The Running Mike

Paleo / Primal Coach, Runner, and Triathlete

Archive for the category “Heart Rate Training”

23 May 2011

Mike’s Guide to Heart Rate Training Part 3: Putting the Heart Rate Zones into Practice

OK, so at this point, you should have a good idea what your HR is and what the zones are.  As a refresher, let’s take a look at the heart rate zone chart:

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Believe it or not, you want to spend a good amount of time in zone 1 and 2.  You would think that going slower is easy. . .  However, THIS IS VERY DIFFICULT TO DO.  When you first start doing this, people will pass you and you don’t even feel like you’re getting a great workout. Mentally, we know we could be passing those same people and push much harder.  It’s really important that you stick to this, trust me in that it will pay off! 

Although it will feel quite different physically, the key is that you are changing the way your body processes and consumes energy.  The human body has a very limited amount of blood glucose (sugar) but in comparison has an almost endless supply of fat.  Think hours/days of energy from fat versus minutes from glucose only.

Your body will burn a combination of fat and glucose – the key is to make it more efficient at converting fat into energy! In these lower heart rate zones you burn more fat than the blood glucose (sugar) in your muscles.  The more time you train at these levels, the more efficient the human body becomes at utilizing fat for fuel! 

Key weekly workout: Endurance Run 

This is usually the long, slow distance run you do every week.  Stay in the lower part of zone 2 (ideally in zone 1)and take your time running this one. Should feel super easy and like you’re just taking it easy.  This helps your body be more efficient at using fat for fuel.


Key weekly workout: Speed work

On the other end of the scale is the workout designed to increase your VO2 Max.  This is intentionally putting your heart rate into the higher zones to essentially improve growth of capillaries, strengthen the heart, and make our muscles more efficient at consuming oxygen. 

There are lots of great things that come out of speed work (improved form, etc.) but it is also the key workout for improving VO2 Max.  You’ll want to run 3 to 4 minutes in zone 4 and 5, slow jog for 2 to 3 minutes (try to get HR back to zone 1 if you can) and then repeat.  Now the Ifs:

  • If you do this at a track, aim for 800 (2 full laps) repeats.
  • If you’re new to speed work, repeat 3 to 5 times. 
  • If you’re an experienced runner, do the interval 6 to 8 times. 

You should be pretty wiped out after the speed workout.  This takes a lot out of you so unless you’re working on something specific, only do this once a week. 

Key weekly workout: Tempo Run

Every Week you should try to do a tempo run where you put your Heart Rate into Zone 4 and try to keep it there. If you’re just starting, run 2 to 3 miles in Zone 4 (and work up from there).  Experienced runners should run 3 miles in zone 4, then 3 to 5 minutes of an easy jog/walk (getting the HR back into Zone 1) and then 3 more miles in zone 4. 

The Tempo run is goaled at increasing your Lactate Threshold (LT).  I don’t think I’ve talked about LT very much.  There is a point during intense exercise when the human body is producing more lactic acid than it can consume and convert to energy.  Lactic Acid is actually a good thing, but when more is getting produced than can be utilized – muscles become fatigued. (Here is one of the better articles I’ve found on the process: http://www.runningplanet.com/training/lactic-acid.html) 

Strength Training

My forth key workout is actually strength training which I try to do on rolling hills or on a trail.  I currently live in a part of the country with few hills, so I tend to only do this once every couple weeks. It’s easy to turn this into a repeat of speed work heart rate zones – but my real aim is to build more strength in my legs and improve foot stability (uneven ground/trail). 

Yes, most weeks I actually run 5 to 6 times, so think of these additional runs as super easy recovery runs.  I try to keep them in zone 1 as much as I can.

That other heart rate zone:

Wait, what about zone 3? We have the workouts that improve efficiency of burning fat and improve VO2 Max. What about the zones in the middle? These zones will not make your body more efficient or faster! So… limit the training workouts in the middle zones. You can race in these zones though. Depending upon duration of the race, you can push faster than normal but avoid bonking. Just realize that this isn’t making the heart stronger or the body more efficient at burning fat for energy.
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02 May 2011
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Mike’s Guide to Heart Rate Training Part 2: Understanding your Heart Rate Zones

023This is a picture of me near the finish line of one of my first triathlon events.  I did ok at this event, but was using heart rate for a single purpose at the time – staying away from my VO2 max.  We’ll come back to this Smile

When I first started running, I would just run.  I didn’t worry much about pace or heart rate.  This approach would have probably been fine if I kept to distances less than 5k.  Weeks into training for my first long distance I noticed my first few miles would be 7 to 8 minutes, then a 9 or 10 minute mile, and then a 12 minute mile and then a 14 minute mile.  I literally ran out of gas.  Experienced runners told me to “pace myself” but I would feel like I was running easy (because I felt fine while running those first few miles).

