Online Bike Coach

Where Cyclists and Triathletes get Faster/Stronger/Leaner/Sooner

DFAa1 Ride In the Evening – Did That Improve Monday Night’s Sleeping Pattern?

I Changed my Workout Schedule To An Afternoon DFAa1 Ride

Yesterday’s DFAa1 Ride occurred around 4pm. Normally, I ride in the late morning, but I have been multitasking on several fronts, and fell behind. I also did not get to enter in my 60 minutes, instead riding in the afternoon. This was also an attempt to determine whether an evening exercise bout would improve my sleep pattern.

The Rides this Fall are all about DFAa1. I use FatMaxxer software, broadcast from an Android phone to a PC screen, and either increase or decrease my intensity when cycling to try and stay between 0.75 DFAa1, and 1.00 DFAa1. Using this number, instead of watts, gives me a highly accurate, day-to-day method, of measuring intensity and optimizing my Aerobic Capacity.

Dfaa1
A Good Night’s Sleep can lead to a better BASE ride.

But I’m finding that a good ride requires a solid night’s rest. Monday evening’s ride actually did not go quite as well as I had hoped. The DFAa1 dipped “Below” 0.75 several times, and I also ran out of time. Therefore, the workout was just 45 minutes long, and the intensity was probalby too high.

But when bedtime came, I was pretty tired. I went to bed around 8:50pm, after a FULL meal of steak and sweet potatoes, and promptly passed out around 9:06pm. I had the Pink Noise generator on, and I had limited my alcohol intake to one glass of wine. I was hydrated, but tired. I ended up sleeping for FIVE STRAIGHT HOURS, which for me, is a recent record. But some time around 2:30am, I woke up, and did not get back to sleep until I had moved rooms, and changed beds. Then I slept for another few hours.

I am noticing a trend with this sleep; I get more DEEP sleep before I wake up, and I get more REM sleep after I fall asleep the second time. This may be anecdotal, but I do think the Pink Noise is helping. Now, I just need to get 7 or 8 straight hours of sleep.

The Garmin Connect platform is really interesting. I’m starting to understand it just a bit, but I’m going to keep working within that ecosystem of fitness, to explore features and become adept at the information it’s revealing.

Here’s the video. Thanks for reading, thanks for watching, and ENJOY THE RIDE!

If you are enjoying this series, BUY ME A CUPPA COFFEE! Buy Me A Coffee

Taking a GRADUATED APPROACH TO LOAD

Vasodilation Helps DFAA1 Stay High

After yesterday’s poor ride, I decided this morning to take a different approach. On most of the previous rides, I have been using % slope for load, and adjusting intensity based on cadence, gear, and speed. Today, I used raw watts for load, and started off at a very low relative intensity. Then, I slowly ‘ramped up’ the intensity, all while watching my DFAA1.

Unfortunately, I did not have my Vo2master employed, but I will try this same process again tomorrow, with all the instruments ready to go.

Here’s today’s video:

Thanks for watching, and ENJOY THE RIDE!

DFAA1 – Curb My Enthusiasm

I thought A Good Night’s Sleep Would Lead to A Good Ride. My Heart Said Otherwise

It’s frustrating – today’s ride started off with the best of intent. However, the FatMaxxer App, monitoring the DFAA1 fractions on my Heart Rate Variability, showed more strain than my wattage allowed. In other words, for the PRESCRIBED Heart Rate and Wattage intensity for a Lower Threshold ride, the DFAA1 basically told me, “NO. Back Off. Something’s not right. We need to lower the intensity.”

I fought this for 45 minutes before backing off, and watching the DFAA1 float higher.

Today, there was a VERY thin line between TOO HARD, and TOO EASY. I could probably ride at 153 beats per minute, and have a DFAA1 around 1.00 or higher, but at 156 Beats per minute, DFAA1 sank well below 0.75 and stayed there longer.

I don’t have images of the next phenomenon, since it occurred on my Fenix 6X Pro, but more than once, I received warnings that I was having an “Abnormal High Heart Rate.” I didn’t feel it, but I have set the Garmin Fenix 6X Pro to receive my heart rate from the chest strap when it is in use. Unfortunately, I did not record from the watch; maybe I’ll have to do that in the future.

There is an EKG app available for the Android and the Polar H10. I don’t believe I’m suffering from Athletic Heart Syndrome, but honestly, it’s better to know than not know, and I’ll start recording EKG going forward.

Here’s todays summary; I love using PerfPro Studio for these rides – I also love switching between %load and %slope. I still prefer % slope, but if I can get my heart rate and DFAA1 calmed down and not swinging, I might see if I can ride at a known % load, and watch DFAA1 and HR from there.

Thanks for reading, and ENJOY THE RIDE!