Hi. Every time I try to use HR Mode the app gives me a warning. (Lose Current workout). When I hit “switch to HR Mode” the app goes to Warmup and displays an hour workout. Is this normal. This occurs no matter what workout I select.
HR mode only works with quick start not with specific workouts. Rather than starting with a workout start with quick start at the bottom and you won’t get this message. We do need to improve this experience though.
Hi, Thanks for the reply. But, I am confused. In your article “The Ultimate Way - Zone 2 Training” you refer to “Zone 2 - Heart Rate Test” and “Maximum - Heart Rate Test”… Both of these workouts do the exact same thing - Hit HR button and I get the cue to switch to heart rate mode. And I am back to 1 hour “Warm Up”. Just to be clear… Are you saying these workouts do not work yet and the only workout that functions is the 1 hour “Warm Up”… and the article is a little premature…
Those tests you just do in ERG mode not in HR mode (I guess I need to make this more clear)
Once you establish your max HR or your AeT (Aerobic threshold) in then you use those numbers to set your HR target HR in HR mode. Is that more clear? Maybe I need to create another video more clearly showing this exactly. For simplicity just start with max HR test and use 65%. But if you are good at paying close attention to breath and speech you can set it from the HR test.
Hi, thanks for the reply so quickly. I know my heart rate zones fairly well since I been riding since 1973. I just wanted to compare and see how things matched up. Also, I was curious on the max heart rate test. But, my reason for posting was that I thought I had a problem since every time I hit HR mode I was taken to “Warm Up.” Maybe a month ago this did not happen, although I was not using HR as a metric. I am pleased with TrainerDay, so this post is not a complaint. Just like things to work as described. I will look forward to the HR updates…
Yes HR mode is just very simple now, pressing plus minus in warmup mode, but it will adjust your power to match your HR, making it easy to pedal and forget. Yes I remember you commenting before so I did not think you were complaining. Happy to have you 
I bet I started riding in 1973 also Literally it was 73 or 74 I got my first bike and never went a year not owning one, although went a year here or there not riding one.
This “new” Zone 2 is not the same as the previous idea of zones. They call it Zone 2 for simplicity but this is very specifically your AeT threshold which is unique for each person not a specific zone. 65% of max HR is usually safe training intensity for these “Zone 2 benefits” It should be below your AeT for most people but finding your actually AeT limit takes some close observation or lab tests.
is there a way to change the 1 hour countdown in hr mode ?
Not yet. We will improve this.
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Hi Alex. I have used the “warm up” Heart rate mode several times now. I really like it. Good for recovery and low end Zone 2. Two things —
- I have extended the 1 hour time limit by using the segment time extend button. I changed it to 5min and I tap it to get what ever overall time I want.
- Concerning the algorithm that is used, it seems if I exceed the set heart rate by about 5 beats the power setting will drop a few watts or more depending on the time above the set heart. That is fine but if you stand up the heart rate goes up momentarily due to more muscle engagement and not necessarily due to fatigue. Maybe a tweek on the algorithm
could fix this… Just a thought.
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Hi great feedback. We will start allowing people to create the HR length workouts they want, which will improve it even farther.
From my perspective the #1 reason to use HR mode is to stay in a primarily fat burning state which is as you point out is also good for recovery or at least not digging the hole any deeper.
I am not sure that any experts are 100% clear on exactly what mechanisms cause us to switch from predominantly fat burn to predominantly glycogen burn other than need for faster energy. Scientist frequently like to explain things that are their theory rather than proven. Maybe it’s proven but I have not seen it. Anyway, it is very testable and proven as we increase intensity we switch from fat burn to glycogen burn, and that speeds up more rapidly after our LT1/AeT. Now the big question is is this change caused by aerobic changes or lactate related changes? That is the part I don’t think is 100% clear. So as HR goes up their is likely an increased need for oxygen to our muscles.
