How to calculate your heart rate zones
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- čas přidán 25. 07. 2024
- If you want to get the most out of your running then you need to know how to calculate your heart rate zones.
All you really need is a heart, gps watch, heart rate monitor and a park run or similar 5k route. Then the rest you can learn in this tutorial and take your training to the next level by being able to precisely dial in to different training zones for different benefits
The heart rate zones for running are from Joe Friel and can be calculated as follows;
Zone 1 - Less than 85% of LTHR
Zone 2 - 85% - 89% of LTHR
Zone 3 - 90% - 93% of LTHR
Zone 4 - 95% - 99% of LTHR
Zone 5a - 100% - 102% of LTHR
Zone 5b - 103% - 106% of LTHR
Zone 5c - above 106% of LTHR - Sport
Did you throw the stick?
Only just found this video. Fantastic. Thanks for making
Thanks 😊
What a coincidence! I just bought myself a watch last week and was figuring out how heart zones work. A few days later and you uploaded a video about it. I was strugeling how to get my max HR but that method seems way better to work with. Thanks!
Ha ha that is serendipity! It was meant to be. Enjoy the new toy 👍🏻
Awesome video, very helpful, thanks!
Thanks so much for the kind words 😊 glad it could help 👍🏻
Love your videos. So genuine and educational. Heart rate training is fantastic. Keep up the good work! 👍
Thanks buddy! That’s so nice. Give me a shout if you can over next couple of days because my vlog this week is about you and me (and people like us - injured) and I’d love to get some stuff from you if possible 👍🏻
This Messy Happy - I would love that. I need your contact info.
This video is GOLD, thank you for making it! 🤩After a couple of years running for leisure, I want to work on my aerobic base to improve my pace and performance. I don't have a chest hrm yet though, would you advise waiting until I buy one or can I get a rough estimate using my watch for the time being?
Okay. Going to give this a shot!
Just recently discovered you and I'm loving your videos!
I would love your thoughts on overcoming or avoiding stitches when running - they are the bane of my existence! I've done lots of reading but nothing has helped other than slowing down or stopping. Maybe a subject for a video?
Hey Jacqueline! Thanks so much for the kind words, that’s so nice of you 😊 and welcome aboard, I hope the vids help in some way
I’ll add that to my list of vids I need to do. Although stitch is a bloody mystery even to me!! 😂
Love this mate - enjoy your explanations - very clear and amusing! Hope your shoulder is getting better? Two weeks now? A third of your recovery done?
Ha ha thanks dude. Shoulder is SLOWLY getting there 🤦🏻♂️ I’m 3 weeks in and 3 to go with no running. Can do static bike but I haven’t got one and need to join a gym for one. Turbo doesn’t cut it as I have to lean forward and use body weight which can’t be done with a sprained wrist one side and brokeded collar bone the other. I’m like a caged animal 🤦🏻♂️😂
I hope that your injury heals soon and you can run again.
Nice video
Thanks! Less than 3 weeks 🤞👍🏻
This Messy Happy awesome
Hey Ben,
Thanks for all your info an inspiration. One question i have used the heart rate reserve method and now this one and they are nearly 10 beats per minute differ. would this be more accurate since its calculated from an actually run and not just resting - max
Public service video. Thanks for this.
Great informative video.
I've dabbled in using heart rate but the 2 methods of calculating zones I tried before (both based off age to work out max HR and then work down) left me with a zone 2 max of under 140bpm, and for me that means I'm 'running' 7.30 -8 min km and still struggling to keep it down!
Now, I'm not very fast and have only been running consistently for the last 8 months but I can do a park run under 25 mins, and running that slow is so awkward and clunky it's been frustrating to try to keep my HR that slow!
Always feel very comfortable up to around 145bpm and this method gives me a zone 2 max of 148 which feels much more accurate to me.
Notice this video is 3 years old, is this still the method you would recommend to work out zones?
