I do "heartleks" - which are basically HR controlled Fartleks . When doing Fartleks we run as far and as easy or hard as we want, the further we run the more our HR increases, the harder we run the higher the HR goes also. But by setting lower and upper HR alarms (say for a Z2 run/walk) , my watch will alarm as soon as I hit that Zone upper limit and then I walk my HR back down to the lower Zone limit (for as long as it takes) . So for example, if my HR hits the upper limit at the base of a steep hill, and I start to walk up that hill, it will take much longer for the HR to drop than if it was all downhill. Anyway, regardless of how easy or hard I run or walk, I will always stay inside Z2.
I've been running for 45 years and it's very refreshing to come across a channel i can relate to that is hosted by someone in my age group. Back in my 20's we thought we were pretty slick with our Casio watches but when the Timex Ironman Watch was released, that was considered pretty high tech. Amazing how far we have come with the watches. Enjoy your channel's content Ralph and thanks for offering us more perspective on topics such as this.
I’ve been using all these various methods to calculate my HR zones and none of them seemed to fit. Used your very straight forward method after watching today and voila! These zones finally make sense with what I’m seeing on my watch. Thank you!!!
As a 54 yr old runner I found this really helpful, I find my self over the past few years really spending many of my runs in zone 1 & 2. This is particularly due to enjoying ultras and trail runs, the elevation lends itself to hiking as opposed to running. I know I need to spend a bit more time in zone 3 & 4 at least once a week. Have a great week!
Thanks for the feedback and sharing some of your experience. Understanding heart rate zones helped me a lot. I’m glad you also found it helpful. Happy running!
Training to HR is so useful and something I think people think is only for top athletes. With my new Garmin watch which takes HR at the wrist (I often leave my chest strap behind) I have been testing it - and me - out to get a real feel for the perceived effort of the different zones. I totally agree that the formulae are pointless. At 68 years my max HR was way way too low using formulae. I finally arrived at 175 max after some very hard hill reps where I hit 172...and as I wasn't completely dead I guessed at 175 as my 'death' zone😅 I found it reallly useful to 'calibrate' myself by running to a perceived effort and then looking at the HR once I got home....no peeking at the watch before then! Now I can judge my HR zones quite accurately by my breathing. The change can be quite subtle. Tho the best thing about seeing your HR on your watch is when it is saying yes you are indeed working hard, and it's OK to slow down. Runners can so often be hard on themselves! PS I like the new specs! Enjoy getting out there again ...Spring is on its way.
Thanks Jo for sharing how you use heart rate. I like how you were able to "calibrate" yourself. I might try that. I set my MHR at 178, so we're not too far apart. Thanks for noticing the new glasses! They have no distance prescription, only a progressive bifocal (with UV blocking lens) so I can better read my watch.
68 here too and looking forward to the best running years of my life. I use a Garmin Forerunner 945 and I’ve noticed significant differences between the wrist HR and my Polar Verity armband where the Polar is very consistent and the wrist HR can be all over the map. I used my wrist today because my Polar ran out of juice right before my run. The wrist gave me a max HR of 179. At my age and conditioning that’s wildly off. I can be ready to exhale up a lung and I can’t get past 165.
Thanks! This was very helpful. Been doing run walk to break up the monotony of running, plus i was a sprinter when i ran track so running faster feels more natural. Glad to have this zone based way of tweaking my workouts now.
Great video, Ralph. I really enjoy the videos you do. I am similar in age, so they are relatable. I heard another UA-cam running person say something about not running in Zone 3. That it is not productive. You should run in Zone 2 for Aerobic and Zone 4 for Anaerobic. Is running in Zone 3 a good thing? I try to do my long runs (8-12 miles) in Z2 and Z3.
Thanks Mark! I'm glad you enjoy my videos! I try to do my long run below 80% MHR. Most of the run is in zone 3, not because I'm targeting Zone 3, rather, it's where my effort seems to end up. Keep in mind what I said about 80% (or any zone boundary); it's not a line in concrete. As your effort (and heart rate) increases, so does your mixture of aerobic and anaerobic running. Zone 2 is very aerobic, Zone 4 is anaerobic, so Zone 3 is kind of a transition. I think you can train in all zones (except 5), depending on your run purpose. There is lots of info out there. Here's an article that recommends exercising in Zone 3 for optimum heart health: www.verywellhealth.com/heart-rate-zones-5214548
I do "heartleks" - which are basically HR controlled Fartleks . When doing Fartleks we run as far and as easy or hard as we want, the further we run the more our HR increases, the harder we run the higher the HR goes also. But by setting lower and upper HR alarms (say for a Z2 run/walk) , my watch will alarm as soon as I hit that Zone upper limit and then I walk my HR back down to the lower Zone limit (for as long as it takes) . So for example, if my HR hits the upper limit at the base of a steep hill, and I start to walk up that hill, it will take much longer for the HR to drop than if it was all downhill. Anyway, regardless of how easy or hard I run or walk, I will always stay inside Z2.
