Hello all, I was away with work for a few days last week in Scotland. I got speaking to a colleague who was chatting to me about Heart Rate Zone Training. He was a pretty good runner already, but decided to try it a few months ago. He told me that the results were great. He ran a Half Marathon one of the mornings before the meeting. So I've spent the weekend looking into it and I've found a training plan.
My running has not been good over the last couple of months, I've not been doing as much and really need to try something new. So I am going to try this and see how I get on. I will be doing a 6 week training plan initially.
Have any of you tried Heart Rate Zone training before? If so how did you find it?
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damienair
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l have been at it for years, mainly for cardio fitness/VO2max improvements and general strength when running or exercising in general (l do martial arts as well). I’m no expert and do pretty much what suits me and how it suits me but l can see benefits in my overall body fitness, either during longer runs or short sprints. I recover easier than before but then, l don’t know to what extent zone training can be linked up with my hydration/diet/supplement intake. I guess they all play their parts. Given I’m no expert and only do it through trial/error, perhaps I’d be the wrong guy to offer credible advice, apart from the fact that on evidence it works with me.
Hi Damien, I have tried but it just doesn’t seem to work for me. I don’t know if it’s that my zones are wrong (I’ve tried to set them a number of times using different recommended methods but they never seem to change much) or something else but I move out of zones very quickly. I would have to barely run at walking pace to be in zone 3. So I just run by feel. However, I know plenty of people who swear by it and do really well, so I’d definitely suggest you give it a go!
Thanks TC. My colleague said that he found it really difficult in the beginning to get used to running at a slower pace. But over time the pace increased although his Heart Rate Zones remained the same. I'll try it out and report back. I should have a good idea after 6 weeks. Seemingly it takes a few months to really work. You'll know by my parkrun finish times. 😀
The Garmin zones are all over the place. My zone 2 which is 129-140 bpm is represented as zone 4 on my Garmin watch. Totally different and the heart rate sensor on the watch is also very inaccurate.
That’s very interesting as it’s the same experience with the zones as me. I was very happy yesterday as my run was all zone 3 when I ran with Shake-and-run . But that is very, very unusual. Usually I’m in ‘Threshold’ 4 which just cant be true! I’m not sure the heart rate is wrong on my watch though. I’d wear a chest strap but I really can’t face that due to the additional piece of clothing that us women have to wear! Men do have the advantage there.
Hi Damienair, I've read a lot about heartrate training and being old and slow I've toyed with it, I plan to try it out again, slowing down is the only way I don't need walk breaks, and will see if it helps. I'm ready for a new plan, good luck with yours
It does sound interesting Damien, but my HR is so low, there’s really never very much difference between when I run slowly and fast! I have my watch set to 150bpm max, but I never get anywhere near that - unless my watch is wet when it gives duff readings!
So HR training wouldn’t be for me, but it’ll be fun to see how it works for you. 😀
I've been working on it for 3 months now. Boy is it frustrating at the beginning! I have reset my heart zones using the Maffetone method, and invested in a chest strap to monitor zones as my watch was throwing up some odd readings.It has improved my endurance, and I'm running faster in the lower zones.
The first month drove me mad, as I was doing as much walking as running. And you have to put your ego to one side. (For me, that was switching off Strava!)
Give it a go, you have nothing to lose and all to gain 🏃♂️
Thank you so much Teresa. I have zero Ego. I'm muddling along aimlessly at the moment. I just need something to focus on. I'd joined my local running club earlier in the year and enjoyed it for a while. But they are very race focused, whereas I am not. Plus I got sick of running around the athletics track. I was improving but then after my summer holidays I have struggled to get back into it. Bimbling around at parkrun on a Saturday morning is all that I am really interested in. I'm just doing it for health reasons. So anything where you are moving is going to be a benefit. I like researching and trying something out, so I will give it a go and report back. First Zone 2 run will be tomorrow. 30 minute easy run in Zone 2 which for me will be at a Heart Rate of 129-140 bpm.
Firstly Garmin HR Zones are wildly inaccurate. So too is the heart rate sensor on Garmin watches. I’ve done 2 runs this week. One for 30 mins and another for 40 mins. My Zone 2 is 129-140 bpm. Took ages to get up to 130 bpm. I was running at a 6:15 km/min pace and then held 135 bpm for a while before my Heart rate spiked above 150 bpm, but that was after 20 mins or so. After that I had to either walk or jog very slowly.
