How do you rate your effort on the bike?
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Having reference points in any sporting activity is fundamentally important for training and assessing the effects of the effort made, for understanding whether we are doing things correctly or not, whether we can keep pushing or should rest, and whether we are close to our goal or still have work to do to reach it.
Training on a bike is no exception. Quite the opposite.
When the sport we practise relies on equipment that can modify, influence and improve the way an activity is performed, recognising the effects of the work done and assessing the parameters of the physical activity carried out is even more difficult.
For occasional riders, who start using a bike without any technical knowledge or advanced equipment, the main reference point that can help us understand how we are training is our individual perception of effort, combined with the time spent in the saddle. Put simply, the more effort we perceive and the more time we spend on the bike, the greater the exertion, the metabolic impact of the physical activity and the work done.
However, talking about the effort made and relating it to the calories burned, the intensity, the heart rate recorded and the kilometres covered is very complicated in the case of cycling. There are indeed a great many variables involved in these assessments and, very often, we do not have all the equipment needed to obtain precise data. For those who exercise for well-being, we could simplify by saying that at least one hour of cycling at a moderate perceived effort, 5 or 6 times a week, will in itself be enough to improve our general condition.
A basic piece of data that can certainly help most people, especially beginners, is heart rate monitored with a heart rate monitor and recorded during physical activity. Knowing our heart rate at a given moment, the average heart rate of our activity and our maximum heart rate are data that at least allow us to find our bearings a little better and understand what kind of effort we are making. Based on the individual’s maximum heart rate, calculated very simply with the Karvonen formula (220 - the person’s age) or more precisely with heart rate monitors or other measuring devices, different bands of work intensity can be distinguished, each corresponding to a different energy expenditure and metabolic impact. For example, being at around 70% of our maximum heart rate means doing essentially aerobic work, mobilising fat reserves and stimulating basic lung and heart activity, with moderate energy expenditure which, for an adult man weighing 75 kg who pedals for an hour in this way, can reach 450/550 kcal. If, on the other hand, the same person pushes harder, adaptations linked to anaerobic or even lactic mechanisms may also occur, with greater energy expenditure for the same amount of time.
The experienced rider, whether amateur or professional, has long since learnt to use a fundamental tool for knowing precisely the level of effort being made: The power meter.
While the rider’s weight, the type of route, maximum and resting heart rates and the weight of the bike are all variables that change from one ride to the next and can significantly alter the assessment of effort, the ratio between the athlete’s weight and the power output (expressed in watts) is a figure that is hard to dispute. Knowing your maximum power output and the various levels of power delivered makes it possible to establish even more accurately the level of effort we are making, using a system of “zones” similar, and very often comparable, to the heart rate zones mentioned earlier.
All these seemingly very theoretical and technical points are, however, necessary for a whole series of assessments that every athlete makes when approaching a physical activity, such as knowing how much energy will be needed, what to eat, how to hydrate and how to recover, for example after a 3-hour ride; from what has been said above, we know that if those three hours were ridden at 70% of maximum power and 70% of maximum heart rate, the energy expenditure for a 75 kg athlete could be around 1700-1900 kcal in total, that the main energy source used would be aerobic-lipid, and that the effect would mainly be to increase so-called “base endurance”.
All in all, the bike is one of the best training tools for keeping fit, given how easy it is to use and how gradually goals can be pursued. Having the right tools to understand the type of training we are doing helps us prevent physical problems, optimise recovery times, keep training when we would rather stop, know what to eat before, during and after exercise, and how to replace the macro- and micronutrients lost.
Training on a bike is no exception. Quite the opposite.
When the sport we practise relies on equipment that can modify, influence and improve the way an activity is performed, recognising the effects of the work done and assessing the parameters of the physical activity carried out is even more difficult.
For occasional riders, who start using a bike without any technical knowledge or advanced equipment, the main reference point that can help us understand how we are training is our individual perception of effort, combined with the time spent in the saddle. Put simply, the more effort we perceive and the more time we spend on the bike, the greater the exertion, the metabolic impact of the physical activity and the work done.
However, talking about the effort made and relating it to the calories burned, the intensity, the heart rate recorded and the kilometres covered is very complicated in the case of cycling. There are indeed a great many variables involved in these assessments and, very often, we do not have all the equipment needed to obtain precise data. For those who exercise for well-being, we could simplify by saying that at least one hour of cycling at a moderate perceived effort, 5 or 6 times a week, will in itself be enough to improve our general condition.
A basic piece of data that can certainly help most people, especially beginners, is heart rate monitored with a heart rate monitor and recorded during physical activity. Knowing our heart rate at a given moment, the average heart rate of our activity and our maximum heart rate are data that at least allow us to find our bearings a little better and understand what kind of effort we are making. Based on the individual’s maximum heart rate, calculated very simply with the Karvonen formula (220 - the person’s age) or more precisely with heart rate monitors or other measuring devices, different bands of work intensity can be distinguished, each corresponding to a different energy expenditure and metabolic impact. For example, being at around 70% of our maximum heart rate means doing essentially aerobic work, mobilising fat reserves and stimulating basic lung and heart activity, with moderate energy expenditure which, for an adult man weighing 75 kg who pedals for an hour in this way, can reach 450/550 kcal. If, on the other hand, the same person pushes harder, adaptations linked to anaerobic or even lactic mechanisms may also occur, with greater energy expenditure for the same amount of time.
The experienced rider, whether amateur or professional, has long since learnt to use a fundamental tool for knowing precisely the level of effort being made: The power meter.
While the rider’s weight, the type of route, maximum and resting heart rates and the weight of the bike are all variables that change from one ride to the next and can significantly alter the assessment of effort, the ratio between the athlete’s weight and the power output (expressed in watts) is a figure that is hard to dispute. Knowing your maximum power output and the various levels of power delivered makes it possible to establish even more accurately the level of effort we are making, using a system of “zones” similar, and very often comparable, to the heart rate zones mentioned earlier.
All these seemingly very theoretical and technical points are, however, necessary for a whole series of assessments that every athlete makes when approaching a physical activity, such as knowing how much energy will be needed, what to eat, how to hydrate and how to recover, for example after a 3-hour ride; from what has been said above, we know that if those three hours were ridden at 70% of maximum power and 70% of maximum heart rate, the energy expenditure for a 75 kg athlete could be around 1700-1900 kcal in total, that the main energy source used would be aerobic-lipid, and that the effect would mainly be to increase so-called “base endurance”.
All in all, the bike is one of the best training tools for keeping fit, given how easy it is to use and how gradually goals can be pursued. Having the right tools to understand the type of training we are doing helps us prevent physical problems, optimise recovery times, keep training when we would rather stop, know what to eat before, during and after exercise, and how to replace the macro- and micronutrients lost.
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