I notice that my HR goes up about 5-8 BPM when I’m in aero position on my bike. Is this typical? Before I started using a HRM I thought it might go down, not up.
I actually notice that my hr goes up when I get out of the aero position – then goes back down when i get aero again. Reverse experience.
Mine goes up when I get out of the aero position, even when climbing it seems higher when I’m not in the bars. I think it takes me out of my most powerful position.
jaretj
steve, if you’re not pedalling harder, and your HR is going up, something may be amiss with your position. Either you’re having to hold yourself up instead of resting more “skeletally”, or, you might be compressing yourself too much in the middle. We’d have to see you to be able to tell.
Thanks, all good points. I suspect that it’s more a “fit” thing - I bought this bike used and have not been to the shop to have it fitted, just sort of guessed on my own. I do feel a bit compressed in aero position - my shrinking-but-not-yet-gone beer belly not withstanding (smile).
Usually the opposite happens because when you are in the aero position your body is horizontal, so your heart doesn’t have to pump as hard as when your body is vertical. As someone mentioned it’s probably a fit thing.
Cardiac output includes two components, stroke volume (the amount of blood moved each beat) and HR (number of beats per minute).
If your work is the same the CO should be the same but if your position is pushing the guts up into the thorax, interfering with cardiac filling, storke volume will fall so HR will have to increase to compensate.
There is a lot more to positioning than aerodynamics.
An alternative explanation is:
People tend to pedal less efficiently as they get into the aero position. If your wattage is the same, then you may actually be expending more energy, hence the higher HR because you actually have a higher CO.
Of course, there could be a combination of the this and my previous explanation also.