HR Zones: 220-Age - the TRUTH! (Page 21)

Luke

If you want to go out and run for an hour as hard as you can, you can do that. That is the definition of Threshold; the pace /HR you can cold for one hour. So..the option is taking a % of a smaller sampling. And after worked with so many athletes over the years, I'm very confident that 95% of your 20' time will work - or you could run a 10k as well. 

If upper 160s is comfortable, but not conversational, then its definitely not Z2. You aren't going to do harm by going too easy, but you will cause harm, or lack of improvement if you go too hard (injury, illness or plateau). 

If it's too easy, then next time you test or run a race, you'll see the improvement and you'll be able to run at a faster pace, higher HR or both. 

Another way to figure this out is to take your 5k or 10k time and match it up on the Macmillan Running Calculator. You'll be surprised at how easy of a pace you should be running. 

So, to answer your question, I would use the lower HRs for now and see how that goes for one month. Then restest or race and see if there is an improvement and then move the pace / HR up. 

I hope that helps. 

Gotcha, thanks. So , yes you can definitely use that HR for your LT.  

Thanks Mike. I'll do that.

It has no scientific validity but appears to have originated as a "best guess" by a researcher named Fox in 1971.  Subsequent research has found 220-age to be rather imprecise.  A good review on the subject can be downloaded here:

faculty.css.edu/tboone2/asep/Robergs2.pdf

Mike!

Long time - hope things are fantastic! Big congrats on the continued success at CU!

I've an email notification tied to this thread and it brings up a question I've been chewing on for a couple weeks. I started Mountain Biking last year and love it. I've haven't raced a tri for a few years but want to give a sport XTERRA a go next month. However, sticking to zone training when mountain biking is impossible - I go to anaerobic every time I ride.  I also find it tough not to go out of zone when trail running and have to walk as much as I run to keep in zone.

Should training for a short XTERRA be the same as a regular tri in regards to HR Zones? Maybe my fitness level just isn't high enough to be training correctly for this kind of race? Having stuck to zone training in the past I'm kind of at a loss here. Thanks in advance!

Jim

Hi Jim!

Good to hear from you! Thanks on CU - the kids work hard and it's been a fun experience for me over the last 3.5 years.

As far as mountain biking and Xterra; I've ventured into this as well this season - I'm about to do my 4th Xterra race next weekend and I know EXACTLY what you are talking about.

Since every mountain bike ride or even trail run can be very hard, I try to limit the amount of minutes I ride at LT or above. Typically I know certain trails and the efforts to get up / down / around etc, and I meter my efforts appropriately. Some days I just ride super easy and if I hit LT it's by accident. I try to pick one day a week where I can let it rip.

As far as trail running I typically do the same - if it's too steep or I have to walk to keep my HR down, I do. There are other times when I'm trying to simulate a race and I just go hard. It depends on the purpose of the workout, and do tend to stay in Z2 for both the bike and run, but I'm not as exact as I would be on the roads, where you can control things much better.

In the beginning of the season, it seemed as though every mountain bike ride was an interval workout, but since I've improved my fitness and riding form, it's been much easier to control the HR and it only goes into LT when I'm trying (not always though!).

So, my advice is to get the technique down, and you'll see the HR down, but also be smart about how much LT work you do on the bike and run.

One thing that's for certain, is that your road biking power is going to go WAY up. Have fun!

Just finished the thread my first triathlon season is over and I have a new garmin time to get this heart rate zone action going for the winter training season!

I refer to this post all the time.  Great stuff!

Did my run test this morning and actually think it was a PR for my 5k time still not 100% sure I went hard enough.

my average for the final 20 min was 160 I put it into the BT calc and got:

1 - Recovery     106 - 136    
2 - Extensive Endurance     136 - 145    
3 - Intensive Endurance     146 - 152    
4 - Sub-Threshold     154 - 159    
5a - SuperThreshold     160 - 163    
5b - Anaerobic Endurance     164 - 168    
5c - Power     170 - 177

Posting here because this thread is an amazing resource and I found it by a recent post hope more will.

Great work! if you have time / resources this fall, jump into a 5k and see what shakes out!

Thanks I am going to to a winter 5k series for fun excited to see my gains.

one question I went to do the custom zones for the garmin and its a tad off.... mine look like this it was the closest I could get.

Zone 1 106-136

zone 2 136-146

zone 3 146-154

zone 4 154-160

zone 5 160-164

zone 5+ 164-170

Zone 5++ 170-177

Should these be fine even though they are a bit off the calculator and the spreadsheet? anything I should change?

I've never done a legitimate test to get my running values but I've just kinda put it into ballpark zones based off of perceived effort, and have been using them for about four weeks. They feel about right, but how accurate do you think they are for most athletes? I've been able to sustain a heartrate of 155 for a long run of 9mi before, and granted it was difficult towards the end it was done. 165-ish is where I start feeling like I'm over the cliff of where the "sore leg" feeling kind of kicks in.

These are the values I have

 However if I did a sprint set and pushed to the point where I fall down I feel like I could get my HR up to 210... I don't know if 5c is the ABSOLUTE MAX your body can push, but I feel like 200's are attainable. I've definitely hit 200+ in the pool before just from checking my HR and counting for 6 seconds.

These are fine!

Don't say another word. Go run a 5k or test and come back and let us know what you get.

  Seriously?  I can't get my HR anywhere close to my run threshold in the pool....I suck at swimming.

I haven't done it since last summer but it was one of the hardest sets I've ever done. It was in club swimming.

Was 600 w/u, several 200's... like 8. all on 2:45, decreasing pace. lots of 25 sprints then we did 30 fifties @ 0:45...

I doubt I could pull it off again I've refocused to running and cycling since then but thats the hardest I've ever pushed myself. I don't want to again, several people were throwing up. Tell you what though he made us fast.

My HR would go to ZERO! 

With all the heart-rate discussions going on I thought it might be a good time to bump this thread again.  Lots of mis-informaton floating around.

This thread should manditory reading for anyone considering HR training.

Mark