Endurance mountain biking is an outdoor recreational sport that challenges your ability to ride trails and maneuver around obstacles while maintaining a high intensity level. One of the most effective ways to monitor your overall intensity is to track your heart rate. The heart rate indicates aerobic activity and can predict ideal intensity within a specific heart rate training zone.
Target Zone
The first step to calculating your target heart rate zone is to determine your heart rate maximum. The standard formula is to subtract your age from 220. For example, if you are 30 years old, your heart rate maximum is 190 (220-30=190). Then, your heart rate zone target for mountain biking is calculated with a percentage of your heart rate maximum. Most endurance mountain biking events have a target zone of about 65 to 72 percent heart rate maximum.
Benefits
Monitoring your target heart rate zone during an endurance mountain biking event gives you several performance benefits. One of the most important is maintaining an intensity level that lets you maximize power output, stamina and endurance throughout the entire event. With advanced heart rate training equipment, you can upload, track, monitor and analyze your heart rate and training data for every workout. This lets you maximize your training efforts and improves performance.
Equipment
A wide variety of heart rate monitoring products can work while you are mountain biking. The most common types include a wireless chest strap and either a watch or receiver mounted to the handlebars. Your chest strap continually monitors your heart rate and transmits the information to the receiver that you can view easily while riding. Some heart rate monitors also feature settings and an alarm, to warn you when you leave your target heart rate zone.
Training Adaptations
As your riding ability and fitness level improve, your target heart rate zone while biking will also change. For example, elite mountain bikers have a different target zone than a beginning rider. Beginning riders typically focus on a target zone of about 50 to 60 percent heart rate maximum while advanced riders can reach 90 percent heart rate maximum during difficult sections of the race. This change is a result of physiological adaptations that allow a higher heart rate over the course of the endurance event.
References
- Polar: Who Benefits from Heart Rate Monitoring?
- Training Peaks; Aerobic Endurance and Decoupling; Joe Friel; 2007
- Discover Mountain Biking: Target Heart Range and Monitors
- Cycling Performance Tips; Heart Rate Monitors; August 2010
- Bike Radar; Training: Heart Rate Monitor Basics; Harry Blackwood; January 2011
Member Comments