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Run Smart with a Heart Rate Monitor

By Dr Christopher Segler

Republish: EasyPublish™ Published: 28Dec2009 Word count: 1166 Viewed: 393 time(s) Get Free Content For Your Site

Your capacity for running endurance is limited primarily by the rate at which you can deliver oxygen to your muscles. Training consistently conditions your muscles to move you over the road at a faster rate and over longer distances. However, it is the condition of the heart that needs the most attention for longevity and continual gains in athletic stamina. Just as you keep track of your pace to gauge your running performance, it makes sense that any endurance runnner or triathlete would want to monitor (and hopefully train) the primary pump that runs the whole system.

Heart rate monitors were originally created to observe, measure, and record the activity of the heart rate. With a heart rate monitor an athlete can easily track progress in training the cardiovascular system to efficiently deliver oxygen to her muscles as she runs. The simple act of measuring something will almost always improve it.

There are three basic goals runners seem to aim for 1) running at a faster pace over some distance, 2) running for a longer distance while maintaining a given pace, 3) increasing overall fitness to be healthier and hopefully live longer. Increasing the efficiency of your heart can help you achieve all of these.

At one time, a heart rate monitor was perceived as a highly advanced gizmo reserved for the pros. Today at road races everywhere, they are as common as a wristwatch. Often, they are one and the same. Most heart rate monitors combine the features of a wrist watch, stop watch, etc. with a chest strap that records data from the heart and transmits it wirelessly to your wrist where you can get real time feedback.

Think of your heart rate monitor as the tachometer in your car. You need to know what the normal idle rpm is (Resting Heart Rate (RHR)) as well as the redline (Maximum Heart Rate (MHR)). Once you know your range, you can watch the tachometer, making sure you are not idling, not redlining either.

Your MHR (redline) is essentially set in stone, except that it will decrease about 1 beat per minute per year for the rest of your life. You can easily figure out what your MHR is today by testing the heart rate motor. But you must consult your primary care doctor or cardiologist first! This is no joke. It is possible to die of a heart attack. Especially if you have an undiagnosed heart condition and run your heart rate up during the MHR test.

Once your doctor gives you clearance, put on your heart rate monitor and find a hill 200-300 yards long. Warm up with some slow jogging. Then, sprint up the hill and jog down. This should be as hard and fast as you can run up the hill. The only bit of rest you get is slowly jogging back down. Do six laps up and down the hill. The highest reading during this test is your MHR.

You should also figure out your RHR (idle speed). This tells you about your aerobic fitness. It decrease over time, if you develop a higher level of fitness. If you are a 400 pound couch potato who thinks of exercise as wrestling a bag of pork rinds from the clutches of your spouse, your RHR may be 90-100. If your name is Lance Armstrong, it may close to 30. Many well conditioned runners have resting heart rates in the 50's or 60's.

You find out your RHR number by putting on your heart rate monitor early in the day. Before you get out of bed, put on your monitor and lay there and rest for two or three minutes. The lowest value is your RHR. Try it on several consecutive days. Stress, illness, dehydration and caffeine can all falsely elevate your RHR.

With these numbers you can then figure out your training zones. Some heart rate monitors come with a little chart to help you figure it out. There are also online calculators to do this. If you are like math, you can do it yourself: ((MHR-RHR) x Percent level) + RHR = BPM. For aerobic training (such as Long Runs in marathon training and base training for Ironman triathlon) stay in the 70-80% range. For hard workouts (such as tempo runs and intervals) stay in the 80-90% range.

Now you can train using your brain! Just watch your heart rate monitor and adjust speed, effort and energy output. Hard days should target 85% of your MHR. The hard training days have the most effect on training your heart to pump harder and more efficiently, eventually leading to reductions in your RHR. This is where tempo runs and intervals come in. Just don't do hard days back to back. That can put you at risk for injuries such as stress fractures, shin splints and muscle strains.

If you figure out your training zones and make an effort to stay within them, you will gradually see your numbers change as you improve. When your RHR starts to go down, you will feel better and stronger. You will run the same distance with less effort. You will cover the same distance in less time. This is all because of the increased efficiency of the heart. Cardiovascular fitness simply improves with exercise and gets worse with disuse. Elite runners have hearts than pump more blood with each contraction. Because it moves more blood with each contraction, it has to pump less often to push the same amount of blood through the system. That is why their heart rate can be in the low 30's while sitting still.

The type of monitor you choose is as personal as shoes style. Pick the training features that you like. You have lots of choices. You can get one for under $100 or you can spend several hundred dollars. I train with one that also includes a GPS unit and a cadence sensor. I track my heart rate, pace, average pace, terrain and cadence (if on the bike). The only factor my monitor doesn't track is temperature and humidity. Remember that your heart rate is affected by temperature, humidity, stress, exhaustion and other environmental factors. Don't panic if it seems your heart rate is slightly off when these conditions change.

Another limitation of heart rate monitors is that they typically have a slight delay. During a long run, if you pass over a hill, the rate may continue to go up for a short time after you are over the hill. This isn't really a delay in the device, it is just your heart trying to recover from the energy expenditure of making up the hill.

Heart rate monitors are an extremely valuable training tool. Not only will one allow you to train more effectively by staying within the appropriate training zones, it will also allow you to chart your progress. Endurance sports time and commitment. Any clear evidence of progress can provide more motivation to put your running shoes on and head out the door the next morning.

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