Heart rate, Half Monty and Betablockers?

Hi to all

I’m just venturing into moden Sufferlandria (having followed a couple of the old videos in years gone by) with the idea of following a training program and gaining fitness (I’m not a racer). I have a technical question which may also be of relevance to others who cycle whilst on mediction (the non-performance enhacing variety of course!).

Background: I’m 56 and now reasonably fit but had a small heart attack, whilst on the bike, 7 years ago (with single stent to the LAD for anyone interested). Amongst the standard longterm medication prescribed, I take a betablocker (Bisprolol). Although I did invest in a heart-rate monitor, I haven’t really used it; partly because I presumed the betablocker would mess up any calculation around target HR zones and partly because I’m not sure where I put the thing.

Having tried a few workouts, the lack of HR data hasn’t been much of an issue (I have a smart trainer with reasonable power accuracy). However, I notice for the Half Monty workout, the heart rate data is a fundamental component of the analysis.

My questions: will I get more useful/meaningful outputs if I include heart-rate data or would the fact the heart rate is influenced by medication simply confuse the analysis? If a monitor is recommended, would this apply to all workouts or just the heart-rate “sensitive” ones such as Half Monty.

Many thanks in advance for anyone taking the time to respond.

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Hey Gav,
Sorry I haven’t replied to your post earlier. First thing is to check with your cardiologist to sign off on doing the Half Monty and SUF. I know it can be a pain but it’s what we as coaches would need to prescribe any training. Once you get the okay, wear a heart rate monitor for the Half Monty. You’ll obviously get a lower heart rate range for the constrained 20 min effort, but it should be accurate. Again, consult with your cardiologist regarding what to expect. Let us know how it goes.

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Many thanks for this Coach.
Will track down the monitor and update in due course…

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