UKBouldering.com
the shizzle => diet, training and injuries => Topic started by: shoelace on February 01, 2011, 12:54:03 pm
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Anyone use/used a HRM to track progress/training zones during periods of training/climbing? If so how did it go? Is it worth doing etc?
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They are great. I have one I can sell you if you want. :)
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I used one for training a couple of years ago and found that it was not much help as it's very hard to hit your max heart rate when climbing...unless you take huge fall. It was kind of useful for telling me that I was either relaxed or climbing, or relaxed and climbing, or tense and climbing. It did not improve any aspect of my training.
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Shhhhhh
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On the the other hand, I think you should try to incorporate one into your training and get back to us with the results. I think SA Chris might have one for sale...
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I've used one a lot for bike and run training - pretty much essential tool for most - but only played with it during climbing. The problem with HR is that there's a response lag so that it takes a while for HR to catch up to effort. Even on short, eyeballs out run/bike intervals, the HR won't give particularly meaningful results. It's only over longer, steady efforts that HR comes into its own. So, perhaps for long intervals/routes HR could be useful, but probably not for bouldering or shorter intervals.
One good use is simply for monitoring resting HR - and hence state of fatigue - but don't really need an HRM for that.
Power meters, on the hand, don't suffer these problems. If you can figure out a way to rig up a power meter for climbing, that'd be awesome!