Overestimating How Hard We Exercise
The information / discussion in the Cycling Health Forum is not qualified medical advice. Please consult your doctor.
- wombatK
- Posts: 5612
- Joined: Thu Jul 10, 2008 9:08 pm
- Location: Yagoona, AU
Overestimating How Hard We Exercise
Postby wombatK » Fri Jun 20, 2014 10:39 am
when they talked about moderate exercise. And I worried about whether my
150 km riding a week might have been over-the-top (some doctors thought so).
But after reading this, if anything, I need to ride a little harder...
http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2014/06/1 ... blogs&_r=0" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
Who else is surprised to find they might be under-achieving a moderate exercise or vigorous exercise target ?
Somebody has to do something, and it's just incredibly pathetic that it has to be us -Jerry Garcia
- anttismo
- Posts: 260
- Joined: Tue Oct 22, 2013 10:53 am
- Location: SE Melbourne
Re: Overestimating How Hard We Exercise
Postby anttismo » Fri Jun 20, 2014 11:24 am
I'm also not suprised most under estimated either, because I think a few years ago I would of as well. It was somewhat of a suprise to me how uncomfy threshold pace is and how long I can hold it when I first started doing that kind of thing. That is beyond "vigourous" by the sounds of it....
- casual_cyclist
- Posts: 7758
- Joined: Fri Feb 20, 2009 11:41 am
- Location: Kewdale
Re: Overestimating How Hard We Exercise
Postby casual_cyclist » Fri Jun 20, 2014 11:40 am
I have a heart rate monitor so it is easy to tell if I am in the target range or not. Use one of those a for a while and you soon learn how it feels to be in moderate or vigorous.wombatK wrote:Who else is surprised to find they might be under-achieving a moderate exercise or vigorous exercise target ?
- Alex Simmons/RST
- Expert
- Posts: 4997
- Joined: Fri May 02, 2008 3:51 pm
- Contact:
Re: Overestimating How Hard We Exercise
Postby Alex Simmons/RST » Fri Jun 20, 2014 2:48 pm
-
- Posts: 14397
- Joined: Wed Jul 25, 2012 4:40 pm
- Location: Bendigo
Re: Overestimating How Hard We Exercise
Postby warthog1 » Mon Jun 30, 2014 2:39 pm
Alex Simmons/RST wrote:One of the first things many people realise when they measure power output is how much they soft pedal/crystal crank and that they can trainer harder.
Glad I haven't got one then
I suspect I'm alot softer than I like to think.
There's a bloke in our local vets club we call crystal cranks. Soft and missing turns in handicap races then brings out a killer sprint at the end.
- mikesbytes
- Super Mod
- Posts: 22179
- Joined: Thu Dec 01, 2005 11:42 pm
- Location: Tempe, Sydney
- Contact:
Re: Overestimating How Hard We Exercise
Postby mikesbytes » Mon Jun 30, 2014 5:11 pm
And the definition of moderate and intensive is based on a % of your max heart rate. While many of us have discovered our maximum heart rates, which are usually well above the estimations 220-age or 211-(age*0.64) or some other calculation.
Mine is 29 bpm higher than 220-age so if I walked into the place testing and said I didn't know my max heart rate, they would be forced to do the calculation and I'd be able to cruise on what was deemed the 75% mark
- casual_cyclist
- Posts: 7758
- Joined: Fri Feb 20, 2009 11:41 am
- Location: Kewdale
Re: Overestimating How Hard We Exercise
Postby casual_cyclist » Mon Jun 30, 2014 6:12 pm
Looking at my garmin data, my max heart rate would be somewhere around 190 bpm. My "moderate" intensity rides are cycle commuting to work and my "vigorous" rides are King's Park intervals.mikesbytes wrote:Those articles are generally discussing minimum fitness levels and don't apply to most if not all the people in this discussion
According to the article:
Therefore, my commute should be between 121 bpm and 144 bpm.During moderate exercise, according to the Canadian guidelines, your pulse should rise to about 64 percent to 76 percent of your maximum heart rate; during vigorous exercise, your pulse should hover between about 77 percent and 90 percent of your maximum.
My intervals should be between 146 bpm and 171 bpm.
Obviously, this is a guide because I don't know my true HR max.
My actual commute average ranges from 106 to 131 bpm with quite a few of those rides falling lower than 121 bpm.
My actual interval average ranges from 118 to 153 bpm with most rides falling lower than 146 bpm.
I have apparently been slacking off.
- mikesbytes
- Super Mod
- Posts: 22179
- Joined: Thu Dec 01, 2005 11:42 pm
- Location: Tempe, Sydney
- Contact:
Re: Overestimating How Hard We Exercise
Postby mikesbytes » Mon Jun 30, 2014 7:36 pm
The commute average may be lower than its working average if it has stops in it, traffic lights etc causing the heart rate to drop while you watch the cages drive past
By interval average do you mean the entire ride or the interval itself? What are the duration of the intervals? I'm wondering if lag is coming into play?
