Training on heart rate
Since the rise of smartwatches, our heart rate is literally within reach. A huge improvement … provided you can correctly interpret your heart rate and take advantage of it during your workouts. In the article below we discuss training based on heart rate, the factors that can influence your heart rate, the correct calculation and setting of your heart rate zones and the interpretation of your heart rate graph in the Start 2 Run app.
NOVICE RUNNER? TRAIN BY FEELING FIRST
In the Start 2 Run app we consciously choose to train purely by feel in the first schedule. In the 24 other schedules you can choose to train based on feel only or based on feel and heart rate. You cannot blindly follow your heart rate. Always keep listening to your body.
When you train by feel in the Start 2 Run app, you get an indication of the training intensity with each lesson, ranging from slow walking with a very light feeling to a pace where the intensity is experienced as heavy.
HOW DO YOU KNOW YOUR PERSONAL HEART RATE ZONES
In the app, 2 systems are available to enter your heart rate zones. The first is based on minimum resting heartrate and maximum effort heartrate. The second is the possibility to enter your heart rate zones directly as measured in a sports lab.
1/ Your minimum heart rate
Your minimum heartrate will always have to be measured. You do this early in the morning (when you’ve just woken up in bed) or late in the evening, whichever is lowest for you. For most people, this will be below 70.
2/ Approximate your maximum heartrate based on your age
If you’re 100% healthy you can use this general approximation to get your maximum heartrate and enter it in the app:
208 – (0,7 x your age)
If you’re 45, this means… 208 – (0,7 x 46) = 208 – 32,2 = 176
3/ The perfect measurement with a lab test
For a personal measurement of your heart rate zones, visit a professional test lab like Golazo Energy which does specific Start 2 Run fitness tests. With a lab test you will get your maximum heartrate which you can use to calculate your zones within the app. Or, you can directly enter the specifically measured heartrate zones in the app.
Our heart rate zones are very personal. Never compare your zones with others, what you experience as high can be normal for someone else. Never try to measure your maximum heart rate without professional guidance.
5 ZONES
In the app you will find 5 heart rate zones on which your training sessions are based. Zone 5 is not covered in our schedules, this form of training is reserved for those who are already very advanced at running and who are individually guided by a professional sports coach.
| zone 1 | grey | very relaxed running with a very light to light feeling |
| zone 2 | blue | run slowly at an intensity that you can easily sustain for a long time, you can still talk easily |
| zone 3 | yellow | running at a slightly higher pace, with the intensity perceived as somewhat heavy, your breathing gets heavier |
| zone 4 | orange | running with pace, but don’t go all the way into the red, your breathing gets heavy and follows your running rhythm |
| zone 5 | red | firm acceleration and going into the red, we do NOT use this in our trainings |
The majority of your workouts, up to 80-90% of your training volume, you will train in zone 2. In this zone you train aerobically, longer training sessions at a lower intensity where your body uses the sugars and burns fat to continue to supply energy. A well-developed aerobic endurance is the basis of your running condition. On top of that, your risk for overload and injuries will be a lot lower and you’ll get more productive trainings with stronger recuperation and build-up.
Zone 5 is not included in our schedules, this training method is reserved for those who are skilled at running and can count on individual feedback from a professional sports coach.
YOUR HEART RATE ON SCREEN
Do you have a heart rate monitor at home? Then quickly check whether it is already compatible with our Start 2 Run app. Any heart rate monitor that can send the heart rate via bluetooth can be connected. In practice, we have been able to register successful tests with:
• Polar ignite 2 fitness watch
• Polar Verity Sense optical heart rate sensor
• Polar H10 heart rate sensor
• Polar H9 heart rate sensor
• Garmin forerunner 245 running watch
• Garmin forerunner 745 running watch
• Garmin forerunner 945 smartwatch
• Garmin HRM-Pro heart rate monitor
• Wahoo Tickr heart rate monitor
• Wahoo Tickr X heart rate monitor
Once you’ve finished your workout, you’ll get a detailed picture of your heart rate. In the graph you can see in which zone you trained, at the bottom of the graph your target zones are displayed, i.e. the zone in which it was proposed to train. This way you can compare and estimate immediately to what extent you have completed your training correctly. Via the handy slider you can look up your heart rate at a specific time or distance point.
YOUR HEART RATE AND FEELING
Your heart rate says a lot, but not everything. Always keep in mind that your heart rate can be influenced by several factors, including
• fatigue
• weather conditions
• stress
• coffee
• the healthy tension at a sporting event
• …
Always listen to your gut feeling & allow yourself enough rest when your body asks for it.
