Since I got my new watch in April I've been more aware of the different heart rate zones. I was definitely overdoing it before I got my watch, but find the zones ridiculously low. Now I know I'm an old lady and the 220 minus age rule of thumb gives me the grand total of 163 as my maximum, but I find it almost impossible to slow down enough to keep in zone 2. That's a maximum heart rate of 114! Today I managed it, but it was so ridiculously slow I could have walked it at that speed. I'm much happier in the 140s and 150s, but that's running pretty much the whole time at the top of zone 4 and in zone 5. My Garmin tells me I'm dying if I do that. The damn thing hasn't adjusted over the months either.
So rant over. Any advice welcome!
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JaySeeSkinny
Graduate10
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At age 70, my "supposed" max HR is 150 - however on many occasions during a hard finish at parkrun I have seen 160-165 . Thus there is a 10-15 BPM difference between the two. Unless I manually put the higher figure into my Garmin settings , the watch will use the default 150. Nextly - there are two methods to calculate HR zones - the first and most common uses a simple percentage of max HR and the second takes into account your resting HR. So the first one for example for Zone 2 uses 60-70% of max HR - so 70% of my max HR say 160 = 112. BUT - the second method also takes into account my resting HR which is 50 and calculates 70% of my Reserve or Working HR which is (max - resting) and therefore =70% of 110 =77 plus resting of 50 = 127. So therefore you can see that the two distinctly different methods of calculation give different results, 112 and 127. Thus I also find that the first method of using only simple % gives me a figure too low, even after taking into account my real max HR
The best way to work out your zones is this - if you can try to find out your true max HR - it will probably be about 5BPM higher than anything you ever see on the watch. Then take your resting HR early morning before coffee or any activity. These will give you the two HR extremes of your life between sound asleep and flat out! Then go out for a one mile flat walk and during the last 1/4 mile walk as hard and fast as your little legs will carry you - this will give you the top end of your Zone 1 (60%). Then use the average HR you have recorded over a 1 hour long race ( not a training run but a hard as you can go race 8-10 klms) - this will be around halfway in the middle of your zone 4 (85%). Your average pace during a hard effort 5k parkrun, we will call your 95% point and the HR number that you get when you run with a friend and converse completely with no hesitation at all in breathing ( like you do when you walk but this time you are actually running) , we will call the top of your Zone 2 (70%)
If you put those numbers in a line from 60% to 100% - and allocate 5 even 10% zones from 50%to 100% , you will get more sense out of your HR training. The hardest part is getting your true max HR, but the other exercises to get sub-optimal %'s are easy to get ( except maybe for the 1 hour long race number if you have never raced 10K)
I've just grubbed through some of my old runs in the Garmin, my fastest 10k and fastest 5k. Plus a long, fast walk. It gives me a baseline and shifts everything up a whole zone - which feels more realistic. The calculation of maximum which takes into account your resting heart rate is even more extreme - I have a very low resting rate (I blame it on the beta-blockers I take for my blood pressure). It's showing 43 bpm at the moment and sometimes I go even lower - scared the wits out of me at first, but I haven't died yet. I will take it up with the doc though on my next check-up. If I take that into account I can go even higher.
Whatever the case I need to gather a bit more information. The next walk will be an information gathering one! After that I will set my Garmin manually.
Just been for an information gathering walk. It was cut short a bit and was only 3/4s of a mile, but the last 1/4 I walked as fast as I could without running. Peaked at 118, but was at 111 when I got home. That tallies with what I'd worked out beforehand (almost exactly). Garmin has me RUNNING at the end of zone 2 at that. Mind you my normal walking rate (for instance in the morning or back from work) has me at under 90. So that really was speed walking!
re the walking - that's about right it seems - a walk home from work puts you at 90BPM -in Zone 1 which is usually described as very easy. Zone 2 is easy/long. Zone 3 is a kind of "forbidden" zone - too fast for easy/long running benefits and too slow for tempo/interval benefits. Zone 4 typically tempo type training and zone 5 typically short interval training.
I know, I've recently become aware of the benefit of HR zone training but I really struggle to keep mine down too. My supposed maximum is 167 which I easily achieve if I'm puffing up a hill! My Garmin freaked me out the other day because it suddenly bleeped at me and told me that my HR was too high - I don't think it was, although it was registering over 180, but I think this was a blip because it malfunctioned when I got back home and my Fitbit seemed to think I was normal. More to the point, I felt fine.