Hi, Gareth. I totally relate to your comment. I'm new to running (2 months only) but I feel that the usual Zone 2 is really slow for me. I can comfortably run faster (maintaining a conversation, as they say) with my heart rate 10bpm higher which would be the exact Zone 2 range provided by the Endurance Path calculation. I'm going to stick to it. :)
I'm fairly new to running and try to wrap my head arround all the different "zone methods". My average heart rate for km 3,4,5 on my last 5k all-out-effort-run was 185bpm (chest strap measured). On Joe Freil's calculator that puts the zone 2 at 152 to 163bpm, which interestingly is exactly the range I ended up using when running just by "feeling"(after the MAF method puts me at 140bpm, which I felt was impossibly slow to run in)
May Garmin on the other hand (I have put in the correct RHR and MHR) puts zone 2 at 122-142, which also seems fairly low for me.
So thank you for the confirmation 🙏 now I have to just slowly increase my mileage without getting hurt :)
Exactly, I feel really comfortable with 150-160bpm but My watch put me down to 140-148bpm.. Which is super super slow...
And my lactate threshold average for 5k is 181bpm, and according to Joe's method.. My aerobic zone is 149-160..
I'm confused right now...
@@mohitkravi Interestingly, my garmin zones didn't even change when I entered my max. heart rate (ca 205) manually, so I'm really skeptical about their "automatic" setting for zones. Garmin also sets my top of zone 2 at 142.
Strava on the other hand uses max heart rate to calculate the zones. Here my zone 2 ends at 159, which is quite a dramatic difference imho.
I now ran 5 times 10k this week with an HR around 160 and feel absolutely fine after every run, so I'm sticking with this for m zone 2 training. 🤗
Can you guys hold a conversation at 155-160 bpm??
This video also confused me a little bit, but doing the conversation test I can confirm that my limit in zone 2 is 148.
FInally got a watch (no HR band), but starting to use heart rate zone training. One thing I know for a fact is that I am have been running way too hard all summer! Time to slow it down to zone 2 and build the aerobic base.
That’s the stuff! It’s so important to build that base but also so counter intuitive because you feel like you should be running harder. Well done, buddy. You’re getting there for sure 💪🏻
@@ThisMessyHappy I've done 2 runs and they are 6-7 minutes slower than I'd normally have gone. I truly do feel like I'm cheating as you said in some of your other videos!
Hi Ben, really helpful video, thanks! I have a question - when doing a Zone 2 run do I need to make sure i stay within the threshold the whole run or as an average? I tried it today and my overall run was Zone 2, but given my route had a couple of hills I peaked into zone 4 albeit running really slow!
I know im not him but I can say that is completely normal! It’s almost impossible to keep your heart rate in zone 2 the whole run with hills, and as long as your average is zone 2 youre golden 👍
Hi Ben,
I calculated my heart rate threshold using the average heart rate of last 3k, and got my zones using the same from joe friels calculator, I wanted to know that if my HR threshold is 194 bpm, then is it safe to say that 194 bpm is 91% of my maximum heart rate and therefore my max heart is 212 bpm?
Can I do this on a treadmill if I don’t have a flat area to run?
Hi Ben. Great video!
I have one question though... the LTHR will be the same for running and cycling?
I'm asking that because the Joe Friel calculator seems to be for cyclists, so I was wondering if it can be used by runners as well.
Hey André, sorry for the late reply. I answered your question on Thursdays q&a 👍🏻
@@ThisMessyHappy thanks Ben! I'll watch the video later today!
Already saw the video, thanks for the answer 😁 even though they might be different, can I still use the Joe Friel calculator to get the HR zones for running? Or the formulas can be different as well?
My garmin does not want me to put in the calculated values. It says i have to use lower values in the first three zones. So this makes me wonder why it does, and if these calculations result in too high numbers
Hi! Can I use the heart rate from my last 5K race or that is not threshold anymore?
I got similar results when just using my age vs the Joe friel calculator. Is it just because of my age beings 29?
does doing it on a treadmill work
What's the difference between VO2 Suprathreshold and Aerobic Capacity?
