Threshold Heart Rate – Part 3

Last week we looked at the methodology used to determine your Threshold Heart Rate. Once this is determined, it’s time to build the various heart rate training zones you will use in your training. The zones range for a recovery zone characterized by easy running or biking to zone three which is at the top end of your heart rate range and is used to build your anaerobic system.

The various zone need to be used together in your training plan with a strategy in mind. If you are a highly aerobic athlete, (can run long distances in a lower heart rate zone) you will want to incorporate more Zone 2 and Zone 3 work to up your anaerobic threshold that will add speed, endurance and durability. Conversely, if you are highly anaerobic, you may want to include more zone one work to help build endurance.

Head coach and owner of QT2 Systems, Jesse Kroplenicki utilizes the following zones:

Zone R (~74% of TH): Recovery zone. To be used for all recovery rides and runs between key intensity sessions. This takes patience to complete correctly but is critical to being recovered for key workouts. If these workouts are overdone, your peripheral system will be too fatigued to effectively stimulate your core systems during key workouts where the goal should be to push your limiters. This zone is also used during long rides for stops, and downhills.

Zone 1 (~83% of TH): Aerobic endurance zone. This is the primary zone for all long rides and runs. Typically, early in the season during the base building phase all work is spent in this zone. Long rides outside, should be spent in this zone in combination with Zone R (due to down hills, stop lights, etc.). Rides on the indoor trainer should be spent only in zone 1 (no down hills, stop lights, etc.) and therefore should get a 1.2 factor applied to them. That is, a 100 min ride on trainer in Zone 1 is worth 130 minutes outside.

Zone 2 (~90% of TH): Endurance tempo zone.  This zone is to be used at the end of long rides and runs following the base phase (typically 8-12 weeks). As the race season draws closer, the amount of time spent in this zone should increase. We recommend a maximum of 120 minutes on the bike and 45 minutes running, inserted at the end of your long sessions.

Zone 3 (~97% of TH): Threshold tempo zone.  This zone is to be used for increasing the percentage of pace or power at which TH occurs relative to VO2 max pace or power. As the race season draws closer, the amount of time spent in this zone should increase. We recommend a maximum of 30 minutes repeats on the bike and 20 minutes running, inserted within the context of an aerobic session.

HERE’S TO BEING FIT FOR LIFE! Chris is a Certified Personal Trainer, USA Triathlon Level 1 Coach, Group Exercise Instructor, exercise and endurance enthusiast.  He competes yearly in numerous running races, marathons, ultra-marathons, triathlons and other endurance events.  He is a member of the 2015 QT2 Systems Advanced Team.

Threshold Heart Rate – Part 2

Last week we looked at why training with heart rate is important. A seeming simple concept can be very complex and confusing and if not done correctly, can yield less than satisfactory training results. After all your heart is the machine that drives your endurance performance with the precision of race car. You need to get your heart rate training dialed in correctly to see the improvement you are seeking.

Head coach and owner of QT2 Systems, Jesse Kroplenicki utilizes the following formula to determine your Threshold heart rate (TH).

Bike Test - Utilizing you bike on a stationary trainer
Primary: After a warm-up, complete an 8 minute all out time trial on your bike (pushing as big a gear as you can) recording average heart rate utilizing a heart rate monitor such as Garmin 920XT

TH heart rate is typically about 8 beats below the average heart rate for this test.

Cross Check: This method requires no immediate testing if you already have the data:

Take the highest HR you have ever seen on the bike (within the last 4 years) and subtract your resting HR from that number. Then multiple that “heart rate reserve” by 0.81 and add back your resting to that number.

Take the average of these two methods or choose one versus the other based on how accurate the data input were to each.

Running Test

Primary: After determining your bike TH heart rate, you can then offset it to your run TH heart rate by adding 6-14 beats. Almost every athlete I have worked with falls within this range with most being right around 10. So, first add 10 and then make the following adjustments to the number you get:

If you are a woman shorter than 5’-3” subtract 2

If you are a woman taller than 5’-9” add 4

If you are a male shorter than 5’-6” subtract 2

If you are a male taller than 6’-0” add 4

Cross Check: After a determining your TH above, confirm your running estimate by completing an open running road race while recording average heart rate. A great estimate of threshold from an open road race is:

Average 5K heart rate minus 15 beats

Average 10K heart rate minus 10 beats

Average half marathon heart rate minus 5 beats

Take the average of these two methods or choose one versus the other based on how accurate the data input was to each. After two open road races confirm the offset, its likely best to use that number and disregard the primary offset above if it suggests something different.

I always like to cross check TH heart rate with a few different methods since this is the number a lot of an athlete’s training will be based on! The bottom line is that most athletes should spend more than 70% of their time at less than 86% of this number with almost 100% during the early season. Next week I will look at how to calculate the various hear rate training zone and how to apply them for specific purposes.

Threshold Heart Rate – Part 1

While working on my USA Triathlon Level 1 Coaching Certification last year, I was fortunate to have Jesse Kropelnicki, USA Triathlon Level 3 Coach,  founder and head coach of QT2 Systems conduct much of our training sessions. His experience, knowledge and approach to endurance training opened my eyes to improved methods for improving athletic performance.

One of the cornerstones of Jesse’s philosophy and QT2 Systems training protocols for endurance training is using threshold heart rate and associated heart rate zones as the basis for developing fitness and endurance that lead to peak performance in endurance events.