The bigger problem is that although Bazza1234 's advice is great and I will look at that, I feel as though I am cheating somehow. Not only that, but I have been following a myAsics plan and the first runs on that are at an incredibly s-l-o-w pace. I find this painful - literally painful. It hurts my back, my shins and my hips. I find I run differently somehow - much heavier in some way. I'm not sure what to do therefore, in terms of running in a lower HR zone - even if I can find out what it should be!
That is why I really don't like those ASICS plans - their slow runs are TOO ridiculously slow. I prefer to use Jack Daniels calculator here runsmartproject.com/calcula... Run a "fast as you can " mile or 5K and put thta in the calculator - he then give a range of reasonable slow paces foe easy runs and long runs. As for the HR stuff -- your max HR is probably much higher than the standard formula calculated by Garmin. Put 180 into it manually as your max HR and see how you feel then about its HR zones. Puffing up a hill at 167 and you are probably somewhere within Zone 4 ( which is described as being "comfortably or tolerably hard" )
I just run and don't bother with heart rate monitoring, if I croak I croak
At least I will die happy 😃
stressing about it is bad for you!
Yeah I understand about training between zones but find the whole subject just Dullsville 😁
I have a good diet, don't drink or smoke, have high cholesterol even so- according to my doc - but don't sit at home worrying about it. My husband got me a heart rate strap,and watch, but I just can't be arsed with it
I don't think I'm going to die, with or without a heart rate monitor. But I don't want to burn out or knacker myself. And I do run that risk without the monitor - I just push too hard on every run. And you know that feeling of exhaustion, when you're just drained for days on end? I don't want to go there again! I think I've realized by now that I ain't ever gonna be speedy!
In Jack Daniels book he also mentions that the formula for max heart rate based on age (220-age) is bad for estimating an individuals max HR. It is good for large group averages but don't rely on it for your own max HR. My watch has wrist based optical HR but from what I can tell garmin doesn't update my max HR either. I would use a chest strap for more accurate readings. Alternatively use a pace calculator based on a recent race, or Jack Daniels VDot tables.
Are you using the wrist based HRM on the watch? I'm looking at buying a chest strap in the future, the HRM on mine is very good but still not as good as a strap. I wouldn't rely on it for HR training and its the latest garmin iteration.
I have used HR training quite a lot - and also done a 16 week Jack Daniels programming ( Running for Fitness Red plan) . I do prefer to just use his calculator to determine training paces now - except for that having not run for over 3 months due to injury ( caused by blindness - not looking where I was running!) , I may use my HRM when I get back to it. I am using the HRM in the gym - mainly to get my HR up as I find that the gym equipment does not get my HR going like running does!!
I'd like to give it a go, my watch is good for a lot of the HR ranges but closer to max it isnt, it lags a lot. The only thing I can compare it to is the HR stuff on gym machined, its pretty identical +-1 most of the time, but not when its high. Crosstrainer can get my heart going.
I think I saw you mention Daniels before and that's why I checked it out, its very enlightening as I didn't know the reason behind any of the sessions before and just ran as fast as I could. So thankyou for that. Also Sage Canaday (who just completed UTMB today) talks about it. His partner had surgery last year I think and it took her out for a year but she is back winning ultras in the US now so it happens but you can bounce back from it. Sorry to hear it has been so long for you.
I think we will all have to deal with an IC stretch at some time so it will be good to hear your gym sessions you use. A guy from our running club was on IC most of this year but took up cycling, now he is back running again he had improved through cycling and got 5k PB a few weeks ago.
Do you use a HR chest strap? Also let me know if you know other good books, finished Jack Daniels last week, I'll give the training plans or running for fitness plan a go after my upcoming races. Have a few books on the amazon wish list to choose from.
I have had to reset my heart rate zones as I know my maximum heartrate is 188 So it makes a difference to all the other zones. My heart rate runs a little high anyway. I'm not sure if beta blockers make a difference to the zones, it would be interesting to find out. What is the highest heart rate you have ever recorded, and how did you feel at that level. When I've been at my highest every cell in my body is telling me to slow down, it is not something you could continue to run through for long. If you've ever felt like that on a heart rate recorded run it could help you determine your max heart rate rather than the generic calculation.
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Then go out for a one mile flat walk and during the last 1/4 mile walk as hard and fast as your little legs will carry you - this will give you the top end of your Zone 1 (60%). Then use the average HR you have recorded over a 1 hour long race ( not a training run but a hard as you can go race 8-10 klms) - this will be around halfway in the middle of your zone 4 (85%). Your average pace during a hard effort 5k parkrun, we will call your 95% point and the HR number that you get when you run with a friend and converse completely with no hesitation at all in breathing ( like you do when you walk but this time you are actually running) , we will call the top of your Zone 2 (70%) 
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