A guy upstate wrote:
Bumping this - so is the key just riding more? Is it riding at an even higher cadence, or focusing on low cadence work to get my legs up to speed? Focusing on sweet-spot & threshold efforts? Strength training?
During recent quality sessions, my cadence is low to mid 90's for the overall workout, with avg cadence between 100 and 105 during up-tempo portions. And yet, HR rarely gets out of the 140's with one exception of an ftp ramp test I did where I got up to 169...
The runner in me thinks a lot of Z2 'base' work for extended periods will get me fitter, but it seems like maybe I just need to harden up and work in longer threshold (or faster) efforts until my legs catch up, since my aerobic ability is already sort of in decent shape. Interested in any feedback!
I feel like most athletes have the opposite problem. They go too hard on easy days & spend too much time in Z2/3 where you don't really get returns. Nothing wrong with a bunch of Z1 riding unless you truly can't get to 4/5 during workouts.
Are you doing mostly shorter reps when you do bike workouts? You mentioned the :20 on/:40 off. How far are you going on long rides? What's the terrain like that you're riding on?
Reps in the 1:30-20:00 range are probably going to be a lot more specific depending on what distance you're aiming for. If you do 6 x 5:00 w./ 2:30 rest (2:00 >>> 1:00 rest even better) then you should get your HR up. When I workout hard on the bike I can't get my HR anywhere close to a VO2 run session but I can still get into the 150s on longer reps. Take advantage of your shape and figure out what you need to do to get that stimulus on the bike.
My HR will go up gradually on longer/steady rides. Idk if your long rides are in the 20-30 mile range or 50+. Once I'm going 50+ miles around 20mph, my HR will climb up a bit by the finish. Biking is somewhat easy if you have good endurance from running. A 1 hr bike is not the same as a 1 hr run. You might need 80-100 minutes on the bike to get to the same place. A :15-20 bike rep isn't quite the same as a 100m stride.