Low HR Training

1

About to start low HR/Maffetone training... (Read 355 times)

jeffdonahue


    and just want to make sure I got this right. I ordered my HR monitor - used to have one but never used it and cant find it now. I am 37, so I go with the 180-37=143. But I have been working out consistently for about 7 years now so I add 5 beats which brings me to 148. Now I want to keep all my workouts below this, but I guess my question is whether I should be shooting to be as close to this as possible or if I should just be even more conservative and keep it lower - say 140 just so that if I do spike a bit during the workout it wont go over the 148? Thanks in advance. Jeff
    C-R


      Welcome Jeff - you've found a little corner of RA that has some hidden gems. Other more experienced MAF runners will chime in but from my one year of training this way, I might be able to help share. I am 42 and active but I keep my MAF at 138. For several months I ran keeping at or below MAF - say 2 to 3 beats - and had some good results. After reading Jimmy's posts I now keep around MAF-10 plus or minus a few beats (125-132) and am seeing better results on my MAF tests. I have not raced since trying this but have a 7 miler coming up in Feb and a half in Mar where I feel confident in setting some PRs all things being equal. Hope this helps and be patient and stick with it as this training can be very frustrating until you start to see the results.


      "He conquers who endures" - Persius
      "Every workout should have a purpose. Every purpose should link back to achieving a training objective." - Spaniel

      http://ncstake.blogspot.com/

      BeeRunB


        and just want to make sure I got this right. I ordered my HR monitor - used to have one but never used it and cant find it now. I am 37, so I go with the 180-37=143. But I have been working out consistently for about 7 years now so I add 5 beats which brings me to 148. Now I want to keep all my workouts below this, but I guess my question is whether I should be shooting to be as close to this as possible or if I should just be even more conservative and keep it lower - say 140 just so that if I do spike a bit during the workout it wont go over the 148? Thanks in advance. Jeff
        Hey Jeff, Happy New Year. From Training For Endurance by Dr. Phil Maffetone: d. If you are a competitive athlete who has been training for more than two years without any of the problems listed (running with injury, regression in time, more than two colds or bouts of flu per year, allergies, medication) and have made progress in competition without injury, add 5. If you feel that you fit the profile, go for it. Use a zone of 138-148. The important thing is to do an MAF test every 3-4 weeks. If they aren't improving, or are getting worse, then you probably should adjust your MAF down to 180-age. If you are improving steadily, you are fine. Expect the possibility of your first few tests and training times to get worse. Many have seen this happen, including myself. Probably due to ignoring the fast twitch fibers for the first time and exhausting the slow twitch. It should turn around. Have a good time! The slowness is temporary. --Jimmy
          Hey Streaker Jeff! I started low heart rate training just a few weeks ago. Still at the painfully slow stage, but gradually gaining speed. I love these slow workouts! Goes well with streaking. I highly recommend reading The Maffetone Method and Slow Burn. The Method is an easy, short read. Slow Burn is practical and inspirational. Mittleman shows how the training is done in the real world and how it helped him run incredible distances in record times.