The heart rate monitor helped me understand and quantify what was happening – I was spiking my heart rate within the first 15 minutes and After wearing a heart rate monitor for a while, I started to understand that I would be even slower and slower I had been running with a heart rate monitor for a few months.  I learned that if I kept my heart rate below a certain number – I could maintain a faster pace for longer.  Remember when I said we’d come back to VO2 max? That first year, the name of the game was to stay away from my VO2 max.  Distance running became much easier for me when I figured this out.  Check out the Geeky Side Note at the bottom of the post if you want to know more about VO2 Max.

Heart Rate Zones

You’ll find several “training zones” – some books and sights will say there are 5, some will say 7, some will even say 8 or 9…some even reverse the order (7 being recovery, 1 being Max HR).  Don’t sweat it Smile We can save the sweat for the running.  Whichever method you use it is most important to get the top and bottom of the scale right.  Recovery and Threshold zones will give you the most bang for the buck and help you the most when training for distances.  Here is a common 5 zone calculation that I use:

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So, starting with your max heart rate (check part 1 of the Heart Rate Training Guide if you don’t have it) multiply it by the % of max HR.  Here is my calculations for my MAX HR (196)

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The assignment for this week is to wear a Heart Rate Monitor and start seeing where you’re running most of the time.  I personally was running in Zone 4 or 5 90+% of the time!

Next week we’ll talk a bit more about the zones and how you can start applying this to your training – losing weight, getting faster, improving endurance, efficiency  – these numbers can do a lot!

 

Geeky Side Note: VO2 Max is the maximum amount of oxygen provides you can attain when doing exercise. Your body can only consume a certain amount of oxygen.  As activity increases beyond, you will experience muscular failure (in running you must slow down) since your muscles can not get enough oxygen.  You can actually get this number tested (many Kinesiology programs and labs do this) and see how your number evolves over time.  Fitness/training, altitude, sleeping in a hyperbolic chamber, etc. can increase your body’s VO2 max.

The often published averages VO2 max values for untrained males is 45 ml/kg/min and females us 38 ml/kg/min.  These numbers decrease as you age and increase as you train (especially interval training!).  Many professional runners have VO2 max numbers between 70 and 90 ml/kg/min.
Posted by The Running Mike in Heart Rate Training, Training and tagged
13 Apr 2011

Mike’s Guide to Heart Rate Training Part 1: Finding Max HR

WARNING!  I’m not a doctor – talk to one especially if you have a history of heart problems/heart disease or if you’re starting a new exercise plan…You won’t win any gold medals by figuring out your Maximum Heart Rate – so keep it safe and speak with a doctor!
image For new runners, my hope is that this guide helps you “cheat the system” and teach you to run farther and faster – and make those longer runs MUCH easier. Also, see the bonking side note at the bottom of the post.
For experienced runners, I hope this guide will help take your running to a new level. You might know your pace zones and be dead on with “perceived effort” without a heart rate monitor, but with a monitor you’ll be able to better train to the right zones, prevent overtraining, and get your body MUCH more efficient at burning fat (instead of glycogen) for your long runs. Also, see the bonking side note at the bottom of the post.

Maximum Heart Rate (MHR)

Max HR is exercise specific… it’s not actually your maximum, but the highest your body will get to for a given activity.  For example, my maximum tested heart rate is 196 for running, and 187 for cycling.
There are two main ways to get to your “maximum heart rate” – using a calculation (Estimate) or via fitness testing

1. Calculating Maximum Heart Rate:

I’m not a big fan of the calculation methods because it’s way off for me. However, these are pretty close for the majority of people.  The most common formula I’ve seen is to take 220 minus your age. In my case, 220 – 34 = a max heart rate of 186.  This is a full 10 beats below what I’ve seen in actual fitness testing (196).  I’d suggest trying this anyway, at least so you have an idea.
There are actually several formulas to find this.  The page I’ve looked at more than once with the formulas is here. Also, half way down on the page is a full calculator that allows you to input your age and get 7 different formula calculations.  My range from the calculator is 183 to 188.

