High heartrate for hours? page

[Ghâshûl]

So chronic cardio is bad, because of the stress level over extended time.
I can very much dig slow moving and sprinting, but when I get on a bike I just can't help but to go all in.

I took a 35km trip the other day, took just shy of one hour and forty minutes, wearing a heart rate monitor (not looking at the heartrate while driving, but just to be able to garner some information to satisfy my curiosity)

Now looking at the result, max heart rate was 201bpm and the average over the entire ride was 169bpm. This is the distribution of time spent in different 'zones'): (Rest 0%, Warm up 0%, Fatburn 0%, Aerobic 2%, Anerobic 33%, Redline 62%)

Is there anything to be concerned about with that high heart rate? I probably won't do that type of rides more than once or twice a week tops, doing shorter rides on the other days (to and from work/school and such, but still with intensity)

Also, I thought of doing this fasted (rode to my parents house, to have lunch straight after the ride), but opted for a protein shake with extra bcaa. Any thoughts on whether that's necesarry or not? I should think doing it fully fasted, or just with bcaa's should be fine, but I got second thoughts just before going.

[adamm]

Is this a serious question, or are you just poking fun?

I mean, asking this crowd if deliberately elevating your heart rate to a dangerous zone for extended periods of time is ok is not exactly, uhm...

Yeah, nm. You were kidding.

Heh. Fell for it.

--Me

[pyro13g]

Is this a serious question, or are you just poking fun?

I mean, asking this crowd if deliberately elevating your heart rate to a dangerous zone for extended periods of time is ok is not exactly, uhm...

Yeah, nm. You were kidding.

Heh. Fell for it.

--Me

I hope it's a joke 'cuz it's nothing but bad ideas. That ride, fasted, is absolute insanity. 62 minutes red-lined sounds like a death wish.

[Ghâshûl]

I seriously didn't realize it was going to be like that... As I said, I didn't check any of it during the ride. I felt fine all the way through, and slowed down when I felt I needed to. It was transportation by the way, so it's not like I can just decide not to go...
So I didn't *deliberately* put my heartrate up there at all.
But I can see you guys will be no help at all, so I'll let it drop. If riding a bike is incompatible with the PB, then that's just one way I'll have to deviate from the program.

[mike_h]

I wonder what your heart rate monitor considers the threshold for "redline"?
Also how, is your fitness? Averaging 169bpm for ~20km/h seems high, unless it was hilly territory. Although I'm not a cyclist so I don't know what might be typical for that pace.

Since you enjoy doing this I'd just keep an eye on how you feel (mixed metaphor?) for signs of overreaching, like tiredness or a drop in performance. I suspect you'll be fine.

[fastersteve]

I race cars as a hobby. Racing a car is nothing like a relaxing drive down the highway.

There have been many studies where they put monitors on drivers and found their H/R was 160 or MORE BPM's for the duration of the race, 30 minutes to several hours depending on what and when you're racing.

Most of my races are 45 minute sprint races with the occasional 2 hours at a time enduro. Even before I became primal, I'd get out of the car feeling like I could get back in and do another race. I wouldn't really get tired until I sat down at the hotel that night. Now, being in better shape than ever before, it just doesn't seem to phase me.

I wouldn't worry about it as long as you feel good while doing it.

[Ghâshûl]

Awesome, thanks for the replies
My fitness is pretty good, I've been working out with Starting Strength and sprints, and have lost ~50lbs this year after discovering PB. My resting heart rate is around 50-55bpm. My resting heart rate was always fairly low, even when I was fat.
I didn't experience any nausea or lightheadedness or other negative symptoms. The only thing was a bit less energy the last stretch, so I just rode a bit slower for the remainder.
I wonder if the fact that this was my first longer trip riding clipped to the pedals was part of the reason the heart rate got higher than usual, as you can both push and pull on the pedals, instead of only pushing like with normal pedals. Also it was quite windy.

You can see the data for the ride here:
SportsTrackLive | Ghashul | Cycling

[sbhikes]

I used to ride my bicycle with a couple of guys and I think I was at red line the entire time. I really hated it. It felt awful while I did it. I felt totally wasted after. I started to dread the emails announcing the next ride. I finally quit. That was way before I heard of chronic cardio, but once I heard that term I knew exactly what it was, and it was what I had been doing on those damn bike rides. Now when I ride I breathe through my nose the entire way. I barely break a sweat. I totally love it.

[Ghâshûl]

The only way I can drive like that is if I am going along with someone who is going at that pace, and even then it's hard
I've never much liked running (although do enjoy sprinting after discovering PB), and much prefer to walk calmly.
Put me on a bike though, and I want to go fast!

My ride to work is only two miles (sadly), but I still ride as fast as I can, and it doesn't feel bad at all.

[kmax1000]

The only way I can drive like that is if I am going along with someone who is going at that pace, and even then it's hard
I've never much liked running (although do enjoy sprinting after discovering PB), and much prefer to walk calmly.
Put me on a bike though, and I want to go fast!

My ride to work is only two miles (sadly), but I still ride as fast as I can, and it doesn't feel bad at all.

Just curious - at what average speeds and on what kind of terrain are you riding (have a GPS upload?)? That's a pretty high heart rate. For comparison, when I am climbing with CAT 3 to CAT 5 racers I generally stay in the low 180's on most local CAT2 climbs. 16-17MPH local hilly rides usually average around 145bpm for me and I am not in fantastic shape by any stretch.

Cheers.