Cycling Heart Rate & Legs Aching

hopwoods1
hopwoods1 Posts: 41 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
Hi All

I'm relatively new to regular working out but I'm having a small problem.
I've read that for fat loss while doing cardio you should aim to do moderate rate exercise. By moderate take a heart rate of 180 bpm and subtract your age. For me that means a target heart rate of 150 bpm.

The first week of exercise this was ok. The following week it went down to 140, and now I struggle to keep above 130. I hardly break a sweat after 15 minutes.
The problem I have is my legs really ache while doing it and If I reduce resistance, my heart rate goes down further. Increasing resistance only makes it tougher on my legs, for small gains in heart rate.

Any advice?

Replies

  • DavPul
    DavPul Posts: 61,406 Member
    Ignore your heart rate and just work out. Use as much intensity (speed + resistance) as you can maintain over your desired workout duration
  • newfette81
    newfette81 Posts: 185
    if you don't want to up the resistance then maybe pedal faster to get your heart pumping?

    also try intervals. the lower resistance will give your legs a break before each high intervals. The achey feeling is probably just the lactic acid building up. it sucks but mind over matter and you can push through it. Just my two cents
  • redcon1228
    redcon1228 Posts: 28
    My only advie is keep pedaling. New cyclists will have achy legs, as will experienced cyclists after a ride. Granted, my legs ache a lot less after 100 miles now than they did the first time I attempted a century, but they still ache. There is a reason that all pro cycling teams have a masseur/masseuse on staff.
  • tigersword
    tigersword Posts: 8,059 Member
    Ignore your heart rate and just work out. Use as much intensity (speed + resistance) as you can maintain over your desired workout duration
    This. Heart rate is honestly a pretty poor indicator of workout effectiveness, generally speaking.
  • volleypc
    volleypc Posts: 134 Member
    There's some good information about running heart rate vs cycling heart rate. One good source is http://www.slowtwitch.com/mainheadings/coachcorn/cyclingrate.html The two paragraphs below are from the article.

    ...What I hope to impart is that it isn't set in stone that your heart rates must be 10 or 15 beats lower while on the bike versus running. If you can't get your heart rate up while cycling it's simply because you're a better runner than a cyclist. The idea is not to attempt to raise your heart rate for the heck of it, but to raise the level of your cycling ability so that your well-trained cardiovascular system can get off he bench and into the game.

    One way to achieve this is certaintly to lift lower body weights, as has been noted above. But I prefer more sport-specific ways, because that is why cyclists are able to generate cycling power that triathletes can't hope to match. I'd prefer to perform power workouts while on the bike. Cyclists often motorpace for this, but there are logistical impediments to riding behind a powered scooter. One might resort to trainer workouts, such as the one I describe in oxygen consumption drift. Another way is to ride a lot of hills, and there are specific hill workouts described elsewhere in Slowtwitch (danged if I can find them right now)....
  • hopwoods1
    hopwoods1 Posts: 41 Member
    Thanks all, I'll try the interval setting today and see how it goes.
  • p4ulmiller
    p4ulmiller Posts: 588 Member
    Hi hopwoods,

    Only this week, I changed my cycling regime in line with this report: http://www.howtobefit.com/five-heart-rate-zones.htm

    I've found it immensely helpful, as I can sustain a longer route. I've noticed a body shape change and a few pounds off already this week.

    Give it a go.
  • Capt_Apollo
    Capt_Apollo Posts: 9,026 Member
    do some research on shifting gears. cycling is not supposed to be as hard as people make it to be. keep your legs spinning, in lower gears. let the bike work for you.

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