Diminishing returns?

iamgonnamakeit

I went on a ride last night with a group that rides faster than I am use to. I had to REALLY push myself to keep up. I am curious if these types of activities at my age (50) are only hurting me or do they make me stronger? Below is a listing of my heart rate through the duration.
Red Line
173-185
1.24 mi | 00:04:24
Anaerobic
161-172
8.67 mi | 00:32:52
Aerobic
149-160
8.31 mi | 00:31:50
Fat Burning
137-148
5.58 mi | 00:24:47
Easy
126-136
2.27 mi | 00:13:08

rick_po

I assume you're riding a bicycle?

If you're 50, your doctor would probably recommend a stress test, which will give you a much more accurate heart rate range you should be exercising at, and double check that you don't have any lurking cardiac problems.

In general, though, if you're not constantly pushing yourself to improve, you'll plateau. If you're healthy and you can do it, I say do it!

tubzzy77

Pushing yourself isn't going to give you diminishing returns assuming you're getting enough rest/nutrition. That's why cyclists usually take a recovery ride on Monday after their race/century/hard ride which is usually on Sunday. Make sure you get enough rest and go for the ride next week and compare times/heart rate and see if you're improving or not. Remember it never gets easier you just get better at doing it.

scottb81

Redlining at 50 yrs old isn't any different training wise than redlining at 20 yrs old. It will help your training as long as it is done in an appropriate proportion to the rest of your training. It will hurt your training if it is done too much or too often.