- redsonic
- Posts: 1777
- Joined: Wed Sep 26, 2012 8:08 pm
- Location: Brisbane
Re: Overestimating How Hard We Exercise
Postby redsonic » Mon Jun 30, 2014 8:04 pm
The article does state that they actually found the participants' max HR by running them on a treadmill first.mikesbytes wrote: Mine is 29 bpm higher than 220-age so if I walked into the place testing and said I didn't know my max heart rate, they would be forced to do the calculation and I'd be able to cruise on what was deemed the 75% mark
Before I bought my HR monitor, I used to manually take my pulse while exercising and found it remarkably consistent - my body "knew" what high intensity exercise felt like. Now I have a HR monitor, and calculated my percentages of maximum given in the article, I am not surprised to find I am exercising at high intensity according to their criteria (and my estimated max using either of their calculations).
I really doubt that the "sedentary" people chosen for the study would (in general) have the experience of exercising while fit that most on this forum would have.
- casual_cyclist
- Posts: 7758
- Joined: Fri Feb 20, 2009 11:41 am
- Location: Kewdale
Re: Overestimating How Hard We Exercise
Postby casual_cyclist » Tue Jul 01, 2014 12:00 pm
I rarely have to stop on my commute but I do a lot of soft pedalling!mikesbytes wrote:The commute average may be lower than its working average if it has stops in it, traffic lights etc causing the heart rate to drop while you watch the cages drive past
I was taking that off the whole ride including cool down, which is not really the correct methodology. I will collect some better data tonight and let you know.mikesbytes wrote:By interval average do you mean the entire ride or the interval itself? What are the duration of the intervals? I'm wondering if lag is coming into play?
- mikesbytes
- Super Mod
- Posts: 22179
- Joined: Thu Dec 01, 2005 11:42 pm
- Location: Tempe, Sydney
- Contact:
Re: Overestimating How Hard We Exercise
Postby mikesbytes » Tue Jul 01, 2014 12:28 pm
- casual_cyclist
- Posts: 7758
- Joined: Fri Feb 20, 2009 11:41 am
- Location: Kewdale
Re: Overestimating How Hard We Exercise
Postby casual_cyclist » Tue Jul 01, 2014 1:06 pm
That is what I am aiming for. I haven't really been monitoring my intensity during my rides though. I have ordered a garmin 500 which should help with that.mikesbytes wrote:I know a rider who does heaps of long rides. Excellence endurance fitness but way slower than one normally is with that level of fitness. I suggested to him to get some short intervals in by taking it easy on the commute and gunning it off some of the traffic lights, a mix of very short maximal sprints and a little longer near maximal sprints
- mikesbytes
- Super Mod
- Posts: 22179
- Joined: Thu Dec 01, 2005 11:42 pm
- Location: Tempe, Sydney
- Contact:
Re: Overestimating How Hard We Exercise
Postby mikesbytes » Tue Jul 01, 2014 7:36 pm
- jules21
- Posts: 10555
- Joined: Thu Apr 02, 2009 11:14 pm
- Location: deep in the pain cave
Re: Overestimating How Hard We Exercise
Postby jules21 » Wed Jul 02, 2014 10:50 am
- casual_cyclist
- Posts: 7758
- Joined: Fri Feb 20, 2009 11:41 am
- Location: Kewdale
Re: Overestimating How Hard We Exercise
Postby casual_cyclist » Wed Jul 02, 2014 1:22 pm
Agree. Up to now I have been only doing lots of easy riding with some occasional moderate. I have been trying to put in one hard effort a week for less than half an hour. I collected better data yesterday and during the "hard" part of the intervals I am averaging 151 with a max of 159. I will probably be able to more in the next couple of weeks. I only want to do one hard session and one moderate session a week for now until I build up a bit more fitness.jules21 wrote:cycling is a bit different to some other forms of exercise, in that it tends to be of longer duration. while it's a waste of time going to the gym for 1/2 hour and walking on the stare master, it's also a trap to try and ride your bike 10 hours a week in the 'hard' effort zone. you will just hit the wall. you need to mix it up on the bike - lots of easy-moderate riding, then shorter, hard efforts and particularly if you're competing - very short maximal ones.
- General Australian Cycling Topics
- Info / announcements
- Buying a bike / parts
- General Cycling Discussion
- The Bike Shed
- Cycling Health
- Cycling Safety and Advocacy
- Women's Cycling
- Bike & Gear Reviews
- Cycling Trade
- Stolen Bikes
- Bicycle FAQs
- The Market Place
- Member to Member Bike and Gear Sales
- Want to Buy, Group Buy, Swap
- My Bikes or Gear Elsewhere
- Serious Biking
- Audax / Randonneuring
- Retro biking
- Commuting
- MTB
- Recumbents
- Fixed Gear/ Single Speed
- Track
- Electric Bicycles
- Cyclocross and Gravel Grinding
- Dragsters / Lowriders / Cruisers
- Children's Bikes
- Cargo Bikes and Utility Cycling
- Road Racing
- Road Biking
- Training
- Time Trial
- Triathlon
- International and National Tours and Events
- Cycle Touring
- Touring Australia
- Touring Overseas
- Touring Bikes and Equipment
- Australia
- Western Australia
- New South Wales
- Queensland
- South Australia
- Victoria
- ACT
- Tasmania
- Northern Territory
- Country & Regional
Who is online
Users browsing this forum: No registered users
- All times are UTC+10:00
- Top
- Delete cookies
About the Australian Cycling Forums
The Australian Cycling Forums is a welcoming community where you can ask questions and talk about the type of bikes and cycling topics you like.
Bicycles Network Australia
Forum Information
Connect with BNA
This website uses affiliate links to retail platforms including ebay, amazon, proviz and ribble.