There are five easy steps you should take: 1. Roughly estimate your maximum heart rate (MHR) by subtracting your age from 220 (or a little more accurately, 214-(0.8 x age) for men, and 209-(0.9 x age) for women. If you're a regular runner, you can test yourself for your MHR by warming up and then doing a combination of short, fast runs as follows, ideally on a treadmill: run as fast as you can, evenly, for three minutes, then rest with two or three minutes gentle running, then repeat your three-minute maximal run; at some stage during the second effort you should get a higher MHR value than with any other method. 2. Work out your training zones: 50-60 per cent of maximum for easy recovery runs; 60-70 per cent for basic weight management; 70-80 per cent for aerobic training; and 80-100 per cent for threshold runs and speed training. The figures are more accurate if you find percentages of your working heart rate, then add them to your resting heart rate. You find your working heart rate by subtracting your resting heart rate from your maximum. 3. If you don't already have a training schedule, plan your runs for the week ahead and allocate a target heart rate zone for each run. 4. Stick to these zones. 5. Be alert for unusual readings. If you're ill, tired, stressed or not fully recovered from a race, then your resting heart rate may be higher than normal. If it's 5-10 beats above normal, make your day's run an easy one. Any higher than that and you should definitely have a rest day.
Answers & Comments
There are five easy steps you should take: 1. Roughly estimate your maximum heart rate (MHR) by subtracting your age from 220 (or a little more accurately, 214-(0.8 x age) for men, and 209-(0.9 x age) for women. If you're a regular runner, you can test yourself for your MHR by warming up and then doing a combination of short, fast runs as follows, ideally on a treadmill: run as fast as you can, evenly, for three minutes, then rest with two or three minutes gentle running, then repeat your three-minute maximal run; at some stage during the second effort you should get a higher MHR value than with any other method. 2. Work out your training zones: 50-60 per cent of maximum for easy recovery runs; 60-70 per cent for basic weight management; 70-80 per cent for aerobic training; and 80-100 per cent for threshold runs and speed training. The figures are more accurate if you find percentages of your working heart rate, then add them to your resting heart rate. You find your working heart rate by subtracting your resting heart rate from your maximum. 3. If you don't already have a training schedule, plan your runs for the week ahead and allocate a target heart rate zone for each run. 4. Stick to these zones. 5. Be alert for unusual readings. If you're ill, tired, stressed or not fully recovered from a race, then your resting heart rate may be higher than normal. If it's 5-10 beats above normal, make your day's run an easy one. Any higher than that and you should definitely have a rest day.