1. Using Heart Rate Feedback in Training and On Race Day
General Template One A….
Presented By:
Jesse Kropelnicki, MS
USAT Level III Coach
ACSM CpT
NSCA CSCS

2. The Five Corner Stones I. Training II. Nutrition/Rest
III. Race Fueling
IV. Pacing
V. Mental Fitness
Preparation
Race Outcome
Execution

3. TRAINING
Jesse Kropelnicki, 2013

4. Athlete Monitoring – Why?
Snapshot of an athlete’s physiological status
Get baselines to compare against!
Consistent monitoring and objectively evaluates the training load and response.
Get TH heart rate/power/pace to establish training zones.
Records responses to training and guides the future.
Monitoring must be consistent and accurate to be useful!
Prepare expectations at the beginning of training cycle to track against and evaluate success.
Compare against goal outcomes to control expectations.
Jesse Kropelnicki, 2013

5. Training: Energy Systems
ATP/Creatine System
Short 30 second bursts
Anaerobic System (without oxygen)
Carbohydrate Use – Glycolysis
~3,000 cals on board
Aerobic System (with oxygen)
Fat Oxidation – Lipolysis
~80,000 cals on board
Body is always scaling between these energy systems to meet ATP needs at the muscle
Jesse Kropelnicki, 2013

6. Training: Energy Systems

7. Training: Energy Systems
Idealized Lactate TH Test…
Typical IM Athlete
Typical ITU Athlete
Aerobic TH
Aerobic TH LT
LACTATE IN BLOOD LT
Primary Training Pace
WATTAGE
Jesse Kropelnicki, 2013

8. Conconi Test Idealized Lactate TH Test… LT HEART RATE WATTAGE
Typical ITU Athlete
Neutral Athlete LT
Typical IM Athlete
HEART RATE
Primary Training Pace
WATTAGE
Jesse Kropelnicki, 2013

9. Other TH Testing Methods
Various other methods/concepts to get TH and energy system profile
Metobolic
Power Profiling
Fatigue Index
*For more information on these methods and how they all tie together, visit my blog (“How Many Ways Can We Skin The Same Cat”)

10. Why Heart Rate?
Heart Rate based training adjusts training load based on fitness adaptations.
Hear Rate reduces workload when the body is not systematically prepared to handle it.

11. Supercompensation Training Session Recovery
Time
Fi t ness
Training Session
Poor Restoration Techniques & Inadequate Recovery Between Key Sessions
Recovery
Good Restoration Techniques & Adequate Recovery Between Key Sessions

12. Testing For Threshold HR
4 Methods for in-person TH testing
Deflection point (good for VERY aerobic and anaerobic athletes)
Perceived (about 7 on a 1-10 scale)
Ventilation (4 beats below when you hear increased ventilation)
Karvonen (81% of HR reserve + resting HR)
Cross-checked with field tests throughout training
Field testing protocols used for remote athletes
Physiological specifics determined
Jesse Kropelnicki, 2012

13. Training: Easy TH Testing Methods (approx)
BIKE
8 min test
Ride all out for 8 minutes after warm-up. TH is avg HR minus 8 bpm.
3 min | 20 min test
Ride all out for 3 minutes after warm-up. 10 min rest, 20 minutes all out.
TH is avg HR during 20 min minus 8 bpm.
If 20 min HR is higher than 3 min, athlete likely is ready for anaerobic training phases.
RUN
Road Race Average HR
5k minus 15 bpm
10k minus 10 bpm
13.1m minus 5 bpm
Offset from bike
8 to 14 bpm higher

14. Training: Easy TH Testing Methods
Example:
5K avg HR of 180 bpm
Run TH is 165 bpm
Max HR ever seen on the bike of 180 bpm
Resting HR of 50 bpm
Using Karvonen method…
TH = 0.81x(180-50)+50= 155 bpm
Check offset…
Run TH – Bike TH = 10 bpm OK
Jesse Kropelnicki, 2013

15. Training: Field Testing (approx bike)

16. TH Testing – What is Purpose?
Threshold testing finds a common point to based training zones off of.
Most important take away is that you test for something to which heart rate zones can be calculated from.
Dictates workload for entire program!
Less important that it is actually threshold as long as its repeatable.
Jesse Kropelnicki, 2013

