A great video on the effects of 10 years MAF training

[Instructor57]

This has always been something I have been interested in from around a year after starting running , especially when I was running regular 10k's

Like many, I found it very frustrating as I needed to stop running and walk for a while every few minutes to keep my heart rate below my MAF Max.

At the time I didn't quite grasp the fact that the method doesn't care if you are running or walking , just that the time training is at or below (ideally below) your MAF Max.

At the time I was using the MAF formula of 180 - Age with no other tweeks.

Following my heart attack in February I have obviously become even more interested in the function of my heart !

Having re run C25k since then and having lost 2.5 stone, coming off Beta blockers and controling my glucose levels my HR is a lot more stable and this seems like the perfect time to give this more serious attention.

I will of course need to tweak the formula further (as explained in the video and on the MAF website) following the heart attack.

But what better way of regaining my fitness.

I use a Polar hr chest strap on my runs as I find it has more stability than my Garmin .

I used them many years ago when I gave up smoking (26 years ago) and have now bought a newer polar strap.

So from now on the only metrics I will be watching are HR and time !

I know quite a few here have used and are currently using this method to great effect!

Enjoy the video 🙂

youtu.be/P_VNQ6UIbS8?si=X6S...(Not working as expected?)

[Jools2020 Half Marathon]

This sounds perfect for you, Ian. I think that following your HA you have been forced to have a different view of running and will enjoy this MAF a lot more than you did before. You’ll be glad to get out there and run, however low your heart rate. Yes, sometimes you’ll have to walk but it won’t take long for you to be running a bit faster at the same low heart rate and walking will be less.

I’m doing something a bit different, too! I decided to book some online training. I’m on a trial 4 weeks, just one week in. At the moment, my training is using Effort Zones. There are 5 of them, similar to heartrate zones I suppose, but there is a description of each Effort Zone - like “I feel I could run forever in this zone” for Zone 1. I’m asked to ignore heart rate and run entirely by effort. I suppose it boils down to the same thing, though. The base runs are mostly in Zones 1 (warm up) and 2, very minimal effort. Then other zones are introduced, like faster finishes at the end or intervals. Later on, hill reps! One run a week is increasing distance. Oh and I have to do strength training after every run! This, I know I need. I follow a video so I don’t even have to work out what I should be doing! Different video after each run so far.

This training programme is forcing me to run easy and have patience. Give me a plan that I believe in and I will follow it, taking it run by run! My instructor says his clients often have real problems slowing down. Not me! 😂

So far, I love it! (The benchmark run was a bit of a killer though 🤣)

I think that although the labels are different, we are looking at similar ways of running. 😊

[Instructor57 in reply to Jools2020]

Very interesting Jools2020 🙂👍And yes , both really using a similar philosophy!

Judging your zones by 'Effort' is of course a very good way to "Individualise" your HR.

As long as you are honest with yourself 🙂

It is something I will pay attention to anyway, how does my HR Equate to my 'conversational pace' or my 'Perceived effort' , both things I will pay a lot of attention to .

And yes, we appear (not for the first time) to be looking at similar methods .

Enjoy the journey 🙂👍

[Jools2020 Half Marathon in reply to Instructor57]

Yes, I read your post and thought - I don’t believe it! It will be interesting to see how it pans out. 😊

[Instructor57 in reply to Jools2020]

I am due at the gym tomorrow... I have missed 2 weeks ( so 4 sessions)I will see how I feel tomorrow as my back is doing ok now , infact today is the first day I have not taken any pain killers! And I'm just about to go out for another driving lesson.

So if I go to the gym tomorrow I might just concentrate on a MAF session 🙂

And yes, will be interesting to see how we both get on 🙂👍

[Jools2020 Half Marathon in reply to Instructor57]

Good luck at the gym!

[Instructor57 in reply to Jools2020]

Thanks 🙂👍

[RunWillie Marathon]

I love the content on the Extramilest & I’ve learnt so much from Floris on long distance running. Hope you enjoy your training 👍🏻

[Instructor57 in reply to RunWillie]

Thank you !I have more reason to stick to it this time 🙂

[nowster Metric Marathon]

I try to do a few runs in Zone 2, though it's hard to keep the HR that low when I have a stiff hill climb (11m in 150m: 7%) in the middle of that route. I suspect I ought to do it over more than a couple of miles, though.

[Instructor57 in reply to nowster]

Yes, I think patience is definitely a virtue in low HR training ... I will need to reduce my HR even further following the heart attack, I guess I'll be doing a lot of walking in the first few weeks !

I notice even on my walks the HR goes up so easily on just a gentle incline