What Is a Heart Rate
Monitor?
From the name, as you
can imagine, it’s fairly self-explanatory: it’s a device that is used to
monitor your the amount of times your heart beats in a minutes, often referred to BPM. Typically, these
will be a small ANT+ or Bluetooth enabled device attached to a strap you wear
on your chest; wrist-based monitors are also popular but are less common among
cyclists. The data can then be displayed live via a bike computer (such as a
Garmin) or kept for post-workout/race analysis on software like Garmin Connect,
Strava, or TrainerRoad.
What a HRM Is Not
Although these devices
have come a long way in terms of the accuracy of the data, it’s important to
bear in mind they should not be used as a diagnostic, medical tool. Your HRM
might give you an indication of something not being right, but you should see a
doctor or medical relevant professional if you have a concern about the data
you’re seeing. This equipment isn’t perfect; your wildly escalating heart,
reach over 220 BPM, could be indicative of a catastrophic issue or it could
simply be that your device needs a new battery.
Training With a Heart
Rate Monitor
Until fairly recently,
HRMs were the key training aid for the aspiring and professional cyclist. Only
in the last few years or so have power meters become the key device for training.
However, there’s no denying, even if the costs have decreased since they were
introduced, that power meters are expensive. When you’re starting out cycling
and want to work in some structure to your training then a HRM is an excellent tool for this.
Having an understanding
of your heart’s maximum output and rate at certain intensities, will help you
to set zones for your training. This means that when you’re out doing your
winter base miles the intensity isn’t too high, and then when it comes to more
intense intervals you are able to work in the desired zone.
Are There Any Drawbacks?
There are some things to
consider training according to your heart's beats per minutes, particularly when compared with
power meters. The main problem is that your rate your heart beats at can fluctuate on any given
day, for a myriad of reasons; caffeine intake, tiredness, temperature, fatigue,
freshness, are just some of the factors that can have an impact on the readings.
This can lead you to training either too hard or too easy depending on what’s
happening that day.
That being said, as long
as you take some time learn about training to heart rate, it can be a valuable
tool. Many a champion, in years gone by, has trained solely to this metric.