Conditioning, anaerobic, interval, peak...how do I understand all this? Any pointer, please? MLHA (Make Leo Healty Again)

serviceguy

Well-Known Member
So, I had my follow up visit with my doctor and when discussing safe level of heart rate during exercise the discussion became immediately out of reach for me. He started pulling weird words such as 'conditioning', 'interval training', 'peak', 'anaerobic'...my head started spinning, how am I supposed to understand and memorize that...he then suggested to take a spinning class. As there's only 24 hours in the day and I already have troubles fitting 1 hour of trainer in it with about only 5 to 6 hours sleep (which is already not enough for me), the spinning class is out of question (is lycra mandatory for spinning class, I wonder).

Where do I find easy to understand, readily available and possibly free information on using your heart rate to both monitor and conditioning? I am 52 years old and I would love to get back in shape without killing myself. I always get lost trying to follow the discussions in here about training, probably part of English not being my first language, part the gibberish being used...so there's that! I guess I'm dumb. I just need a few pointers, references to get started in a more organized way.

Right now I am stuck with a standard program off my trainer, 60 mins, 5 min intervals A-B-A-C-A-C-A-C-A-C-A-B-A (with A = low intensity, B= warm up/ cool down, C = high intensity).

Thanks in advance for any advice.
 

Patrick

Overthinking the draft from the basement already
Staff member
Glad you started with the Dr.

Do you wear a heart rate monitor, or use perceived exertion?

80% is what and when you eat. But let's get through the HR thing.

You have to make time for you. And that doesn't mean less sleep.

Make it your spring.
 

mattybfat

The Opinion Police
Team MTBNJ Halter's
I wouldn't do intervals till you have a comfortable base personally.
Eat well (whole foods) and moderate portions and just ride often.

Then put in structure a month or 2 down the line.
 

serviceguy

Well-Known Member
forget it, I'm lost again...perceived exertion ? put in structure? base?

I probably did not explain myself correctly (again the language issue), my problem is that I don't understand these terms (as applied to fitness, not in themselves), I just need a reference to a sort of vocabulary that I can use to understand what all of that means, if that even exists. That's all. I think. I hope.

I do wear a hearth monitor...and I do make time for me, as a matter of fact I'm with me all the time, I'm actually bored with me already...

According to my doctor my current routine is safe even though is very basic (going back to A-B-C my HR is A <130, B<140 and C<160)

I have a time demanding job which also happens to be the only source of income for my family. Spin class no can do. And if I give up what little time I spend on the trails I will be sucked back into oblivion...
 

pooriggy

Well-Known Member
Team MTBNJ Halter's
if I give up what little time I spend on the trails I will be sucked back into oblivion...
I'm not sure why you're asking for help. Did you have some kind of medical setback? Do you want to get in shape for a race?

If your Dr says what excersise you are doing is fine, then no need to make things complicated. Just ride your bike, eat healthy and don't stress life.
 

clarkenstein

JORBA Board Member/Chapter Leader
JORBA.ORG
I also suffer from a terrible job that sucks my time away relentlessly. I’m also the only source of income. So I know your pain.

At this point, just try to find time to ride more. Work it into the mornings or evenings. You don’t need structure to get in shape. Ride 3x a week at a pace where you can carry a conversation with the occasional push and you’ll naturally begin to improve.

Just keep reading to learn. Read the blogs and the articles and subscribe to bike mags. If you go in head first you’ll pick up the lingo.

Try Strava too if you don’t use it yet. It helps. I personally dropped it then pick it up then drop it but if you use it you’ll get faster.
 

dmkalemba

Well-Known Member
my completely un-scientific point of view is that if you have limited time, then you should try to run on days you can't ride.... i hate it, but have found that (in un-scientific terms) it improves my stamina (defined as how long i can ride uphill without having to stop, or how bad/good i feel at the top of a climb) faster than if i only bike.

Slightly more scientific, I wear a Garmin forunner biking, find out my "max heart rate", adjust the training zones and see how much less time i spend in maximum vs. improved average speed on the same route...
 

serviceguy

Well-Known Member
I'm not sure why you're asking for help. Did you have some kind of medical setback? Do you want to get in shape for a race?

If your Dr says what excersise you are doing is fine, then no need to make things complicated. Just ride your bike, eat healthy and don't stress life.
I'm not sure why you're asking for help. Did you have some kind of medical setback? Do you want to get in shape for a race?

If your Dr says what excersise you are doing is fine, then no need to make things complicated. Just ride your bike, eat healthy and don't stress life.

@pooriggy, that's what I am doing, I think. I am working on lowering my weight and blood pressure as a way to get off the drugs I am currently taking for HBP (also it would be nice not being always the boat anchor of each and every ride even with OOS...). Unfortunately all that my 'roadie' doctor offered was that I need conditioning but when I asked for an explanation he started burping out more weird words, when I mentioned that I still did not understand what he was saying i pointed me to...the internet!

So what I am asking is just if there's some sort of reputable website that will explain in easy to understand terms what is conditioning. I will google it, but since a lot of you guys know your way around this stuff I though I could get some quick pointers (as on the internet you can find everything, the opposite of everything and all in between, all strictly true and accurate 100%).

I hope this makes sense.
 

Patrick

Overthinking the draft from the basement already
Staff member
perceived exertion. some people think about your A-B-C in terms of how hard they feel they are working. So the same effort can
feel easy one day, and difficult the next - mostly based on fatigue, but sleep, and food count too. Since you use a heart rate monitor,
there are well defined zones based on your age/max HR that trigger different things to happen. I don't know the physiology, i just know that running
slowly helped me run faster, and farther. I trained at 10+min/mile pace to run low 9s for a marathon. go figure.

what this perceived exertion really did was enable a group leader to tell everyone to "recover" or "hardest effort" and it would mean different HRs and Power numbers
for different people - but each person was to judge their effort.

