I Tried a Maximum Heart Rate Test to Set My Training Zones
ฝัง
- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 16 ก.ย. 2024
- I tried running a maximum heart rate test to help set my running heart rate training zones, before I start marathon training. It didn't exactly go to plan, but I got the data I needed to make my heart rate zones more accurate, and my heart rate training more effective so I can train to run faster with less effort!
❤️ IMPORTANT: If you have any concerns about your heart health, be sure to speak to your physician before doing any form of fitness testing, including a maximum heart rate test.
Thanks to @COROSGlobal for sponsoring this video. Here's a link to the watch I'm using: www.coros.com/... and the heart rate monitor: www.coros.com/...
🔥 Free 7-Day Challenge: bulletproofrun...
---------
🔴 WATCH NEXT
➜ Low Heart Rate Training, Simplified:
• Low Heart Rate Trainin...
➜ The BEST Running Watch Settings for Zone 2 Training:
• The BEST Running Watch...
➜ Secret to Running Faster with a Low Heart Rate:
• RUNNING FASTER - Secre...
---------
🔴 SUBSCRIBE & RUN STRONGER: www.youtube.co...
---------
INSTAGRAM: / jamesmgdunne
Music by Epidemic Sound: www.epidemicso...
---------
ABOUT ME: I'm James Dunne, a runner, sports rehabilitation therapist (similar to physical therapist) and coach based in the UK (Norwich and London).
Since 2007 I've been working with athletes focusing specifically on helping distance runners and triathletes overcome injury and improve performance through developing their individual running technique.
Running biomechanics and physical therapy are real passions of mine. I love to help runners run strong and stay injury free.
WEBSITE: www.kinetic-re...
DISCLAIMER: Some of the links included in the description above are affiliate links. If you purchase a product with the links that I provide I may receive a commission. There is no additional charge to you, and is an easy way for you to support the channel. Thank you!
#Running #JamesDunne #trainwithcoros
I have been following your advice on hr aerobic running for the last 4 months and yesterday completed a half marathon in 1hr 53m shaving minutes off my previous attempt 20 years ago. Equally important no ill effects and really quick recovery (an afternoon of DIY 😢). Thanks James, wouldn't have done it without this advice.
Fantastic to hear it, Marek! Well done. Really pleased to hear you found the videos helpful :) Keep up the great running.
I this exercise is a fantastic example of why, for practical purposes it is much more accurate to set zones with a lactate threshold test. Lactate threshold is easier to test and is metabolically more relevant to identifying the easier paces as well. Lactate threshold is also highly trainable so setting zones based on fixed percentages of “max heart rate” misses out on really important information (your current state of fitness). That peak number in the hr graph really doesn’t tell you much about what is going on in your body as you reach the first aerobic threshold/first lactate turn point. Most of those “% of max hr” zone formulas are based on fit/trained subjects and do not align well with the wide range of metabolic thresholds observed in the general population. Using gas exchange is not practical for most of us, but a lactate threshold test (e.g. 30 min time trial, take last 20 min average) is manageable AND relevant to setting both easier and harder effort zones. Highly recommended.
I've got a video planned for just before Christmas where I head to a lab to get some proper physiological testing done... I wanted this video to show a DIY approach, then compare it to a "gold standard" approach in the upcoming video. Watch this space! :)
@@JamesDunne excellent! Looking forward to it :)
@@JamesDunne You don't need to go to a lab to do accurate threshold HR tests. Garmins have built in tests that at least for me have been very accurate, when comparing to "manual" tests done just by running intervals and measuring time/distance/HR, which are also easy to do. The Karvonen method has its problems, like for instance, when your fitness improves, your resting HR is more likely to get lower than your max HR higher, meaning that when your fitness improves your Zone 2 gets lower, which it should not do.
I ran 5 miles at 9:40 per mile pace on Monday and average HR 124.
Then ran 20 at 8:08 per mile pace today (Sunday) with rolling hills and average HR 134 only 10 beats higher.
For me I put it down to two things: shoe choice (Nike invincible vs Saucony speed 3) and also stress levels. I was frightened and intimidated at how difficult my week was going to be but once I got to Sunday things had calmed down and that was reflected in my heart rate. Something that I learned this week and will pay attention to.
