Sorry in advance for the lengthy post. Some background to better understand my problem. I’m struggling with some anxiety issues that are actually not related to cycling at all. I’m working on these issues with professional help, so I got that covered.
Around six weeks ago I got ill, nothing severe but a really stubborn cold / viral infection, that put my training off. During that time I developed a rather strange anxiety which made me hyper focus on my heartrate all the time. It made me feel like something was wrong with my heart. My RHR was higher and HRV much lower and that wouldn’t change even with no physical activity at all, sufficent sleep and really anything I could do to relax. It really stressed me out and slowed my recovery down significantly. Eventually I got my heart checked and blood work done - it came all back without any notable anomalies.
So here I am now, RHR, HRV and recovery capability are OK by now, but I’ve developed this issue that really makes cycling a stressor rather than a way to make me feel better like it was before. Most of the time as soon as I get on the bike, I become really nervous and my HR goes way up (130-140 bpm) when normally it maybe starts at 100 bpm and then slowly creeps up as I start warming up. So basically I’m nervous the whole time I ride and my HR is 10-15 bpm higher than usual, i.e. around 140 @ 200W compared to below 130 @ 200W. Perceived effort is normal aside from the nervouseness which is a mental issue, not a physical one. I definitely lost some fitness (FTP 290 compared to 310 before, VO2max way down) but the thing with the constant focus on my heartrate and the nervouseness has nothing to do with that.
So to summarize has anyone experienced similar issues and/or can provide some tips on how to deal with it? What do I do, toss the HR strap? I would really like to start cycling / training again without this constant agitation…
First thing, well done on facing and working through your demons
I might have miss understood what you meant by professional, but if you are talking to councilor, I would suggest you talk to and defer to them. Anything we say here could undo the work that they are doing,
I am blessed with Agoraphobia and finally in 2018 I started seeing a councilor when I struggled to leave the house, my heart rate would go through the roof and I would be in pain just approaching the front door, anyway, since speaking to the (the right) councilor my entire life had changed for the better
My first councilor had me take it head on, forcing my self to leave the house and sit for periods away from the house (which is the approach I expect you are going to get in this forum) , this was to aggressive for me, and I just lied to them and regressed a lot, my second understood me
Anyway, sorry if I got the wrong end of the stick, and good luck
What works can be very different for everybody. You need someone to accompany you through the process, also don‘t hesitate to change if it‘s not a fit.
If it‘s really bad, temporary medication may help to give you the ability to start working on it, but that‘s also very personal and you still need a professional to supervise it.
If it were me (and it has been in the past), I’d take some rides without my HR strap. Just use power, since it appears you have it. At least move the HR display off the main screen of your computer, so it’s not staring you in the face the whole ride.
I’d focus (really, really focus) on some other physiological thing. When I was going through therapy for anxiety, I spent a lot of time focusing on breathing. Deep, consistent breaths, really focus on the in and the out. I would get anxious in crowded spaces or unfamiliar circumstances, like business meetings. Every time you hear that thought come in, take some breaths. Works great if you have trouble going to sleep, too. If you need to take a break from the breathing focus, you could switch to focusing on your pedal stroke, or cadence, or your posture, or if you’re turns (if you’re mtb).
The other thing that I do, all the time, is positive reinforcement when those feelings and thoughts start creeping in. I remind myself, as many times as it takes, sometimes I even say it out loud, that this worry is irrational, and I’ve NEVER actually had the experience that I’m worried about. For your situation, I’d be saying, “Hey! This worry about my heart is irrational. I don’t have any heart issues. The doctors have checked it all out. I’ve ridden this bike many times, even when I was experiencing these symptoms, and as soon as I get off the bike I’m fine. Don’t worry about it, it’s in your head.”
Thanks for your response! Yes, that’s what I meant. I will adress this issue specifically the next time I see them. I have mentioned it before but never really focused on it, as I was more focused on off-bike situations which I now have more under control.
Ditch the strap or remove the field from your bike computer.
FWIW, I was doing these hard hitting group rides. Really I was over my head with these young guys but it was fun. Anyway, my power meter field was psyching me out because of the rolling terrain is constantly 300-400 watts up hills and cruise down the other side. With my 250 watt FTP I couldn’t stop thinking that I was at 160% of my FTP and that I would shortly die.
I set my bike computer to just speed and stopped looking at power during these group rides.
I can rely to your case, I had similar less anxious experience and what helped me was seeing other people like old grandma working in construction job to cover money for food. Really sad story. Woman was 70+ digging with shovel all day long on extreme heat. She was Muslim and covered with black from top to bottom. I asked my self “ does she care about her HRV and HR and etc? Seeing and old dude going uphill on single speed heavy as tractor bike headed for home because there is no other way for him. I asked my self how is his HR on that hill? If he can do it I can do it. I had not any problems except psychological. You will be fine, take your time this will go away. Remove your hr sensor and just ride like millions of people.