So today I went out and bought a chest strap heart rate sensor. Should have good accuracy for HR now. I have it set up on my watch. I’ll do parkrun tomorrow morning and then I have a 60 minute run on Sunday.
I felt it didn't work for me. Despite doing speed work a couple of times a week, I just got slower and slower, and frankly have not really picked up any speed since. This was about 3 years ago. I regret doing it frankly.
Thanks for your feedback. That is a pity that you regret doing it. To be honest my running lately has just fallen off a cliff face. I have not done anything in 2 weeks. So I need to try something new. I will be very open minded and I have read that it does not work for everyone. A couple of weeks ago I ran a parkrun, very slowly and comfortably without having to take any walking breaks and I really enjoyed it. I enjoyed the freedom of not chasing a goal or a time. Back in April I was running at 28 minutes for parkrun, two weeks ago it was just under 33 minutes. I checked that run over the weekend and my heart rate was at 144 bpm so close enough to my Zone 2 easy run. It may not work out for me, but at the same time i'll be getting out the door and exercising.
I used a Garmin plan. It had me running slower and slower until it had me at 11:30 pace, and that's for KM not miles. There's something seriously adrift there...there is always the possibility that it was the watch that was wonky....I've found it hard to get any speed back, but I have been ill in the meantime.
I really hope it works for you, I know a lot of people have great success with it. All I would advise is stop if it isn't doing it for you, I waited far too long before I quit, people here kept advising me to give it more time.
Oh, and I'm using Nike Run club now, and really enjoying that. It's similar-ish, they don't give you any targets, just talk about easy running most of the time, and various effort levels when you do the speed work. Could be just the same thing in another guise!
I tried for 6months without any speed work & didn’t get faster at the lower heart rate.
I’m a huge fan of easy running though with just a sprinkle of speed work. I wouldn’t be able to run as much as I do without watching my intensity. Glad you’re enjoying NRC.
There is something very wrong with the Garmin plan. I’ve used a few calculators to work out my zones. My zone 2 is from 129-140 bpm. I ran yesterday evening and held an average 135 bpm for 30 minutes which ended up being 4.07 km. However on my Garmin watch it said I was in zone 4. So I am ignoring Garmin and concentrating on my calculated zones which seem to be pretty accurate. Garmin very wrong.
I’ve discovered after just 2 runs this week that the Garmin zones are wildly inaccurate, the heart rate sensor on the Garmin watch is also very inaccurate. My zone 2 is 129-140 bpm, when I run in that zone my watch says I am in zone 4 which is not correct. So I’m sticking to 129-140 bpm for zone 2, and I also today bought a heart rate chest strap.
I did my first run on the plan yesterday evening. 30 mins in zone 2. Tomorrow evening I will be running for 40 mins in zone 2. 30 mins on Saturday and then 60 mins on Sunday morning. In weeks 3-6 there are plenty of faster interval sessions built in to the plan.
I made a conscious effort to run at Zone 2 for part of my run yesterday, just going by feel. I managed Zone 3 on checking my downloaded run once I got home. So I can go slower which is good news. I felt much better when I got to my ‘oribble ‘I’ll” near the end. I felt it was easier, and faster, climbing up it.
I’ve got faster intervals too in my plan, so in theory they should feel easier
I’ve got to set my watch up for running in zone 2. Not sure if my basic Garmin even does it 🤔
Do a calculated heart rate zone and stick to it. Don’t go with Garmin zones. They are all over the place and wildly inaccurate. I’m not sure the heart rate sensor on the Garmin watch is accurate either.
Really interested in how you get on with this. I’ve been tempted before but I struggle to keep my heart rate in zone 2, even on runs that feel really easy and I’m definitely at a comfortable, conversational pace. Perhaps I’m not setting my zones right.
Looking forward to your updates and hope it’s good for your run mojo-a new plan always helps me feel more positive. Hoping to steal some tips from you! Good luck!
