Heart Rate Lower Outdoors

**Timbuk2**

Hi

I went for a 2 hour outdoor cycle today. My new HRM (Polar F6 - love it!) showed that on average my heart rate was only 140s or 150s, and I felt as if I was pushing quite hard (including that headwind that seemed to be against me going up and going back).

However, if I do a spin class, I get heart rates of high 160s, low 170s, sometimes even spiking to 180, for what feels like roughly the same amount of effort

Why is this? I'm quite sure that the HRM was accurate. I know that 140s or 150s in 2 hours is not that bad (it said I burned 1340 kcal, 55% fat), but in the spin class I can get higher.

Thanks in advance, Tim

cowzerp

Its different exercise, spinning is constant resistance where on an outdoor bike there would be free wheeling involved, plus in a spin class your going at the trainers intensity if your doing it right..

i would not compare the 2 as the same..

arybvtcw0eolkf

cowzerp wrote: »

Its different exercise, spinning is constant resistance where on an outdoor bike there would be free wheeling involved, plus in a spin class your going at the trainers intensity if your doing it right..

i would not compare the 2 as the same..

I'd go with the big lad here :P

I also cycle alot, but I don't spin (I did about 10yrs ago when it was all the craze).

In the spinning class your not stopping for lights, traffic, bad road surface etc so maybe look for alternative routes to cycle which will give you less stops etc.

Checkout www.mapmyride.com click on 'start mapping' and you can plot great routes there, the site will then give you distance in Kms or Mls and a graph with all the gradients.

(Poxy hangover here this morning so I hope thats articulate enough for you!).

Glad your enjoying your HRM, are you racing yourself with it yet?.. (sounds like you are).

I thought cycling with my bikes computer was great until I got the HRM, now the computers battery is flat and I can't be bothered replacing it as the HRM tells me everything I need.

.

**Timbuk2**

Thanks for the informative answers Cowzerp and Mairt

Yes I suppose it's not really compareable (is that a word?). I also suppose the fact that the cycling took place over 2+ hours whereas spin is just 50 mins - 2 hours of spin at its high intensity would probably kill me!

Thanks for the answers. By the way mapmyride.com looks really good, thanks Mairt!

BossArky

Fresher air outdoors and the cooling effect of the passing wind may have something to do with it.

SparkyLarks

I think it;s the free wheeling, In a spin class your always pedaling, even in the rest. on the road you get rests and your Hr drops.

As well in a spin class your intensity is cranked up, so unless your going up some big hills then you don't get the same intensity

rubadub

Yep, the stopping and starting as mentioned. You could pick a different route with little or no stops. I am also back commuting on a mountain bike which is very inefficient, I arrive in bits as I try to keep up my usual speed. On my fast hybrid bike I am freewheeling a lot more since it is so fast it would not be safe to always be going as fast as I could.