I was going to include the cold but I personally perform very well in cold conditions so I'm biased. Others totally lock up in the cold

thanks. For sure could have been nerves as well in the group contributing to your over-arousal.

Yup same here. 42 years old. My warm up before intervals is usually like 30 min of super low effort, around 50% FTP. Then I switch to around 10 min of high cadence at a slightly higher effort level. Every minute during this section of the warm up I do 6 seconds of bursts at around 500 Watts. It gets the heart rate going and prepares you mentally for the grueling interval session. Then it's 3 minutes of easy pedaling and then I start the intervals. Might seem excessive but I need it to perform at my best. When I used to do rowing the warm up was basically a workout in itself. Strangely enough starting the row feeling like you had wasted lots of energy still lead to a better result then conserving energy and not go as hard beforehand.

Cramping is a sign of acute muscular fatigue although from experience it can be accelerated by dehydration or lack of fuel

There's other factors to look at but it gets complex. Depends on your age, overall training load, blood test results, type/intensity of training, sleep quantity and quality. You may just be at the limit of the amount of training you're able to handle.

I like the idea of that, it would be useful data to have. Probably a bit over the top for most of us though. The principle of it is sound though, give yourself a good warm up to process through exactly how your body feel and reacts before making decisions on a session. I.e. don't write yourself off because your body battery is low ;)

Nothing (legal) beats caffeine at the right time, there isn't any other stims I would recommend instead

I had exactly this, this week had a coffee ride, followed by a day off, then next day my HR was through the roof without my legs feeling like they were pushing much. Day after all normal again. So what he is saying makes a lot of sense to me.

It definitely doesn't mean you've lost fitness. E.g. if you take 3 days off the bike completely, when you go back to ride your HR will be elevated compared to your regular state, but you haven't actually lost fitness. You're just too fresh, and you'll be back to normal after 2-3 rides. HR doesn't just respond quicker when fresh, it can literally be 3-5 beats higher for the same output. Main point being I just wanted people to be aware of that fact because I see it all the time, riders freak out they've lose a heap of fitness because their HR is elevated

Sure you don't have covid?

@@Charles-kk6vj Indeed sounds like illness. My hr also varies (around 5-10 bpm) due to lots of stuff but 25-35 bpm more is really high.

@@Charles-kk6vj 😂hadn’t thought about that. I hope not

@@raphaeltiziani7476 same here. 5- Max 10 beats. If more im going to the doctor😅

That's a freakin massive HR increase. Assuming your HR monitor is reading right you may be getting sick or having some sort of cardiovascular issue, if you're seeing a 25-35 bpm increase at the same power output I would recommend getting assessed by a doctor

If you’re on a good day you’ll be fine. Problem is when your aren’t on a particularly good day you’ll struggle to hit the right intensity at a reasonable RPE without any warm up

So glad I did't pull the trigger. I disliked their subscription model, pay for the ring and a monthly fee - f that

Could be you are doing too much low aerobic work and need to add in more intensity.

@@seang5476No, about half the time I ride "threshold" efforts with occasional short moments way above that for frequent hills.The other half of the week I take it easy. I thought a lower resting heart rate was a good thing.

@@donwinston lower RHR is a good thing but 3-4 beats lower than avg. for one night may suggest the balance of the autonomic nervous system is awry. Not sure what would be causing the issue… that is for you to examine

@@seang5476 Not possible/practical to do "too much" aerobic work.