So Just What Is Supposed to Be Wrong With 110%?
- Thread starter DWise1
- Start date
Hi Dwise1 -
It's my understanding that your Maximum Heart rate is the highest heart rate you can get when making a full-out effort to the point of exhaustion. I think, for most folks, this is just calculated through a formula versus actually testing you for your personal Maximum Heart rate, which is why you might see records on exercise machines going over 100% if your heart rate goes over this theoretical number.
70-80%, is said to be the aerobic zone. This is where you are improving endurance, aerobic power.
80+% to 100% you are crossing from aerobic training to anaerobic training.
At 80-90%, you are increasing anaerobic tolerance -- improving your high speed endurance. You're increasing your body's ability to metabolize lactic acid, so you can last longer.
At 90-100%, you've gone beyond your lactate threshold. Your muscles can't deliver enough oxygen to get the job done, lactic acid builds quickly. You can only be here for short periods of time -- would improve your ability to sprint very hard, for example.
I don't know if that helps.
It's my understanding that your Maximum Heart rate is the highest heart rate you can get when making a full-out effort to the point of exhaustion. I think, for most folks, this is just calculated through a formula versus actually testing you for your personal Maximum Heart rate, which is why you might see records on exercise machines going over 100% if your heart rate goes over this theoretical number.
70-80%, is said to be the aerobic zone. This is where you are improving endurance, aerobic power.
80+% to 100% you are crossing from aerobic training to anaerobic training.
At 80-90%, you are increasing anaerobic tolerance -- improving your high speed endurance. You're increasing your body's ability to metabolize lactic acid, so you can last longer.
At 90-100%, you've gone beyond your lactate threshold. Your muscles can't deliver enough oxygen to get the job done, lactic acid builds quickly. You can only be here for short periods of time -- would improve your ability to sprint very hard, for example.
I don't know if that helps.
DWise1
Well-Known Member
OK, that does help a bit. When you identified that higher range as anaerobic, I immediately thought "cheetah mode" (since they virtually stop breathing when they sprint at their top speed).
Perhaps a brief explanation of my situation and goals would be in order. Twice a year I'm required to qualify physically. The pushups and situps have always been easy for me (though I'm now nearly a year out of practice because of surgery), but the 1.5 mile run has always been a challenge. The only time I can train is during lunch and the only means of training available to me is the treadmill. The only problem that creates is that even though I can build myself up to running all the way through at the same speed for a decent time (15 minutes, 6.0 mph), when I actually run the test I get winded after a short time and I end up having to repeatedly drop down to a walk to catch my breath, then run for a while, then walk, run, walk, run, walk, etc. In other words, I can pace myself just fine on a treadmill, but not when you put me on a road that doesn't move. And since the course has always been straight-out-there-and-back, there's no way to time laps or the like.
So to make the actual test easier on me, I want to target my training to my natural speed. Finally this last weekend I was able to get on a track to time my natural speed and it turns out to be over 7.5 mph. So I need to keep pushing my speed up, which has me hitting 100% heart rate (according to the 220-age formula and according to the treadmill's heart-rate sensor) and sometimes higher.
As you pointed out, I think that my own personal max heart rate (HR) is higher than the formula gives. Also, when I run a full 1.5 miles with my HR at or 10 bpm above the theoretical max, I am apparently not doing so at the point of exhaustion, or else I wouldn't be able to keep it up for so long. I'm too old to really care just what my own personal max HR is; I just want to make that run be easier for me until I'm forced to retire in a couple of years.
Perhaps a brief explanation of my situation and goals would be in order. Twice a year I'm required to qualify physically. The pushups and situps have always been easy for me (though I'm now nearly a year out of practice because of surgery), but the 1.5 mile run has always been a challenge. The only time I can train is during lunch and the only means of training available to me is the treadmill. The only problem that creates is that even though I can build myself up to running all the way through at the same speed for a decent time (15 minutes, 6.0 mph), when I actually run the test I get winded after a short time and I end up having to repeatedly drop down to a walk to catch my breath, then run for a while, then walk, run, walk, run, walk, etc. In other words, I can pace myself just fine on a treadmill, but not when you put me on a road that doesn't move. And since the course has always been straight-out-there-and-back, there's no way to time laps or the like.
So to make the actual test easier on me, I want to target my training to my natural speed. Finally this last weekend I was able to get on a track to time my natural speed and it turns out to be over 7.5 mph. So I need to keep pushing my speed up, which has me hitting 100% heart rate (according to the 220-age formula and according to the treadmill's heart-rate sensor) and sometimes higher.
As you pointed out, I think that my own personal max heart rate (HR) is higher than the formula gives. Also, when I run a full 1.5 miles with my HR at or 10 bpm above the theoretical max, I am apparently not doing so at the point of exhaustion, or else I wouldn't be able to keep it up for so long. I'm too old to really care just what my own personal max HR is; I just want to make that run be easier for me until I'm forced to retire in a couple of years.
ireniecat
New Member
I would say practice running significantly longer distances. I watched my fiance train for the marathon, and how he'd struggle initially with 3 miles, 5 miles, etc. And then seemingly magically he was doing 10 mile runs without a problem, always with a steady pace. The longer distances he ran, the longer he could sustain a steady pace without having to switch to run/walk/run/walk.
DWise1
Well-Known Member
Yes, I've been planning on training for 2 miles, so that 1.5 will be easier. But I'm being tested for time, not for distance, so I need to train for speed. Also, pacing is important, which I'm left with no sense of when I have to test on a road that doesn't move (remember, training at lunchtime on a treadmill is the only training option available to me).
Interestingly, I've tested with some marathon runners. They hate the 1.5 mile run. They kept complaining that it's too short, that it doesn't allow them to warm up and hit their stride.
Interestingly, I've tested with some marathon runners. They hate the 1.5 mile run. They kept complaining that it's too short, that it doesn't allow them to warm up and hit their stride.
ireniecat
New Member
Hmm... sounds like the problem is being confined to a treadmill. Running on real ground is different, and not just because it doesn't move. You can visually see the distance you've covered, the feel of the ground is different, probably other things too. My fiance actually refused to train on a treadmill and did all his running outside, even in bad weather.
Since you can run it in only about 15 minutes, can you sneak in some extra training into your daily routine, like in the morning? Or run outside during that same lunch period?
Since you can run it in only about 15 minutes, can you sneak in some extra training into your daily routine, like in the morning? Or run outside during that same lunch period?