Coach’s Corner - Measuring Fitness
2 Simple Ways to Track Your Fitness Improvements From Cycling
Our Coach’s Corner series is your chance to have your biggest cycling questions answered — right from longtime cycling coach Darryl MacKenzie. In these short Q&As, Coach Darryl speaks from his 35+ years of cycling and coaching experience to help you become a stronger, smarter cyclist.
Dedicated Cyclist:
Coach, I have been pedaling for a while now. What metrics can I use to identify how much fitter I am?
Coach Darryl:
There are many ways to track your growing fitness level after cycling for a while, the easiest of which are a couple of simple heart rate checks. These are easy to track with a smartwatch or heart rate monitor or simply by checking your pulse with a finger and timer.
1. Heart rate recovery
Many fitness professionals think heart rate recovery time is the best indicator of fitness. This simple metric tracks how quickly your heart rate returns to normal after an intense workout.
Measuring heart rate recovery is incredibly easy. When your heart rate is very high — high enough that you can only speak one or two words between breaths — stop all movement for 120 seconds. The lower your heart rate gets in that timeframe, the more fit you are.
For many years before the pandemic, I used to lead stationary training sessions at the Trek Bicycle Superstore during the off-season. Right after stopping an intense workout, I would call out intervals of 30, 60, 90 and 120 seconds so the cyclists could monitor their recovery. Some cyclists would drop from a heart rate of 160 or 170 beats per minute (bpm) to around (or even under) 100 bpm in just two minutes. Many of them saw their recovery rate improve after participating in the training course.
2. Resting heart rate
Your resting heart rate measures your typical pulse when sitting or lying down for extended periods. This is a good sign of fitness because it indicates how hard your heart needs to work when you’re not active. The lower the resting heart rate, the more efficient your cardiovascular system.
For most adults, a typical resting heart rate is between 60 and 100 bpm. However, active cyclists and other highly fit athletes can have resting heart rates in the 50s or even 40s.
It’s a dramatic difference — so much so that cyclists can get flagged for treatment for a low pulse in the emergency room even when they don’t need it. That’s why I always recommend including your resting heart rate on your insurance card so the doctor doesn’t get unnecessarily alarmed.
The bottom line is that if you see your resting heart rate drop after months or years of cycling, you can be pretty sure it’s a sign of improved cardiovascular fitness.
An important caveat
Now, both of these metrics are great indicators to check in on your fitness level after a few months of pedaling. But there’s an important caveat.
Other factors can affect your resting heart rate or recovery time, throwing off the signals temporarily. For instance, I recently got a common cold, and my Apple Watch informed me that my resting heart rate went from 48 to 56. A week or so later, it informed me that it was back to normal.
That means you can use your heart rate to identify other overall health concerns like an infection. And it also means you should look at long-term trends rather than momentary measurements when trying to gauge your fitness level.