This is a great suggestion, Barry! Simple and effective. Thanks so much for sharing!
I've been running for 45 years and it's very refreshing to come across a channel i can relate to that is hosted by someone in my age group. Back in my 20's we thought we were pretty slick with our Casio watches but when the Timex Ironman Watch was released, that was considered pretty high tech. Amazing how far we have come with the watches. Enjoy your channel's content Ralph and thanks for offering us more perspective on topics such as this.
Thank you, David, for your positive feedback. I appreciate it very much! I’m glad you enjoy my videos. Happy Running!
This was such a great video, it answered a lot of my question's no other video has addressed!
Thank you, Kelly! I’m glad it was helpful for you. Thanks also for taking the time to give me this feedback!
I’ve been using all these various methods to calculate my HR zones and none of them seemed to fit. Used your very straight forward method after watching today and voila! These zones finally make sense with what I’m seeing on my watch. Thank you!!!
I glad to hear my method worked for you! Thanks for sharing that!
As a 54 yr old runner I found this really helpful, I find my self over the past few years really spending many of my runs in zone 1 & 2. This is particularly due to enjoying ultras and trail runs, the elevation lends itself to hiking as opposed to running. I know I need to spend a bit more time in zone 3 & 4 at least once a week. Have a great week!
Thanks for the feedback and sharing some of your experience. Understanding heart rate zones helped me a lot. I’m glad you also found it helpful. Happy running!
Training to HR is so useful and something I think people think is only for top athletes. With my new Garmin watch which takes HR at the wrist (I often leave my chest strap behind) I have been testing it - and me - out to get a real feel for the perceived effort of the different zones. I totally agree that the formulae are pointless. At 68 years my max HR was way way too low using formulae. I finally arrived at 175 max after some very hard hill reps where I hit 172...and as I wasn't completely dead I guessed at 175 as my 'death' zone😅 I found it reallly useful to 'calibrate' myself by running to a perceived effort and then looking at the HR once I got home....no peeking at the watch before then! Now I can judge my HR zones quite accurately by my breathing. The change can be quite subtle. Tho the best thing about seeing your HR on your watch is when it is saying yes you are indeed working hard, and it's OK to slow down. Runners can so often be hard on themselves! PS I like the new specs! Enjoy getting out there again ...Spring is on its way.
Thanks Jo for sharing how you use heart rate. I like how you were able to "calibrate" yourself. I might try that. I set my MHR at 178, so we're not too far apart. Thanks for noticing the new glasses! They have no distance prescription, only a progressive bifocal (with UV blocking lens) so I can better read my watch.
@@TheAgelessRunner I might have to look into glasses like that! Happy calibrating!
68 here too and looking forward to the best running years of my life. I use a Garmin Forerunner 945 and I’ve noticed significant differences between the wrist HR and my Polar Verity armband where the Polar is very consistent and the wrist HR can be all over the map. I used my wrist today because my Polar ran out of juice right before my run. The wrist gave me a max HR of 179. At my age and conditioning that’s wildly off. I can be ready to exhale up a lung and I can’t get past 165.
Thanks! This was very helpful. Been doing run walk to break up the monotony of running, plus i was a sprinter when i ran track so running faster feels more natural. Glad to have this zone based way of tweaking my workouts now.
You're welcome, Joel. Thanks for watching the video and sharing!
Good information Ralph.
Thank you, Keith. I appreciate you taking the time to comment.
Great video, Ralph. I really enjoy the videos you do. I am similar in age, so they are relatable. I heard another UA-cam running person say something about not running in Zone 3. That it is not productive. You should run in Zone 2 for Aerobic and Zone 4 for Anaerobic. Is running in Zone 3 a good thing? I try to do my long runs (8-12 miles) in Z2 and Z3.
Thanks Mark! I'm glad you enjoy my videos! I try to do my long run below 80% MHR. Most of the run is in zone 3, not because I'm targeting Zone 3, rather, it's where my effort seems to end up. Keep in mind what I said about 80% (or any zone boundary); it's not a line in concrete. As your effort (and heart rate) increases, so does your mixture of aerobic and anaerobic running. Zone 2 is very aerobic, Zone 4 is anaerobic, so Zone 3 is kind of a transition. I think you can train in all zones (except 5), depending on your run purpose. There is lots of info out there. Here's an article that recommends exercising in Zone 3 for optimum heart health: www.verywellhealth.com/heart-rate-zones-5214548
@@TheAgelessRunner Very helpful! Thanks, Ralph!