Imafitnessfreak
Cathlete
Hi Dianne, I tried to respond to your PM but it got booted back to me.
Anyway, you are making sense and I understand what you are asking.
The 130's for my easy workouts is on the low and easy end of the spectrum but deliberatley so. I aim to keep my HR under 146 for easy workouts and absolutely no higher than 151 for the easy workouts. Different things affect HR so it depends on the conditions. Say it is a hot humid day and my muscles feel tired. Well, my HR is naturally going to be higher so I'll set the standard at 151 for an easy workout. Say it is a beautiful cool morning and I feel pretty good. Then 146 is the max but I prefer to let my HR linger in the upper 130's.
Why am I doing this? It's good base building for my marathon training. It strengthens and builds the cardiac system. It trains the body to use fat for fuel instead of diving into my glycogen tank...which is critical for running a marathon.
As for my Max HR, mine is around 193. The 220-age is a ballpark and general. I wear a HR monitor so I have a better guess from that. I have learned from an **all out** 5k or track workout that 193 is closer to my actual Max HR.
How did I come up with the 146-151 max? Well, it is 180-my age(34)=146. Since I am so active, I am allowed to add 5 beats bringing it up to 151. But I like to stay on the low end, thus making the 146-151 my absolute max for the easy workouts.
Why 180-my age?? 180 is the number used by Phil Maffetone. I have been studying up on his training ideas and utilizing some (not all) of his principles for my marathon training.
Here’s a summary article by Phil Maffetone:
http://www.rrca.org/resources/articles/slowdown.html
Also, here is an FAQ someone put together with lots of good info and links to related articles:
http://formationflier.spaces.live.com/
Anyway, you are making sense and I understand what you are asking.
The 130's for my easy workouts is on the low and easy end of the spectrum but deliberatley so. I aim to keep my HR under 146 for easy workouts and absolutely no higher than 151 for the easy workouts. Different things affect HR so it depends on the conditions. Say it is a hot humid day and my muscles feel tired. Well, my HR is naturally going to be higher so I'll set the standard at 151 for an easy workout. Say it is a beautiful cool morning and I feel pretty good. Then 146 is the max but I prefer to let my HR linger in the upper 130's.
Why am I doing this? It's good base building for my marathon training. It strengthens and builds the cardiac system. It trains the body to use fat for fuel instead of diving into my glycogen tank...which is critical for running a marathon.
As for my Max HR, mine is around 193. The 220-age is a ballpark and general. I wear a HR monitor so I have a better guess from that. I have learned from an **all out** 5k or track workout that 193 is closer to my actual Max HR.
How did I come up with the 146-151 max? Well, it is 180-my age(34)=146. Since I am so active, I am allowed to add 5 beats bringing it up to 151. But I like to stay on the low end, thus making the 146-151 my absolute max for the easy workouts.
Why 180-my age?? 180 is the number used by Phil Maffetone. I have been studying up on his training ideas and utilizing some (not all) of his principles for my marathon training.
Here’s a summary article by Phil Maffetone:
http://www.rrca.org/resources/articles/slowdown.html
Also, here is an FAQ someone put together with lots of good info and links to related articles:
http://formationflier.spaces.live.com/