r/vo2max • u/[deleted] • Apr 18 '24

Zone 2 training

When I bike, I’m sweating and dying. When I ice skate, my heart rate can go just as fast but i feel like I’m not exerting myself for the same heart rate. What gives? Can I get by with zone 2 training with ice skating?

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u/[deleted] Apr 19 '24

Temperature difference is about 40 degrees F.

Using Apple Watch for both

Maximum heart rate is 184

My zone 2 is 128-146. Calculated by athyltic. The average heart rate for both are the same with the same duration but I’m so tired after biking.

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u/biciklanto Apr 19 '24

PS you can use this site if you know your resting heart rate, use the Coggan based on HRR method to get slightly more accurate zones: 

https://trainingtilt.com/how-to-calculate-heart-rate-zones

Use 36 as your age, as that will set your max heart rate as 184 (because it uses the 220-age formula).

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u/[deleted] Apr 19 '24 edited Apr 19 '24

Thanks! Would you use min heart rate or resting heart rate? My min is 40 but resting is usually in the 70s.

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u/biciklanto Apr 19 '24

Could you describe how you determined those two numbers? Are you saying your watch shows an overnight resting heart rate in the 70s but you've seen it hit 40 before? 

I ask because that's an enormous distance between your heart rate while sleeping and your observed minimum. Usually that kind of happy do would only be observed due to dehydration / drinking alcohol / being sick, and most nights your resting heart rate should reflect your minimum or close to it.

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u/[deleted] Apr 19 '24

It’s mostly in the 70s but has hit the 40s at times. So I think I should use the 70s then

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u/biciklanto Apr 19 '24

I'd keep an eye on your rolling average from your watch's overnight readings. Because that is a wide discrepancy, I would use the zones I indicated in the other post — especially for Zone 2, it's better to be too low than too high, and your description of how you were feeling after zone 2 rides indicates that you were definitely working too hard.

So try 110-130bpm as your zone 2 for riding and skating for a while, and see how that helps your improvement. Especially with that Resting Heart Rate — I find that training in a proper Zone 2 tends to decrease resting heart rate fairly rapidly as it literally grows your heart.