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Thread: Max heart rate

  1. #1

    Max heart rate

    What's the best way to find your max heart rate (by runnning) rather than using the 220 minus age?
    Ah, you have a lovely voice, a bit like Celine Dion

  2. #2
    Senior Member ajohns352000's Avatar
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    220 -age is very unreliable almost to the point of being useless

  3. #3
    Member Aspidistra's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Celine Dion View Post
    What's the best way to find your max heart rate (by runnning) rather than using the 220 minus age?
    Ignore max heart rate - it is unpredictable and to hard to find.

    What is more use is finding your lactic threshold. The heart rate for your lactic threshold is the pretty much the average heart rate over a 10k road race. Do 2 or 3 of these and you'll have a very practical and useful heart rate figure.

    To increase fitness you should train 2-3 times per week where for 20-30 mins you are training at on or around your lactic threshold heart rate. Over time you should find that as your fitness increases your lactic threshold heart rate increases. Normally the sessions will to achieve this will be hill reps or normal reps with a very short recovery, e.g. 7 x 4 mins at LTHR, 30 seconds recovery. Hence the need to find a long hill! Or do a session on a treadmill avoiding the need to jog back down.

    Basically as fitness improves are training your body to operate at higher intensities without going into lactic deficit.
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    Senior Member detritus21's Avatar
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    Re: Max heart rate

    If you want to find your max look at the tests on the following link

    http://www.brianmac.demon.co.uk/hrm2.htm

    Sums up some quite good tests and ones that runners should be able to do

  5. #5

    Re: Max heart rate

    My book has arrived today

    Heart Monitor Training for the Compleat Idiot by John L. Parker! (thought complete wa spelt without an A or is that to prove that i am indeed an Idiot
    Anyway no doubt will have countless hours of pushing my heart to places it's never been before - if I survive I'll keep you posted!

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    Re: Max heart rate

    Quote Originally Posted by Aspidistra
    Ignore max heart rate - it is unpredictable and to hard to find.
    Not if you run like f*ck uphill a couple of times it isn't.

    Quote Originally Posted by Aspidistra
    What is more use is finding your lactic threshold.
    If it's purely threshold training you'll be doing then yes, but there are quite a few other paces which may be handy to train at, for which heart rate reserve (Karvonen etc, requiring a maximum HR figure) will be useful to calculate.

    Quote Originally Posted by Aspidistra
    The heart rate for your lactic threshold is the pretty much the average heart rate over a 10k road race.
    Lots of sources would suggest that this is pitching it a bit high - 10 mile race effort is quoted more often (or 10k pace minus 10 secs per mile).

    Quote Originally Posted by Aspidistra
    To increase fitness you should train 2-3 times per week where for 20-30 mins you are training at on or around your lactic threshold heart rate
    That's going it a bit in frequency and intensity for anyone who is training less than 6 times a week?

    Your mileage may vary, as they say. Not that I do any mileage anyway. I don't train with an HRM either. What am I doing here?

  7. #7
    Member Aspidistra's Avatar
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    Re: Max heart rate

    Quote Originally Posted by Mud View Post
    Not if you run like f*ck uphill a couple of times it isn't.
    Lots of sources would suggest that this is pitching it a bit high - 10 mile race effort is quoted more often (or 10k pace minus 10 secs per mile).

    That's going it a bit in frequency and intensity for anyone who is training less than 6 times a week?
    The beauty of heart rate training is that it naturally tailors itself to your heart. The advice I gave was the system that worked for me, but it wasn't the exact system I used when I started HRM training; i.e. it evolved. So, a caveat, maybe use my advice as a good starting point and feedback from your HRM will help you evolve the system suitable for you.

    I never found my max heart rate, no matter how hard I tried. One day it'll be one thing, another day another depending on how I'm feeling. Hence I felt the average heart rate was more reliable and scientific.

    Frequency? A suggestion 3 runs includes 1 LT session, 4 runs 1 or 2, 5 runs 2, 6 runs 2 or 3 LT. A key factor is make sure the session after the LT session is a recovery session - use your HRM to MAKE YOU RUN VERY SLOW.

    Now get back down the pub and annoy JJ.
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    Re: Max heart rate

    Quote Originally Posted by Aspidistra
    I never found my max heart rate, no matter how hard I tried.
    Not being funny (I rarely am, after all) but how do you know you never found it? Wouldn't it be safe to assume that the highest you achieved was your maximum?

    In the distant days of proper training (improper is so much more fun), I did a max test of 2 x 800 flat out, with about 30 secs in between. I then added a couple of beats, on the scientific basis that if someone with an axe (or JJ since you mention her) had been chasing me then I could probably have squeezed out that extra bit of effort.

    Quote Originally Posted by Aspidistra
    Frequency? A suggestion 3 runs includes 1 LT session, 4 runs 1 or 2, 5 runs 2, 6 runs 2 or 3 LT. A key factor is make sure the session after the LT session is a recovery session - use your HRM to MAKE YOU RUN VERY SLOW.
    I have found my greatest all-round improvement comes from a more mixed approach of 1 LT session, 1 track session at 3k pace, 1 long run, and steady/recovery runs to make up the numbers.

    I find that a few 40 mile weeks of 4-5 days of that does the world of good but that more than this knackers me out.

    I am, however, a big girl's blouse.

  9. #9

    Re: Max heart rate

    Run till your eyeballs pop then accelerate. Continue uphill then commence banging your b**** in the door!
    Your heartrate should be near max then.
    If thats too tough (as I know you are averse to hard work!)then use Muds suggestion of multiple 800's almost flat out.

  10. #10

    Re: Max heart rate

    Can always rely on sensible answer on here! Thanks Mud. FastEddie, think you're on the wrong forum? This is a 'Fell Running' forum. Roadies not allowed!
    Ah, you have a lovely voice, a bit like Celine Dion

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