Enjoying the format of your videos James!
sure dude lol
Great video James! I use my weekly club intervals session to get my MHR. The 30s out and back sprints we do are a killer, max effort, top of zone 5. I use a chest strap and have my Garmin set to auto detect new MHR. Just hit a new one last week. 180 at 51 years old. I completely agree with treadmill running vs outdoor. You just don’t run the same on a treadmill.
Hello sir. I am back watching now since I see you moving more as well. Keep going I hope you still plan to do the Sub 3hr Marathon one day. Your content has helped me a lot. Thank you :)
Great to have you back! Yep... that's still the big goal. One day! Small steps :)
Hi James...you might think about repeating your max HR test with a chest belt. Optical HR sensors (in my experience) are subject to this kind of behavior. Although you are using a unit on your arm, the sensor is still optical. Chest belts sense electrical signals from your heart...no optics involved. Cheers.
54 year old here. Started Z2 training using the formula and looking back, I realize I was trying to run at *Z1*, mostly. Nowadays, I just run the easy runs by feel and it turns that I mostly keep well within my real Z2, which looks very much like yours.
Thanks for the great video. Did you use a chest strap as well as the optical sensor on your arm? I did a max hr test recently on a treadmill and the result from my watch’s optical sensor looked a lot like the curve from your first hard rep. The chest strap showed something quite different that made me realise the difference between the electrical activity in my heart and the blood flow in my capillaries. It also cast the max hr recorded by the optical sensor very much into doubt.
thanks, James! very useful! I was just wondering about an example of a progressive warm up.
I’m 40 and did some speed work yesterday, my heart rate maxed out at 206, although 220-age is good as a ball park you really need to get out there and smash a work out to really find out.
Great video James! (FYI when you point to the video in the top right corner at the end, nothing appears 😮) Definitely something I need to try as I've never used anything other than the 220-age rule, giving me very inaccurate zones. Wish I had a track nearby, flattish path next to an A road will have to do 😬
Hmm. Strange - it's setup right at this end. Must be YT being glitchy as usual 🤣 There are other protocols you can use to test max HR. Including some fairly brutal hill sessions. Ultimately you just need to work REALLY hard!
@@JamesDunneThat's a good point, YT glitches are the norm these days! I did steep hill repeats (90m) recently so that'll actually be a solid indicator, thanks James 🙌🏻 I'm pretty unfit...is there a point at which I should repeat the max heart rate test when I'm fitter to do a comparison for my zones?
I did that in June having followed all your videos, on the treadmill training for a triathlon, had a heart attack, had my 4th scan last week, be careful you don't know what state the heart is in until it gets a scan.
Blimey. Glad you're still here to tell the tale, and that it sounds like you're in good hands, getting the scans etc.
Thanks James for your always high value content videos. Interesting video, and good to hear that other people in the comments who are above forty also have a plus 200 maximum bpm. I thought I was abnormal or maybe my chest strap was faulty, I’m forty eight and have a max of 207 bpm.
I found that i don’t tire as easily and can go higher if I use an indoor bike
I'm 44, generally been unfit most of my life until I started running properly last year and did my first half marathon in October. My maximum heart rate is 190 (measured via a Garmin HRM chest strap quite recently), my resting heart rate appears to be about 45 (measured by my Fenix 6X watch). I take the end of my Zone 2 to be about 151, a rate where if I manage to get above it, I then struggle to get below it no matter how much I slow down) and a lactate threshold of 170 (That's what the watch says, and fits in with being about 90% of MaxHR).
James l have returned to running after a 13 year break,taken up cycling the last 7 years and have become much fitter.l use a chest strap on my bike and wrist (Garmin Fenix 7) for running, currently using cycling data for my zones when running good idea or should l do a running field test? Sticking to zone 2 ATM to get my tendions,calf's used to the pounding as it's a bit of shock to my 50 year body returning to running.
One more question, despite having the fitness to run much faster than l currently am should l stick with zone 2 for a few months despite the fact l have a lot of endurance from cycling?
Cheers.
I think you could get even a higher result running uphill.
If you do that on the flats, especially without practice, you push to the limit of your muscular coordination. After a bit you just can’t keep that all out sprint going.
If you do that on a medium uphill you also slow down, but even at the lower speed, your cardiovascular system will still be punished further.
