Fitness Forum Q&A 'Changes in HR' explanation

[Indurain]

Very interesting Cyclingnews Fitness Q&A section this month, but what do Points 1 and 2 mean? It was in regards to the guy with HR issues.

There are two possible problems:

1) Extensive training near or above LT suppresses LT heart rate and power. By training roughy half the time near LT, you are making sure that your LT will never rise. Put in a few months of base training before you start riding hard again, and then restrict the hard riding to one or two days per week in general.

2) You may have been overtrained in the old days. Riding near and above threshold makes it easy to ride above threshold heart rate even as it reduces threshold power, so when you used to race at 170 you may have been over threshold, especially if you also used to train hard much of the time as you do now.

Also found this portion of the answer interesting. What are your thoughts on this From Managing Breakaways. Kind of surprised me a little, but takes some pressure away from my training.

Put simply, only one-two days per week in season do you spend more than a few minutes above 80 percent of maximum heart rate if you want to win races, and if one of those days is a race, it's the only day up there for the week.

 

[brianf7]

What Scott is saying is if you go out and flog yourself every time you go training you will leave all the form on the road by time the race is 1/2 over you are just hanging on.

Twice a week above 80% is enough and some people who race 2-3 times a week dont need to do that just stay below 80% of max HR.
80% is not easy training but its hard enough if you are in form and racing.
In breakaways every one should share the work but we know it dosnt happen always someone sitting on then sprint at finish some just dont know how to work .