The Fitness Thread

[Tredman]

Found this interesting.. my usual pace is about 9 min/mile at the top end of zone 2 - about 130bps. Running last week in the UK and all was normal.

Running in Rio this week and it’s 30C and really humid, my heat rate has been doing this - the little drops are when I wiped sweat out of my eyes. Finding it really difficult to run.


Run above was totally flat pace just under 9mins.

 

[Elephant Pyjamas]

When you get back to "normal" UK temps you'll probably find your HR will be lower off the back of this with the same effort. Some quality heat adaptations here.

Running at 30c is not even remotely easy.

 

[Dennisons Wrong Foot]

Well done for even trying it!

 

[EpsomWolf]

Been thinking about getting a smart watch/chest strap for a while and the above conversation is the catalyst for asking for a bit of advice as apart from the built-in units on a treadmill or bike at the gym have never used one of any kind.

In terms or requirements, the exercise type is cycling so I’m after something that would measure the fundamental elements of the physical load on any given ride. Wouldn’t know if I’d need a cycling specific unit or whether they all do the same thing regardless. I don’t necessarily need gps tracking etc as I record routes themselves through Komoot, it’s more about the information on the heart rate, energy consumption (that’s probably a rubbish vague term but you know what I mean) and so on.

I’ve always been fortunate enough to have reasonably decent fitness levels but never any particular ‘power’, the muscle strength required for climbing etc, and the last couple of years on the hills and trails have seen a big improvement in that area. I don’t necessarily need to ride harder or longer generally, but as my muscle improvement and build-up has matched the fitness (from once hating hills) have surprisingly become quite a strong climber and really enjoy it, and take the hills as an opportunity to press hard for the fitness build which also makes all other parts of a ride become a breeze.

Have noticed a few times particularly in hot weather having ‘jelly legs’ when stopping after a hard climb so there must be nutritional elements that need looking at too, but the climbing is where the heart rate and energy usage sky-rockets and where I’d like to continue focus and improve, so anything that gives information to help in that area would be great.

Watch/chest strap etc etc, any suggestions appreciated.

 

[EdgeOfTheAlps]

It's been a long time since ive had a chest strap or indeed spent so much attention on performance but the Polar H10 is the absolute benchmark for accuracy. If you're dead serious about getting data to help inprove performance thats the way to go, and I assume you can view everything on your phone or bike computer.

I think you ride MTB exclusively so not sure how it would apply to that but when i had to quickly improve leg strength to get up Stelvio and Passo del Rombo on the road bike i bought a cadence monitor and practiced on 10-12% gradients and 20-40 RPM. Aerobic base was already there bit that gave me the leg strength to do those 3 hour climbs. Keep fueling and drinking every 15 mins.

 

[North Shropshire Lad]

Keep fueling and drinking every 15 mins.

I do some of this right then. My local pub is about a 15 minute cycle ride away. Now there's no more hedge cutting (punctures) and lighter nights, it'll come out the shed again.

 

[PuntsWolf]

I’ve got the garmin one as it connects to my garmin computer, likewise cadence sensor. No idea how “accurate”, thought they just were accurate and never really thought about it. Not sure it really matters as long as it’s ball park anyway.

I bought all this stuff 10 years ago when I was doing more cycling than I am now, it still works fine when I do actually get round to going out and I dont remember it being particularly expensive.

 

[Langers]

Birmingham Half Marathon on Sunday - anyone else doing it?

Really enjoyed it last year - no pressure on me to get a PB this year as its only 2 weeks after my marathon so I intend to enjoy the occasion and take advantage of the fact that its a bank holiday the day afterwards

 

[Alan]

Well 2026 has been an excellent running year so far.

My 5km PB was 17:22, now it’s 17:19
My HM PB was 80:49, now it’s 80:40

And I ran my fastest 10k for 4 years with a 36:18 at Wolves 10k last month

All this without “specifically” training for a distance, just doing lots of steady of miles and trimming off about 10 pounds in weight, whilst maintaining my lean mass and then going as hard as I possibly can in races.

I’m really excited for what I might achieve at the back end of the year at Worcester HM (need to get under that 80min mark) and Valencia Marathon (redemption!)

Then Malta marathon in Feb 2027 which I'm really excited about.

This is me with my "war face" crossing the line at Stratford Half Marathon yesterday, HR was at 194 at this point

View attachment 16849

I was going to keep my profile pic to just footballers, but…

You’ve played Sunday League before, right?

 

[EpsomWolf]

It's been a long time since ive had a chest measure it fairly accurate strap or indeed spent so much attention on lyperformance but the Polar H10 is the absolute benchmark for accuracy. If you're dead serious about getting data to help inprove performance thats the way to go, and King for an accurate oassume you can view everything on your phone or bike computer.

I think you ride MTB exclusively so not sure how it would apply to that but when i had to quickly improve leg strength to get up Stelvio and Passo del Rombo on the road bike i bought a cadence monitor and practiced on 10-12% gradients and 20-40 RPM. Aerobic base was already there bit that gave me the leg strength to do those 3 hour climbs. Keep fueling and drinking every 15 mins.

Thanks for that, very helpful. I think I’ve been overthinking this (tend to do that a lot!) and the reality is probably just curious about the heart rate as much as anything else and am mainly looking for an accurate measurement there. The Polar H10 looks really good and ideal in that respect.

I don’t do the lengthy climbs at the sort of height and distance you do, but can still have short, sharp, steep climbs where I like to power up, and do the same on the long drags which sap the energy reserves too. Did one tonight up and over the Epsom racecourse into a strong headwind which didn’t last particularly long but fired up the after burners and bloody hell, could feel the hear thumping in the chest and would be like to know what that’s hitting at peak effort and subsequent recovery etc.

Fair play for riding the Stelvio, I’ve only driven it in a car and that was enough. Must’ve been a hell of a slog going up but what a blast coming down. I recall cooking the brakes in the motor blasting between the switchbacks on the way down so must’ve been exhilarating on a bike. I hope you took time to recover and enjoy the views at the top before hitting the descent.

Will take a look at the H10 and give some proper consideration to the nutrition too.

Much appreciated, cheers.