Can you relate % of HRM to % of ftp?

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jazclrint
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Joined: Thu Feb 25, 2010 8:05 pm

Can you relate % of HRM to % of ftp?

Post by jazclrint »

So, as I mentioned in another thread, I've won a month of free coaching. Well, I'm more of Guinea pig really. Any way, he apparently doesn't know really how to work with watts, but he know heart rates. For effort on work outs he's given me %s of HRM. Can I just simply apply these percentages to my ftp, or is it just too complicated to do that? I've dug through the archives a bit and found a discussion of heart rate zones. This is a slightly different question, but I'm just curious if the answer if the same, 'not really'.

I'll keep diggin' in the archives.

Thanks,
Rich
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coachboyd
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Re: Can you relate % of HRM to % of ftp?

Post by coachboyd »

I would look more at the zones and try to work within the zones as opposed to just saying 95% of FTP = 95% of threshold HR.

So if he is prescribing you a workout where you are holding 95% of threshold heart rate, take a look at which zone that will put you in. In this example it would be sub threshold so you would be looking at the upper end of zone 3 to the lower end of zone 4 for the power ranges you want to target.

So we have:
Heart rate zones:
0-81% Zone 1: active recovery
82-88% Zone 2: aerobic
89-93% Zone 3: tempo
94-99% Zone 4: sub-threshold
100-102% Zone 5A super-threshold
103-105% Zone 5B: Aerobic Capacity
106%+ Zone 5C: Anaerobic Capacity

Power zones - % of FTP
0-56% Zone 1
57-76% Zone 2
77-91% Zone 3
92-106% Zone 4
107-121% Zone 5
122%+ Zone 6

And if the coach is training people with power meters, they should really learn about power training more. It shouldn't be up to the clients to be guinea pigs for the coach to learn.
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KenS
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Re: Can you relate % of HRM to % of ftp?

Post by KenS »

Also, I read somewhere that if you sustain a constant power output over time your heart rate will continue to rise. And vice versa if you sustain a constant heart rate over time your power output will drop. YMMV
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racerfern
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Re: Can you relate % of HRM to % of ftp?

Post by racerfern »

http://home.trainingpeaks.com/articles/ ... friel.aspx

Try using CoachBoyd's percentages of power in his previous post and let the HR fall where it may. You'll quickly learn your HR zones which can vary substantially depending on age, weight, fitness, fatigue, etc.
Fernando
jazclrint
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Re: Can you relate % of HRM to % of ftp?

Post by jazclrint »

Thanks a bunch guys! That is all quite helpful.
coachboyd wrote: And if the coach is training people with power meters, they should really learn about power training more. It shouldn't be up to the clients to be guinea pigs for the coach to learn.
It's free coaching for a month, and he is a successful coach of people who are completely out of shape and just trying (or needing!) to be healthy. He's not a racer coach, so I don't think most of his clients spend a ton on gear, and most of them would never think of a power meter because of the average cost. I'm really not going to complain. But, I am doing a video blog on the Velo Reviews website, and I talk about my iSport every time, and I spit the numbers out each time as well. Hopefully the word will spread.

Rich
'98 ProFlex 5500c under construction
'13 Schwinn Fastback custom build
'05 Bianchi Axis custom build
'13 Reline Metro Sport custom build
'15 GT Sensor Carbon Pro custom build
'?? A bike who's existence shall not be acknowledged
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