I suffered with anxiety decades ago, coupled with agoraphobia. I got to the point I too was focused on my pounding heart, which made it pound that much more.
A lot had happened, I moved, my girlfriend left for a residency across the state, a couple relative deaths over the previous year or so, pressures on the job, etc…
What helped sounds crazy, but Diablo had come out around them and I started playing that and it seemed to help build confidence. A therapist also urged me to get out an walk, like in the local mall (it was a long time ago). I also started riding my bike around the apartment complex, and gradually got farther away, and even riding around the local university campus. All of it added up to help me claw my way back (at times) and get back to life. But there is no one way to get back from the darkness. You have to try to figure out what works for you, and be honest with that process.
Good luck! Anxiety can suck the good out of life. You got this…
I was diagnosed with generalized anxiety disorder a few years ago. Cycling is still a huge net positive for me. However, I get what you’re saying about the heart rate obsession.
I really like that TrainerRoad allows you to record heart rate but hide the field as I find myself getting stressed out when my heart rate is higher than normal.
I still record it everywhere (all day on my watch, during indoor and outdoor rides, etc) but I never look at it while I’m riding and only record it to look back at trends later.
I’m not taking anything now but Prozac worked well for me and didn’t impact my riding from what I could tell, I stopped taking it due to other side effects and feeling good in general.
I like the tips that other athletes shared above. Sounds like doing some riding/training without the HR strap for at least a little while would be a good move.
HR should ideally act as a nice additional metric to help guide your training – if it’s causing unnecessary anxiety right now, maybe taking a break from having that extra number on your training screens would be helpful.
A positive mindset can really help as well! Kindly reminding yourself that doctors have investigated and found nothing abnormal can be a useful trick that can help you over time.
I second the thought of ditching the HR monitor and riding by feel for a little while.
I’ve seen semi-long-term (multi-week) fluctuations in my HR after coming back from COVID in the past. I got to the point where I felt pretty much 100% normal again, and my HR was still off by 5-10 bpm and I think getting alarmed by this only exaggerated my high HR.
Oddly enough, I had a few HRMs go down around that time and had been riding without HR data because of that for a while. Down the road when I started recording the data again things seemed back to normal.
I’d stop watching the numbers and ride by feel for a while. I have a feeling that things will fall back into place.
Not remotely saying my issue was the same as yours, but I was finding myself distracted by a HR value on a computer or Zwift especially during group rides or races.
Started off by ditching the HR strap, before adding it back later for statistical monitoring, but not live viewing. Helped significantly with hard pushes
Thanks a lot to all of you for taking the time and replying to my post. It is definitely going to be a journey but by now I’m already a bit more confident that I will handle this over time.
Do you listen to anything while you ride? If riding in traffic you may need some earbuds that don’t block outside noise, but I listen to a lot of audio books while I’m riding alone. And music on the trainer. Might be a good distraction.
I changed the data fields on my Garmin from the actual HR and current watts to zones fields earlier this year and found it quite liberating.
I have HR zone, 3 second power, and power zone as three separate data fields. Before, I was spending some mental energy trying to recall what my zones are while riding along and fixating too much on the actual number.
I’ve been here. Knowing I have issues off the bike. Still getting on and trying to do workouts anyways. Feeling like HR isn’t lining up with perceived output. Hyperfixating on that while on the bike. Having this go on for months at a time. It’s awful and I don’t wish that upon anybody.
My physical symptoms also included dyspnea…not feeling like I could take a full, deep breath. That made doing build blocks damn near impossible. Despite me wanting it to, riding and forcing myself to do workouts didn’t help my HR and breathing symptoms.
I stopped doing intervals and just rode with no strap. Listened to podcasts constantly when I rode indoors. Tried to use that to distract myself from focusing on symptoms or my anxiety issues off the bike. Pushed the pace a bit if I felt like it, but never forced myself to. My fitness stagnated, maybe even regressed. And I had to come to terms with that until things off the bike started to get better. Once I felt great about life off the bike, and I mean really really felt great, I was motivated again to resume training on the bike. It’s taken a long time. I doubt it is ever a quick transition for anyone.
The best advice I can give is don’t let cycling be another stressor with any sort of expectations right now. Give yourself the grace and time to work on yourself with your professional before you add that type of stress again.
Only indoors and sometimes outdoors when doing uphill intervals on less busy roads. Otherwise I can’t have earbuds in my ears while riding. They make me feel as if I’m not aware enough of my surroundings. But thanks anyway for the tip, music is definitely something that offers some distraction as well as motivation.