--

so if i look at an endurance ride - the distribution looks like this chart (based on time in heart rate zone)
These are based on "my heart rate" - you could think of your A as Z2 and below, B as Z3, and C as Z4 - you can now match the
words about zones to your mental map.

Screenshot 2019-04-01 at 17.30.58.png


Here is @terrabike01's race from the short track race (i forgot my HR strap) - he is your age (a few younger than I), but has a significantly different range
for each zone based on his max HR. In the race, he basically runs his heart rate in the upper end of the sustainable zone. Frank finished 3rd in fatbike
and had some podium finishes in MTB last year - he is in very good shape to do this.

Screenshot 2019-04-01 at 17.36.18.png


So as you've established on your trainer, you can "structure" or compose your work-outs, with your A - moderate/conditioning, B -tempo/interval training, C - threshold/Peak - above that is anaerobic - someone else can explain the biology here - i'll just botch what it means in a workout sense.

- so there you have it - some vocabulary - now what to do with it?
training plans will tell you to hit certains zones for a certain amount of time, on certain days....they expect you to follow the plan.
If you don't follow the plan, and fatigue yourself on a recovery day, then can't make the numbers (sustain your heart rate) the next day,
it is postulated that more damage than good was done. @Norm has discussed this in his blog.

As far as "base" - just getting your HR up 3x a week for an hour, then 4x, then add a bit. Nothing crazy. this gives you some "base fitness" to
build upon. Many people start a plan with zero fitness, and get frustrated. You are not at zero.

Since you are an analytical person, I think we just need to get the words into a working framework for you.
One thing about trail riding, it usually doesn't lend itself to long, low HR riding. It is max effort to get up a hill,
or through some rocks, followed by a recovery, either by stopping, or going very slowly. I found this very difficult
from a fitness standpoint. The roadbike was much better. I could choose a hill based on how i felt that day, and
ride "easy" whenever needed.

PS -

I wore lycra to a spin class full of women wearing yoga pants, and got some strange looks - and an odd comment from the owner.
I don't go anymore because of the smart trainer, but i did switch over to a pull up chamois and regular gym shorts.....
 
Last edited:

Dingo

Well-Known Member
I wouldn't do intervals till you have a comfortable base personally.
Eat well (whole foods) and moderate portions and just ride often.

Then put in structure a month or 2 down the line.
Shop at Whole Foods??

No money left for a new bike
 

Paul H

Fearless OOS Poser
More importantly, is my 12x157 suberboost+ rear axle going to be a problem ?
Yes... cuz I can see you getting all excited and getting your BP up when the frame arrives. Btw... speaking of excited... there was mention of wood in the other thread.
 

Mathers

Well-Known Member
perceived exertion. some people think about your A-B-C in terms of how hard they feel they are working. So the same effort can
feel easy one day, and difficult the next - mostly based on fatigue, but sleep, and food count too. Since you use a heart rate monitor,
there are well defined zones based on your age/max HR that trigger different things to happen. I don't know the physiology, i just know that running
slowly helped me run faster, and farther. I trained at 10+min/mile pace to run low 9s for a marathon. go figure.

what this perceived exertion really did was enable a group leader to tell everyone to "recover" or "hardest effort" and it would mean different HRs and Power numbers
for different people - but each person was to judge their effort.

--

so if i look at an endurance ride - the distribution looks like
These are based on "me" - you could think of your A as Z2 and below, B as Z3, and C as Z4 - you can now match the
words about zones to your mental map.

View attachment 91963

Here is @terrabike01's race from yesterday (i forgot my HR strap) - he is your age (a few younger than I), but has a significantly different range
for each zone based on his max HR. In the race, he basically runs his heart rate in the upper end of the sustainable zone. Frank finished 3rd in fatbike
and had some podium finished in MTB last year - he is in very good shape to do this.

View attachment 91965

So as you've established on your trainer, you can "structure" or compose your work-outs, with your A - moderate/conditioning, B -tempo/interval training, C - threshold/Peak - above that is anaerobic - someone else can explain the biology here - i'll just botch what it means in a workout sense.

- so there you have it - some vocabulary - now what to do with it?
training plans will tell you to hit certains zones for a certain amount of time, on certain days....they expect you to follow the plan.
If you don't follow the plan, and fatigue yourself on a recovery day, then can't make the numbers (sustain your heart rate) the next day,
it is postulated that more damage than good was done. @Norm has discussed this in his blog.

As far as "base" - just getting your HR up 3x a week for an hour, then 4x, then add a bit. Nothing crazy. this gives you some fitness to
build upon. Many people go into this and start at zero fitness, and get frustrated. You are not at zero.

Since you are an analytical person, I think we just need to get the words into a working framework for you.
One thing about trail riding, it usually doesn't lend itself to long, low HR riding. It is max effort to get up a hill,
or through some rocks, followed by a recovery, either by stopping, or going very slowly. I found this very difficult
from a fitness standpoint. The roadbike was much better. I could choose a hill based on how i felt that day, and
ride "easy" whenever needed.

PS -

I wore lycra to a spin class full of women wearing yoga pants, and got some strange looks - and an odd comment from the owner.
I don't go anymore because of the smart trainer, but i did switch over to a pull up chamois and regular gym shorts.....
How or where do you start with training like this.
 
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