Heart Rate Training Part III

Missed Parts I and II? Find them  here and  here.

Training Zones

OK guys, here's where we put all of the numbers we gathered about our tickers and apply it to training.  There are a lot of different charts and variations for the different training zones, but basically, heart rates can be roughly grouped into three cleverly named zones:

Easy - 60-75%

Moderate - 75-85%

Hard - 85-95%

Important:  Here's something I never knew about these zones... they are NOT a percentage of your max heart rate, they are a percentage of your working heart rate... which is a calculation involving both your max and resting heart rate.

Here is an awesome calculator that takes your Max HR, Resting HR, age, and sex to find your personal training zones.  The percentages are a little different than the easy, moderate and hard above, and the names of the zones are schmancier, but it saves you the legwork.

Once you know your heart rate zones, you can start to use them for workouts.  My Garmin has a feature that alerts you if your heart rate goes out of the predetermined range... so I could set it at 60-70% for a long run, 85% and above for a tempo, etc.    There is a ton of information out there on specific workouts using your heart rate, and it's interesting stuff folks.

Here's something cool to remember:

The ultimate goal of training is to be able to run the same distance/speed with a lower heartrate.  I think it is AWESOME to be able to actually see your heart getting healthier. 

Here are some links I found particularly helpful:

http://www.runnersworld.co.uk/general/big-heart-rate-training-index/177.html

http://www.marathonguide.com/training/articles/HeartMonitorTraining.cfm

http://www.runnersweb.com/running/hr_calculator_new.html

Stay tuned for Part IV:  The Double Jogger Heartrate Experiment....