

• Average 135
• Minimum 129
• Maximum 138

HR, 2nd 30 min. of test:

• Average 139
• Minimum 135
• Maximum 143

Cardiac Drift 3.30%
Nose-breathing 100%

I now have relatively consistent results for my last three tests. The 11/13 and 11/16 tests were done on days that I didn’t work. The 11/13 test had an adjusted starting HR of 131 and adjusted cardiac drift of 0.5%. The 11/16 test had an adjusted starting HR of 134 and adjusted cardiac drift of 3.7%, which is reasonably consistent with the 11/13 test given the higher starting HR for the 11/16 test.

In addition, the 11/13 and my most recent test on 11/26/19 had starting HRs of 131, but the cardiac drift for the 11/26 test was 3.3% versus 0.5% for the 11/13. I believe this increase in cardiac drift can be explained by the fact that I worked 7.5 hours on a retail sales floor on 11/26 (I didn’t work on the day of the 11/13 test) and that I warmed up for 25 minutes on 11/26 (versus 15 minutes for the 11/13 test). So again, these results appear to be reasonable consistent.

While Derek has suggested I use a much lower AeT than that determined by these results, I have decided to set my AeT at 130. I suspect that Derek may very well be right, but Uphill Athlete calls the Heart Rate Drift Test “our go-to test for all our coached athletes” and says, “We like it so much that we include it as the first workout in every aerobically based training plan we offer,” which would include the UA 8-week Basic Mountaineering Plan I’m using, so I’m going to give it a go. Hopefully it works so I can use it to measure my progress as well.

Thanks again to all of you. Happy Thanksgiving!

[Flatlander]

Flatlander on November 28, 2019 at 12:42 pm · in reply to: AeT Test Results I Just Can’t Believe #33164

Scott J. and Scott S.,

This post raises a similar question I posed on another recent post regarding my treadmill cardiac drift test results (Validity of Heart Rate Drift Test): How valid or reliable is this test for setting the AeT we will use in our UA training programs? In my case, others have suggested that I start my Uphill Athlete 8-week Basic Mountaineering Plan at a much lower HR than determined by this test. You seem to suggest that Rodney also train at a lower HR level than determined by his test.

I chose to start with the AeT determined by the test so that I can have a relatively consistent method of measuring my progress. I’m just not confident I made the right decision…

[Flatlander]

Flatlander on November 19, 2019 at 10:12 pm · in reply to: AeT test issues #32306

Thanks for your replies to my latest post, Scott and Derek. Scott, it appears you agree with my plan to use an AeT in the 135-140 range. But Derek, you seem to be suggesting that my AeT might be much lower–and I have had the same nagging suspicion. An initial AeT of 135-140 bpm just seems like it might be too high for a 61-year-old deconditioned athlete, doesn’t it? And yet the original and adjusted results for Tests 2-4 clearly indicate that my AeT is higher than 121 (Test 2), 131 (Test 3) and 134 (Test 4). Hmm. Could I be aerobically deficient but generating these results in Zone 3? If so, is the Heart Rate Drift Test really a valid method for determining AeT for all athletes? Or is something else going on here?

I need to start training this week in order to be prepared for some upcoming winter trips. Hopefully I can figure this out before I start so I can maximize the return on my training time by training as close to, but not above, my AeT. Thanks.

[Flatlander]

Flatlander on November 18, 2019 at 8:54 pm · in reply to: AeT test issues #32239

Thanks, Scott. Here’s some data that would seem to confirm that I need a longer warm-up before commencing the AeT test:

Date 11/11/2019
HR @ 20:00 minutes 121
Avg HR, minutes 20:01-47:50 129
Avg HR, minutes 47:51-75:00 130
Adjusted Cardiac Drift 1.1%

Date 11/13/2019
HR @ 20:00 minutes 131
Avg HR, minutes 20:01-47:50 134
Avg HR, minutes 47:51-75:00 135
Adjusted Cardiac Drift 0.5%

Date 11/16/2019
HR @ 20:00 minutes 134
Avg HR, minutes 20:01-47:50 137
Avg HR, minutes 47:51-75:00 142
Adjusted Cardiac Drift 3.7%

These results were derived by using the same data from Tests 2-4, but adding 5 minutes to the warm-up session and subtracting 5 minutes from the test session. The results from the tests on 11/4 and 11/13 demonstrate that after steadily increasing for 20 minutes, my HR remained in a very narrow range for the next 55 minutes with very little cardiac drift. The test on 11/16 did indicate some cardiac drift at 3.7%, versus 4.4% calculated using a 15-minute warm-up session and 60-minute test session.

Based on the revised results for the 11/16, I believe my AeT is somewhere in the 135-140 range. Where would you suggest I set it based on these results and what you know of my age and (de)conditioning? Or would you suggest I retake the test using a warm-up period that’s long enough for me to get my initial HR closer to 140?

Thanks so much for your assistance.

[Flatlander]

Flatlander on November 18, 2019 at 1:19 pm · in reply to: AeT test issues #32178

Hi depeyster,

Thanks for responding to my post. Good catch on your observations regarding the ranges of my HRs in the first and second halves of my tests. I included that data to try to capture something I saw in graphs of my HRs—they tend to trend upward for the first five minutes of each test (and after the warm-up period), then settle into a relatively narrow zone for the remainder of the test. I suspect, as you do, that my warm-up should be longer than 15 minutes (I was thinking maybe 20 minutes) to allow my HR to stabilize before commencing my test. Tonight I’m going to recalculate the cardiac risk numbers for tests 2-4 using minutes 20-75 just see if that has any meaningful impact on the results. I’ll post them when they’re ready.