I’ve discovered after just 2 runs this week that the Garmin zones are wildly inaccurate, the heart rate sensor on the Garmin watch is also very inaccurate. My zone 2 is 129-140 bpm, when I run in that zone my watch says I am in zone 4 which is not correct. So I’m sticking to 129-140 bpm for zone 2, and I also today bought a heart rate chest strap. If I was sticking to the Garmin zones I’d be reaching zone 2 by just walking. Interested to see how my run goes tomorrow morning using a heart rate chest strap instead. Should be way more accurate. Hopefully 😁
I did try it and found it really hard to go so slow in the beginning but can see benefits now. However, when I started I had a polar watch which was designed just for that but had poor battery life so I have a Garmin now. Running with a friend at chatty pace my watch says my HR is very high and hers low but we are both able to chat so obviously mine is wrong! I'm quite tempted to try a chest strap to get an accurate measurement. I am definitely staying with the run slower 80/20 type training. Good luck!
Thanks. Yes the chest strap was accurate. I calculated my Zone 2 to be 129-140 bpm. At that easy pace my watch says I’m in zone 4 which is incorrect. I went for a 6K walk with our Dog at lunchtime and my watch said I was in zone 3 😁. Definitely wrong. I’m ignoring the Garmin Heart Rate Zones. I picked up a Chest Strap yesterday in Decathlon. Just £35 and it works perfectly.
I’ve been doing low heart rate training for two months now and it’s been brilliant for me. I’ve got so much energy, look forward to my runs and just feel like I can keep going. I had got stuck at 10km but I can now run 16km+ comfortably.
After two months my pace is 1 minute faster per km at the same heart rate. I started with just low heart rate and now I’ve added in some speed so I’m on 80/20. On faster sessions I’m in zone 3 rather than 4-5 at the same pace. To the point my coach asked me if I was definitely still in zone 3.
Hope it works as well for you. Takes a bit of getting used to as it feels so slow but it is working great for me.
I just made sure all of my runs were in zone 2 heart rate. I used This Messy Happy’s guidance on how to set that: youtu.be/tRx1bwsd2DA?si=-Rl.... They have others that are really useful too. Once you know your zones, run as usual but just in that zone.
Thank you so much for your reply. That is great to hear. I set my watch up again on Saturday so I have my Heart Rate Zones updated on it. Although I am really just looking at Heart Rate. I must say I am preferring running and jogging whilst looking at Heart Rate rather than pace. I am following a 6 week plan which introduces intervals after week 2, so will be 80/20 as well. The first 2 weeks are just zone 2 runs. Getting a chest strap a few days ago has helped as I feel it is more accurate now. I have one week done now, 30 min, 40 min, 30 min and 60 min runs/jogs/walks. This week it will be 30, 45, 30, 70 min runs.
My first 3-4Km are fine, my pace is around 6:45 min/km but after that my heart rate goes above zone 2 very easily, so I have to slow the run right down to a very gentle jog and sometimes even to a fast walk just to get the heart rate back down into zone 2. As soon as I start jogging again the heart rate goes quite quickly above zone 2. I guess it is due to being a little tired. But I am enjoying it and my Cocker Spaniel Ruby is loving the runs along the river too.
From my experience, I’d recommend starting below zone 2 for most of the first km. There’s definitely a lag on your heart rate which means that once it catches up with you, it can overshoot zone 2. I had to slow my usual pace by almost 3 minutes per km but I’m now less than a minute below it.
It’s all about getting in the aerobic fitness. I try to keep the splits the same if I can. If you wanted to do the same, I would slow the beginning kms to keep them all at a consistent pace. That should minimise the chances of going out of zone. In my experience, once you do it’s harder to keep within zone.
For reference, I ran 17km yesterday and my splits were all within 20 seconds of one another (after the slower first one).
If you nail it, it feels like you can run forever. But it is really weird slowing down that much.
Thank you so much for your advice. There is so much information out there that it can be pretty confusing. I am happy now that I have the right zones calculated. I have another run this evening, 30 minutes in zone 2. I'll take it easy from the start and see how it goes. Well done on your 17K run.
Thanks damienair . Glad it was helpful. Floris Gierman on The Extramilest Podcast is my go-to for low heart rate advice. He uses the MAF method but his information is applicable to other ways of calculating zones. He’s got a free guide available if you’re happy to subscribe: extramilest.com/subscribe/
And if you want to feel both inspired and inadequate 🤣, there’s an amazing video of him running a sub-3 hour marathon while chatting away on video: youtu.be/taO8kKsx448?si=ajE...
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