Hi Ben
I have a question about Heart rate zones. I try to do easy runs in zone 2 but find I can only literally walk in zone two. As soon as I break into a slow very easy jog it goes over into zone 3 quite quickly and stays there. I can run easy in zone 3. My resting heart rate is 50 and max is 190.
I feel I must mention that I will be 60 in June if that makes a difference.
Keep up the great work
Steve
Hi Steve, my big question is how did you arrive at the zones? If using your watch or 220 minus age then rip it up. Watch calculated zones are about as accurate as if I’d asked a monkey to pick bananas with different numbers on 😂
@@ThisMessyHappy Hi Ben. I worked out my mak heart rate on a 5k all out run and did the cals on Jack Daniel's website. For the run I use a Garmin Heart rate monitor. Hope that helps
@@stevenicholls7863 ok that’s getting there. Did you take just the last 3k average though? Remember the first 2k will be your heart getting up to Max so it will drop the average a fair bit if you also used those. Stick with the last 3 km average HR and see if that makes a difference. Also try Joe Friel’s zones calculator and see if that’s any different?
@@ThisMessyHappy I just took what showed on strava as my max hear rate for the 5k
Ahhh. Try taking the average of your last 3km. Max heart rate is not threshold heart rate. They’re different. I couldn’t sustain a threshold run at Max heart rate.
I have a question.
If i can do 15 km with an average heart rate of 187, does that mean my my base is 187?
Question - How hard do you run the 5k? As hard as I can without stopping? Not sprinting it, but not jogging it?
Yes, it’s as fast as you can possibly run a 5k
OK. I am back to running after a 3 year break and have completed 19 parkruns with 7 PBs out of the last 8 runs reducing my time from 34.19 to 29.21. The last run gives me an avg HR for the last 3K according to Strava (Fitbit Inspire 3 as the HR monitor) of 161. However I am 59 years old so accorrding to the unrealiable 220-age, my max HR should only be 159.
I recently tried to do my first interval training - 0.5K slow, and 0.5K fast over a 5K distance, however after my 2 intial fast reps I was absolutely knackered and had to jog/walk the rest of the run. When I got back I found my max HR during my first interval had peaked at 188 - way above the Max HR I should have.
So basically I am trying to confirm that if the Parkrun values give me a 161 value can I go with that for my calculations or is there something else I need to take into account. And if so what HR level do I need to keep to to finish any interval training.
I have just bought a Polar H9 so will see what values this gives with my next run on Saturday.
Thanks for all the content - now subscribed.
Ok and how do I do that if I cannot or barely can run a 5K?
I thought threshold was aligned to between 10k and HM (just under HM) is it a difference in terminology using the JF system?
I think it’s just the terminology. Lactate threshold is just another way of saying anaerobic threshold (although they measure slightly different things). My example is a way to test it over 12-20 mins but but I could still hold that HR for about an hour. And have done. But for testing purposes you don’t want to go balls out for a whole hour if you don’t have to! 🤮 so yes, you’re right but we achieved the same result in a shorter test 👍🏻
0:56 - high effort or maybe maksimum effort?
What doesn't make sense is that a 5k can be run at a much higher effort than LT. My LT heart is 165 (lab test), but I can reach 175+ average at the end of a 5k. I think a 15k would be a better option.
Sorry Ben but a heart rate at 189 is off the charts.... was that reading off Marys Garmin... (I used to really rely on my Fenix 6 until I bought a heart rate strap - I know you know... as you have one.... was Marys average about 140 not 180 something with a strap ? Or was it really high ?
No it was her strap! 189 just might be off your charts but actually Mary’s threshold heart rate is 185 and she can get to around 190. Mine is 185 threshold and I’ve got to 196 before!!! There are actually pro athletes whose threshold heart rate is over 200!! Which makes calculating your own zones even more important and not relying on what garmin tells us or witchcraft 😂😊
Dude, you have just explained something to me in a straightforward and simple manner, that I had tried multiple times to get into my head before
Thank you!