I could really do with one of those Coros HR bands!! Christmas is coming!!
Interesting - would recommend test your maximum heart rate yearly (example on your birthday 🎉)
I'll be sure to give this a go
Keep up the great content 💪
Really interesting thanks. As a fellow 40 year-old trying to get a faster half marathon time - i'd be interested how your Z2 translates into pace (for me, it becomes REALLY slow compared to what i was running as an easy pace), and whether you think following the 80/20 rule remains the best approach to training for an event when 40.
My recent data is over on Strava if you want to do a deep dive. Most of the 5K per day runs in Oct were aiming to stay in Z2.
Not dismissing HR training at all but i absolute hate running & constantly looking at my watch & adjusting my speed constantly jyst to get the right HR. Made much better progress just going steady most of the time, with some occasional faster work & slowing down when needed
Zones are just guides to allow better communication to get athletes to run at certain intensities ,low medium high stuff, even the main inventor of modern zones insists their just guides . Thats why there are dozens of different zone models out there being used inc ftp threshold stuff.
The old school way was feel and perceived exertion scale which is what your doing which is still a great method .
Zones has been useful for me to get me to appreciate to slow down and take it easier on hill climbs especially for long bike rides , as a result have found I can cycle further and recover quicker for the next weekend😂
@JamesDunne Have you considered using the Coros fitness test to get your LTHR and using that to set your zones? I'm curious how different your zones would be.
I had a strange one Garmin detected a new threshold HR and adjusted my zones. It was obvious on the next run the zone 2 HR was too high as I was breathing pretty hard.
Really helpful content, thank you!
I'm not sure if this was answered before: Can I run my zone 2 runs too easy? Is it better to stay in the bottom, middle or maybe the upper limit of my aerobic heart rate zone during heart rate training?
I always tried to stay at around the calculated upper limit which is 152 bpm, but now I'm experimenting to keep it around 140 bpm for a few weeks now. It feels lighter for my legs so I can keep doing more miles, my heart rate is completely stable, my pace is just ~10-15 secs worse per km which I can accept.
But not sure this is effective, also my Garmin watch says that I'm barely improving or just keeping aerobic fitness level with these runs.
Great video as always James! How often would you say a field test should be performed for accuracy in HR zones?
I wouldn't want to test max HR more regularly than annually. Lactate threshold on the other hand (watch out for future video on that) should be more regular, maybe quarterly.
It's really interesting. For me, if I'm outputting 300 watts outside, versus on a treadmill - I will almost always have a higher heart rate on the treadmill. I think for me, this comes down to running form and higher stress. I never truely relax on a treadmill, and it feels just so unnatural to run on. It lends me to think that a test that takes running form out of the equation (such as a step machine ?) could be a good way for me at least, to more easily get to my real Max HR.
I’m 70 but still looking to improve my running in any way I am able though, of course, my pace is much less now than it was when I was 50. To this end I’m really keen on heart rate training but I struggle to find my max HR. I’ve recently seen 174, but each time I get near I’m in a quandary; I’m too uncomfortable to go faster yet at the same time I know I could! Sounds ridiculous I know but I think that psychologically I’m fearful of going that extra small effort because….well age I suppose. So I know my max is more than 174, but not how much more, and so my heart rate zones never seem to be right. For example, I run mostly in zone 4 (some in 3, but not much), and I suspect it’s because my max is wrong.
Hi James! I don't really understand that there is 61-70% at zone 2. , but if you calculate it as percentage of maximum heart rate you get different values. How is it actually?
Question: would my top heart rate reached during a pretty much all out 10K race count? I never did a max HR test, but my highest HR during the race was 195 bpm. Or should I really ideally do a more structured test?
Garmin watches measure and record your resting heart rate. So it should be automatic?
Mr. Dunne, what's your fastest recent mile time?
Not done mile reps or anything similarly relevant since 2018 so 🤷♂️
I think hills are best way to reach max HR.
Crazy how much HR varies. Your max is my Z3
220-age for me is totally wrong. Last summer at the young age of 44 I took a max test and had max bpm of 204
Agreed. It's wildly inaccurate. I just found it funny that the numbers lined up this time!
