How Heart Rate Applies to Training

Learning about heart rate and how it applies to training is a great basic tool to help understand how your body works and performs.

Often, when an athlete is very new to training, his or her exercising heart rate can either be very low or high, with not much in between. This is because in a comparatively untrained individual, the lactic threshold (the point during exercise at which an athlete starts to accumulate lactic acid in the blood) may be quite low, and his or her ability to tolerate lactic acid may also be low. Above the LT, the respiration rate increases quickly as CO2 levels rise in the blood.

Thus, beginners are best served by starting their training programs by focusing on aerobic exercise, which may consist of walking, a walk-run program or easy jogging only. Anything beyond that quickly ramps the heart rate up to an unsustainable level that can undermine an athlete’s fitness progression or even lead to injury.

Heart rate can be a great gauge of aerobic conditioning and endurance gains. While you can invest in a VO2 max test to accurately identify your LT and various heart-rate training zones, this isn’t always feasible for everyone and likely isn’t necessary for the novice athlete.

Instead, here are a few basic guidelines for getting started. Wearing a heart-rate monitor, take note of your heart rate while running for a sustained period at a conversational pace. At this pace you are running aerobically. If you gradually get out of breath (and can’t talk anymore) and your respiration rate climbs, you are working toward LT. You will note your heart rate climbing as well.

For simplicity’s sake I will confine my example to running. Let’s say, for instance, that Joe Runner can run for 30 minutes at 10 minutes per mile at a heart rate of 135 beats per minute. This is a heart rate at which he can run comfortably, but when he lifts the pace to 9:30 per mile he starts to run out of breath. Based on this, I will outline a few steps Joe can take to improve his endurance and get him to the point of being able to tackle some higher-intensity training down the road.

Step 1:

Starting conservatively, Joe should run every second day at 132 to 137 beats per minute, increasing the duration by about 10 to 15 percent per run until he reaches 60 minutes. Joe may notice that as his fitness improves he will be able to maintain a consistent pace as the distances increase and that he can run slightly faster at the same heart rate. That said, if Joe feels fatigued he should take an extra day or two off from running.

Step 2:

Continue to schedule one longer run of 60 to 70 minutes each week at 135 beats per minute. Also include one weekly run of 30 to 40 minutes at the same heart rate plus one run of 30 minutes that includes four to six fartlek pickups of 1 to 1.5 minutes with a full jogging recovery (heart rate drops below 135 for at least two minutes) after each work interval. Joe’s pace for his weekly aerobic endurance runs should gradually get faster. For instance, after a few weeks Joe’s pace could approach 9:45 to 9:30 per mile at the same heart rate.

Step 3:

Over time, Joe should gradually increase the heart rate in his long runs to the 137 to 142 range as he gets fitter.

Over time and with training you will note you can sustain higher heart rates for longer periods of time as your LT heart rate increases. You will also note a substantially lower heart rate while your pace remains consistent or even improves. Once you attain better fitness, you can then take steps to identify your LT and start to base your training off of this.

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• Tip of the Month

  January 2012

  Smart Starbucks and Steakhouse Choices

  Starbucks Choices
  • Peppermint Choc Mocha- 520cals, 20g fat
  • Pumpkin Frappuccino- 420cals, 13g fat
  • Flavored Latte- 360clas, 16g fat
  • Latte- 220cals, 15g fat
  • Coffee w/cream and sugar 180 calories
  • Cappuccino- 120cals, 4g fat
  • Coffee w/sugar 90 calories
  • Coffee w/cream 90 calories
  • Coffee w/whole milk 60 calories
  • Coffee w/skim milk 30-50 calories

  Order a coffee with cream and sugar every work day?  Add 900 calories per week to your diet.  That is over 13 pounds in one year.

  Enjoy a cappuccino every day instead, and you save 300 calories per week, and cut 4 pounds per year from the above diet.

  Go to coffee with skim milk and Splenda?  Now you are only adding 250 calories per week, and under 4 pounds per year in coffee weight.

  Enjoy a flavored frappucino or latte once per week?  That could add up to 26,000 calories, and another 7.5 pounds per year.

  Just your coffee could account for 20 pounds of caloric intake annually!

  Steakhouse Choices
  • Caesars Salad- 800cals
  • Chopped Salad, 320cals
  • Spinach Salad, 170cals click here for more »

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• Recipe of the Month

  January 2012

  Drink alcohol a little more wisely!

  Drink Choices
  • Eggnog, 350cals
  • White Russian, 260cals
  • Riesling, 160-200cals
  • Shot of liquor, 70-125cals
  • Tonic or Soda, 100cals
  • Winter Beer, 150-200cals
  • Beer, 150cals
  • Bloody Mary, 130cals
  • Wine, 120cals
  • Light Beer, 55-85cals
  • Champagne, 85cals
  Enjoy a small glass of eggnog and two gin and tonics, and you have drank 750 worthless calories.
  Or, start with some champagne, and enjoy two glasses of wine and you only have drank 330 calories, less than half of your first choices.