2. Fitness Testing for Maximum Heart Rate:

***Be careful and talk to a doctor before doing something like this. At least have a friend at the track with you just in case****
This will help you REALLY understand your zones.  If you have been running with an HR monitor, you may already have all the data you need.  I have two HR monitors I primarily use the Garmin FR60 (approx $100 and also picks up cadence!) and the Garmin ForeRunner 305 (Approx $140 GPS).  Both give me accurate pace and distance and I like them both…I will post reviews at some point.  If you have a polar HR or something that doesn’t give distance, you can still do the tests For now, comment below if you have any questions about these.
1a. Get it professionally tested.  This is an expensive method, but can often find package deals for athletes that include an exercise stress test.  Typical costs are $100 to $150 (maybe even cheaper if you’re a student).  The local university is the only place nearby that does this and has a $240 endurance package that also includes metabolic exercise testing, hydrostatic weighing, body composition, nutrition counseling, and helps apply the results to your training…it can be a great benefit.  I haven’t had this done but may later this year if they let me film some of it and share on youtube :) .  If you have any doubt and are at all worried about giving yourself a heart attack, this is the only way to go.
2. Four 400s - These aren’t your typical 400s.  Go to a track and jog an easy mile to warm up.  Run the first 400 at a faster than normal pace.  The first 400 is an extension of the warm up meant to start gradually moving your Heart rate up.    When you get to the last lap, it should be an ALL OUT SPRINT.  Don’t WALK after the 400s! Jog a maximum of 1 minute and glance at your heart rate.  When you come across the line, slow to a jog for 1 minute.
  • 1 mile warm up
  • 1st lap (400) at hard pace, followed by 1 minute slow jog
  • The second 400 should be 10 to 20% faster, followed by 1 minute slow jog
  • The third lap should be VERY HARD, followed by 1 minute slow jog
  • Last lap should be an all out sprint.  Record your HR when you come across the line.
  • Do a 10 minute cool down via easy jog.  This is even more important when you are doing this kind of workout.
If at any point, you feel like you need to stop – STOP!!! I’ve seen people max their HR by lap two… Continuing to push beyond this is not pleasant and I’ve been at plenty of events where people pass out a hundred feet from the finish line.  If you feel like you’ve had enough, LISTEN to your body.
2. Experienced Runner ONLY (Currently running 25+ miles per week) The Run Hard Method: My coach has me do 30 minute track “fitness testing” every month to see how I’m progressing.  Essentially, I have a 1.5 mile “easy” warmup where I REALLY try to run slow and take my time and then an ALL OUT, RUN HARD for 30 minutes. Then finish it out with a 1 mile cool down.
The idea is to run as far as fast as you can in 30 minutes.  If you do it right, you get to where you absolutely must walk right at 30 minutes.  If you can still jog, there is gas left in the tank. This is a tough one that never gets easier.
I think a hard 5k can also get you close.  If you have one coming up, put on an HR monitor and try to run it hard!  Here is my output from my FR60 on a recent 5k:
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My HR is right at 196 when I get to the end of the race.  You can see when I had to stop to fix my shoe it didn’t help my HR at all!
3. Experienced Runner ONLY (Currently running 25+ miles per week)Intervals. If you’ve run with me before, you’ll know this is my least favorite running activity.  To be blunt, %#$@*!  These hurt.
This kind of workout will actually help with efficiency and VO2 max.  You can replace an interval workout on your schedule with this and you’ll get a great purposeful workout plus find out your Max HR at the same time.
You’ll want to start your pace 1 minute below your usual 5k pace.  For the sample below, was around
  • Start with a 1.5 mile warm up
  • 5 sets of 400s running at a 1 minute faster than your usual 5k pace. Jog (don’t walk) 200 yards between each 400.
  • 5 sets of 400s running at a 1:30 minutes faster than your usual 5k pace. Jog (don’t walk) 200 yards between each 400.
  • 5 sets of 400s running at a 2:00 minutes faster than your usual 5k pace. Jog (don’t walk) 200 yards between each 400.
  • 1 mile cooldown
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Data is VERY useful for a lot of reasons.  You can see on this chart every time I stopped for a drink of water.  Those pace dips at the end of interval 13 and 14 were indeed when I was walked after the lap.
I can’t stress this enough, don’t do anything stupid and give yourself a heart attack.  Listen to your body and if you’re going as hard as you can go – that’s your maximum HR!
Heart Rate Monitors I Use:
Garmin FR60 (approx $100 and also picks up cadence!)
Garmin ForeRunner 305 (Approx $140 GPS)
Have you ever bonked or hit the wall? Most people realize that the human body has two primary fuels, carbohydrates and fats. At different heart rate levels, you will burn a different combination of these fuels. Your body can only store a very limited amount of carbohydrates (in the form of blood glucose) in your muscles and liver.  If you exercise at an intensity that is using carbohydrates as the main fuel source, you will “bonk” when you run out of fuel.  Using heart rate training to teach your body to 1. be efficient at burning fat and 2. increase your VO2 max will help ensure you don’t run out of fuel and learn what intensity you can maintain for a given 5k, Ironman, or anything in between!
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