17. Training: Example HR Ranges
Description
(perceived effort)
Phase
Swim
Bike/Run
Zone R
Very easy recovery effort
(2/10)
All
800TT pace plus 15 seconds
67% - 76% of TH HR
Zone 1
Aerobic development (4/10)
800TT pace plus 10 seconds
80% - 86% of TH HR
Zone 2
Aerobic development and muscular endurance
(6/10)
Build/Peak/
Taper Phases Only
800TT pace plus 5 seconds
86% - 93% of TH HR
Zone 3
Threshold endurance (7/10)
N/A
93%-100% of TH HR
BSE
LT, VO2, and technical efficiency development
Build/Peak Phases Only
Best Sustainable Effort
Primary Training Zone
“If nothing gets tracked, and nothing gets measured, nothing gets done”

18. Impacts on Heartrate Hydration status Ambient air conditions Altitude
Up with dehydration  lower blood volume
Ambient air conditions
Up in heat (approx 5-10 bpm)  blood used for cooling
No impact in cold or neutral conditions (heat index under ~70 degrees)
Altitude
Up (approx 5-10 bpm) at moderate intensity (below TH)
Down at maximal effort
Jesse Kropelnicki, 2013

19. RACING
Jesse Kropelnicki, 2013

20. Race Specificity Targeted at the demands expected of race day.
More important the closer training is to race day.
May diverge from physiological needs identified.
EX: Anaerobic athlete with good peak power 3 weeks from draft legal race day. Still needs peak power efforts in training to prepare for race day demands.
Race specificity and volume are likely your two most potent training tools as a coach.
Race specificity isn’t just all out, its actual race intensity!  aerobic for long course!
Jesse Kropelnicki, 2013

21. Pacing Physiology
Even pacing or slightly descending the swim and bike pace is always physiologically best  don’t burn candles you don’t need to unless there is an advantage to be gained (draft legal).
Maintains best use of efficient energy system.
Triathlon running is typically best executed with slight ascending pace.
Not much research here.
Maybe due to fatigue.
Open running is always best even paced.
Jesse Kropelnicki, 2013

22. Pacing Physiology HR Open Run PACE HR TRI Run PACE
Jesse Kropelnicki, 2013

23. Pacing Physiology (HRs)
Less important to target specific HRs than it is to parcel out effort properly.
Amount of heart rate beats above the top of these zones based on athlete experience/level (bike):
Olympic: Top of Z3 plus 0-6 beats
70.3: Top of Z2 plus 0-6 beats
Ironman: Top of Z1 plus 0-6 beats
Overall HRs should be adjusted based on heat impacts (heat index):
70 degrees – plus 0
80 degrees – plus 5
90+ degrees – plus 10
Jesse Kropelnicki, 2013

24. Pacing Physiology (HRs)
BIKE
Generally operate in a 10 beat window.
28 mile laps
No more than 10 beats over the current lap average while climbing
70.3: no more than a 3-4 beat drop 1st to second half (140/137)
IM: no more than a 3 beat drop from 1st quarter to 2nd. Last quarter not the lowest.
RUN
Generally operate in a 5 beat window.
1 mile laps
Same offset from bike used in training for Agers
Half the offset used in training for PROs
No more than 5 beats over the current lap average while climbing
Jesse Kropelnicki, 2013

25. Power Based Bike Pacing
Long Course: Bike pacing with greater than 75% of the points (1 second power readings) within 50 watts +/- of average
Long Course: Bike cadence avg of 88+ with 60 percent of the points within 5 rpm +/- of average
Short Course: Train to prepare - peak bike power
Jesse Kropelnicki, 2012

26. Race Pacing: HR/Power Analysis

27. Race Pacing: Pace Approach (bad)
Jesse Kropelnicki, 2013

28. Race Pacing: Pace Approach (good)
Jesse Kropelnicki, 2012

29. Restoration Commensurate With Stress
All athletes have a stress budget that they must stay within to improve.
Good stress (training) and bad stress (work) both count!
Many athletes overreach for a short period before recovery  OK. Overtraining is this scenario played out chronically  long recovery.
Many times athlete believe they are overtrained or overreached when they are really underrested.
Reduces the available stress budget.
Many times real overtraining is a combination of underresting (reduced available budget) and overtraining (too much stress for reduced budget).
Restoration techniques such as sleep, massage, nutrition, fueling, etc., improve the stress budget, allowing more training stress to safely be applied.
Jesse Kropelnicki, 2013

30. Questions? Jesse Kropelnicki, MS USAT Level III Elite Coach ACSM, CpT
NSCA, CSCS
@kropelnicki on twitter