Sorry that is a long story to the point which is Maffetone clearly states that his belief is when your body feels you are doing something beyond normal function, something that it feels like it needs extra energy then it says “hey quick, we need energy let’s burn carbs/glycogen.” So tricking your body into thinking it is not doing anything is part of the "science’ behind this.
So it’s possible by standing and going over your AeT HR, then even though it may not be additional fatigue it could cause an shift to more glycogen burning state. Maffetone suggests when you start burning more glycogen it’s hard for your body to get back to that predominately fat burning state.
So our HR design is based on these theories, which are not predicting fatigue levels but are actually just trying to control HR with the associated benefits.
If you believe and trust all the mumbo / jumbo I stated above and plan to be standing, and you are riding at your theoretical AeT limit, it might make sense to drop your HR target by 5bpm to keep under even while standing.
Your idea is very valid and depending on someones goals might totally make sense but since their is no concrete information about all this stuff it is hard to say. I think in almost all cases standing equates to a lower cadence so if we saw a lower cadence with HR spike then we could assume someone is standing. I am never apposed to collecting other ideas on how to improve this to make it better.
Hi Alex. Thanks for the reply. I must say that maybe I didn’t make clear enough what I was experiencing based on your reply. I was never anywhere near LT2 or Maximum Aerobic Heart Rate. I was simply standing for a few seconds to stretch, and I noticed that if my heart rate exceeded my set point by 6 beats the power setting would drop. Consequently, my heart rate would drop by 10 beats due to the power drop. This is expected. But I guess my issue is the program seems to react quickly to drop the power but takes a lot longer to get back. I would override the wait by adjusting my heart rate set point to get the power back to where I want it more quickly. On a side note. I worked in Engineering or 25 years. I had a manger tell me that e-mail was better communication tool than face to face talking. He was full of crap. Because if we could talk face to face and I could demonstrate what I am trying to convey the understanding would be clear. But with all that I like the effort you guys are making and the App is the best value out there.
I agree with you, let’s get on a call
I am pretty sure you are clear and I understand you, it’s just me that writes confusing. I have the exact same effect as you, and even more extreme, all I have to do is take my hands off the bar and my HR goes up. I can only guess there is zero additional fatigue from taking my hands off the bar. I also was saying Maffetone suggest for some people even going slightly above LT1 (not LT2) can drive them into an a lowered state of fat burning and be difficult to get back there. In his experience this is some people not all people, so I know it seems hard to believe but just standing for a bit and going above could cause this. My guess is the more healthy you are the less this effect has but according to Maffetone there is no harm in playing it safe.
I would say this is very unproven science and semi-controversial, but for me reading his literature, he has empirically tested this “fat burning zone” hr, zone 2, low hr, whatever we want to call it more than anyone else on the planet
So from my perspective it’s good to give him the benefit of the doubt. He also claims being 10 beats below this AeT cut off point provides just as much benefit in most people as being at the limit. So if all this is true, you would be be better off dropping your HR limit by 5 beats or so and just accepting when you hit this raised limit while standing that it’s ok to generally be a bit lower. Or in general accept that this HR limit is a range not a target. The range is usually between -10 and +5 of this limit.
Trying to predict someone standing or taking hands off the bar might be possible but it seems it is likely to be very error prone so a little scary for me. Right now at least we need to stabilize what we have. Some people want fast warmup and some want slow. This is more of a standard request in my opinion.
Make any more sense? Or do we still need this call?
Thanks, yes our goal is to always be the best value and keep our prices the lowest forever. If we just keep improving and not increase our prices we should be able to easily dominate this space if we don’t already.
I don’t know if anything has been changed in the algorithm, but in the past the HR goal stabilized after 8 minutes, now it’s about 15-17 minutes.
When I want to raise my heart rate, I reach for a bottle and drink. 
I think you have previous version. I had slow version for a few days but new version from yesterday should be faster. Can you confirm the version you have?