CoachingDIAGNOSIS

WHY IS MY CYCLING HEART RATE SO HIGH?

Your HR runs 10-20 bpm higher than you think it should for a given power output. Easy rides don't feel easy. Every session feels harder than the numbers suggest it should.

THE SHORT ANSWER

Most often, this is because cardiac drift on long rides — HR rises for the same power as fatigue accumulates. The fix: recalculate your hr zones — zones drift with fitness — retest when ftp changes.

WHY THIS HAPPENS

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Cardiac drift on long rides — HR rises for the same power as fatigue accumulates

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Dehydration — blood volume drops, HR climbs to maintain cardiac output

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Under-recovery from previous sessions, illness, or poor sleep

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Heat stress — warm days can add 10-15 bpm at the same power

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Caffeine, alcohol, or stress the night before

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Zone miscalibration — your zones may be wrong if FTP hasn't been tested recently

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Overtraining — elevated resting HR for 3+ consecutive days is a red flag

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Under-fuelling — low glycogen drives HR up at lower intensities

WHAT TO DO ABOUT IT

Recalculate your HR zones

Zones drift with fitness — retest when FTP changes

Track resting HR trends

Morning RHR is your canary for under-recovery

Fix your fuelling

Low glycogen drives HR up at moderate intensity

Read the HR vs power guide

When each metric tells you the real story

FREE DIAGNOSTIC

Recalculate your HR zones

Or apply for coaching →

WHAT THE EXPERTS SAY

Professor Stephen SeilerExercise physiologist, University of Agder

Seiler's point about riding fast at a low heart rate is that most amateurs let their easy rides drift up into the moderate zone, so they never fully recover and the aerobic base stops growing. A genuinely easy ride should feel almost too easy — when heart rate runs high for the power, the usual cause is accumulated fatigue from training that's never truly easy.

Hear it: Secret To Cycling Fast At A Low Heart Rate | Prof Seiler