Heart rate training is the key to effectively improving your athletic performance, especially for endurance athletes.  The concept is simple; determine various heart zones based on your threshold heart rate. Each zone serves a different training purpose. Zone R – Recovery Zone is a low heart rate to aid in recovery workouts. Zone 1 builds your aerobic base – giving you’re the endurance to run, bike or swim long distances. Zone 2 and Zone 3 push the heart rate higher which builds your anaerobic base and helps build your cardiovascular and muscular endurance. This also trains the heart to be more effective and efficient, allowing you to put forth more effort and speed over a longer period of time.

Before you can determine your heart rate training zones, you must establish your threshold heart rate. “I've seen many, many tests to determine heart rate associated with anaerobic threshold (TH); anything from blood lactate tests, to metabolic testing, or as simple as 220 minus your age with some other factors,” states Kropelnicki.  While there are various methods that can be used to establish a heart rate training protocol, I have found that Jesse’s formula has been extremely successful for world class athletes and has been extremely effective in driving my fitness and performance.

I will explain what Jesse and QT2 Systems see as the easiest most efficient way to determine threshold heart rate for those athletes that may not want to have more complex testing carried out. Kropelnicki explains, “What this procedure does is cross check your heart rate zones with a few methods to give you a fairly confident value that you can then base your heart rate zones on for training. I think some folks get a bit careless determining this value which results in hours and hours of training time spent developing an energy system that you may not want to be developing!”

“These methods only give a single data point on a curve which happens to be the most important point to have, however some of the other more sophisticated methods provide the full curve and therefore also allow you to evaluation physiological specifics and target those areas within an athlete’s training program,” states Kropelnicki.

Next week I will outline the process Kropelnicki uses to find the Anaerobic Threshold heart rate (TH) that will determine the various heart rate training zones you will use in your workouts.

HERE’S TO BEING FIT FOR LIFE! Chris is a Certified Personal Trainer, USA Triathlon Level 1 Coach, Group Exercise Instructor, exercise and endurance enthusiast.  He competes yearly in numerous running races, marathons, ultra-marathons, triathlons and other endurance events.  He is a member of the 2015 QT2 Systems Advanced Team.

When Things Fall Apart

It’s finally here! It’s the week of the big race and you have trained hard for months, you have prepared physically and mentally and you are ready to go. Race day arrives and your stomach has as many butterflies as it did before your first prom. You have your routine planned, your goals established now all you have to do is complete the event and enjoy the celebration that you have envisioned for so long!  To borrow from advertising slogans from years gone by, “This Bud’s For You!”

Then it happens. Something unexpected transpires and adversity becomes the main attraction. Suddenly your dream race or event has been reduced to ruins.  All that hard work and preparation can come to a crashing halt in a matter of minutes leaving you in a pile of sweat, tears and despair.

Unfortunately, the above scenario is all too real for many people.  Hours, weeks and months of hard work and preparation suddenly dissipate when you face adversity or some unexpected situation. While adversity is not all that uncommon, how people choose to react or respond to that adversity is the key to survival and salvaging your race.

There is a form of psychology called positive psychology that has individuals focus on the positive aspects of a project, initiative or life in general. In his book The Happiness Advantage: The Seven Principles of Positive Psychology That Fuel Success and Performance at Work, author Shawn Achor encourages people to journal three things they are grateful for every day. This focus on positive energy and attributes is said to make people happier, more relaxed and enjoy for fulfilling lives.

While I completely agree with Achor’s view of positive thinking, there is a time and a place for negative thinking.  Most athletes practice some form of visualization where they see themselves successfully completing their events. This is extremely important but leaves the athlete vulnerable to issues that may arise that they were not prepared for.

I am in the middle of training for my first full Ironman race in October in Louisville Kentucky.  While I am comfortable on the bike and on the run, having learned to swim as an adult I still have some respectful apprehension for the swim, especially with 2,500 fellow competitors.

As part of my preparation for the Ironman swim, I hired a Kim Webster, a Sports Psychologist and fellow triathlete to help me overcome some of the mental hurdles of triathlon swimming.  As Kim and I talked, I told her I was a fan of positive visualization and during every swim practice I pictured myself successfully and easily finish the Ironman swim without incident.

The advice Kim gave me was unexpected and may be one of the best things I could have learned.  She asked me what my fears were in an Ironman swim and what things that could go wrong that would cause me to panic and negatively impact my swim. I was able to name off about five items and she asked to visualize each of these items during my swim practices to live the emotion and devise a plan on how I would RESPOND to them.

What Kim gave me was the ability to see the Ironman swim from all perspectives and to try and feel those experiences during practice so I could devise a strategy to overcome each one in case they occurred. The lesson – not only look at positive aspects of your training, look at what can possibly go wrong, live the emotions and have a plan for how you will respond to each. It may make the difference between the sweet taste of victory and a DNF.

HERE’S TO BEING FIT FOR LIFE! Chris is a Certified Personal Trainer, USA Triathlon Level 1 Coach, Group Exercise Instructor, exercise and endurance enthusiast.  He competes yearly in numerous running races, marathons, ultra-marathons, triathlons and other endurance events.  He is a member of the 2015 QT2 Systems Advanced Team.