It's wildly off the mark for me too, and I'm in my mid-50s. A few months ago I very probably broke 180 during a sprint finish to a 5k run (my Polar H10 went flaky during that run, but it clocked 179 before suddenly claiming a steep drop in my HR even though I was still accelerating). And I didn't even feel as though I was going all out.
I have to run a 3 min route with obstacles (jump, climb , rolling and running ) my breath cuts off when i get to 1 min 30 ( i have to get as less time as possible ) because the last one is running back and forth with cones and there i can’t breath or i don t know how to breath correctly . Could you help me not lose my breath with any tips , videos , anything . I have an exam in 1 month
I struggle with finding my true resting heart rate 🤔 when I’m
Laid down resting can be 34-40
I simply can't run in Z2, walking only is just about ok so really struggle to use HR training without feeling like I'm wasting my time.
Are you sure your zones are right?
Then you should try walk-runs or just walk until you can someday run in zone 2
@@kahlis Have tried this multiple times over several months at a time and I see very little gain/benefit and am not prepared to persist for months and months.
@@carlstoakes6240 then there is the option of first trying to get faster and then coming back to zone 2.
@@platosbeard3476 Being (almost) 57 that would equate to 180-57=123, which is way lower than I can manage if running. Walking even if hilly.
The kind of effort it takes to hit your max is not pleasant. My max is somewhere in the mid 170s and I’ve hit it maybe handful of times in total in the past couple of years and it’s always generally been during a threshold effort in the heat. I doubt with that protocol you’d actually hit your max, better to do a ramp test indoors on a treadmill and I would always use a chest strap. Actually it’s probably better to base your heart rate zones on your lactate threshold.
Wouldn’t .7*181=127? Apparently I have been calculating zones wrong. My max is similar to yours but I have been trying to stay below 127 because I thought that was the upper limit of zone 2. Do I need to go back to elementary school?
Nothing wrong with your math, but I’m not trying to use percentage of max HR to set the zones. Instead I’m using the Karvonen formula, which incorporates both max HR and resting HR.
@@JamesDunne ah ha!!!
i could never register an accurate max hr in this way using rests personally, i've only ever managed to see my max hr (or close to) pop up on my watch after at least 20-25mins of threshold pace or so, once that cardiac drift has set in and i'm well and truley starting to struggle, if i wait til this point and then give a few mins of absolutely max effort i can get the what i'd call my max hr to pop up , anyone else relate?
Could your New Max heart rate be due to a glitch with the Hr Sensor? Did you use a chest strap?
I had thought the same thing. But then again, the spike occurred exactly when I was pushing the hardest and hurting the most, so it would have been a very well timed glitch! I wore an upper arm strap on my left side. My understanding is that it’s pretty much comparable with a chest strap, at least when compared to optical wrist sensor! I’m getting a lab test done in Dec, for a different video, so we’ll see how the data stacks up then!
Why do the zones displayed not correspond to the actual mathematical percentage values of your max HR? Have I been calculating these wrong this whole time?
Because I'm not using % of max HR. The formula used is explained properly here: th-cam.com/video/T_RebqRBLXg/w-d-xo.html
@@JamesDunne watching it now. Thanks!
I am still struggling to get my heart rate down, even on my slow runs im still in zone 4, any slower and I feel that I will be walking, any tips for getting into Zone 2 or is walking part of it?
Yes. Try walking. Gradually you will be able to keep your heart rate down with less walking. Once I got used to the feeling of 'easy' I pay less attention to the exact heart rate and just try to keep the easy sensation happening. When I'm in really good shape my heart rate will be low z2, when I need rest it'll be closer to the top.
Using walking will let you run with a normal running gait while you run. Once I accepted incorporating walking it became more fun.
The values in the heart rate zones are incorrectly calculated. For example Z1, 50% of 181 is not 118 but 90.5. The zone should be between 90.5 and 108.6 heartbeats. Garmin has corrct values but for me it is no posible to easy run in Z2. Garmin Z2 range is Coros Z3.
That's because it's using the Karvonen formula, not %maxHR.
@@JamesDunne I based only on HRmax. Which formula do you think is better? Thank you for help :)
Of the two... Karvonen, for sure! Explained here: th-cam.com/video/T_RebqRBLXg/w-d-xo.html