Understanding your running heart rate, before, during, and at peak exercise will help you become a better runner. It’s why you see more and more running watches incorporating this feature even in their base models.
Heart rate training prevents you from running too hard or too easy, allowing you to recover better, enhance performance, and reduce the risk of overtraining.
Step 1 is understanding YOUR personal heart rate zones for training and then more importantly how to effectively use them. Because running data without a purpose is just another number to fret over.
Heart Rate Zones for Running
In between our resting and max heart rates lies a range that corresponds to workouts of varying intensities that range from very light to very hard.
The MOST accurate way to find your zones is to do a VO2 Max test, but that’s not often accessible for many so instead we try to generalize. Below is an example of a test I did…wayyyy back in 2010 when I was super sick.
Most marathon training plans include a variety of workouts targeted at the different zones, like easy days, tempo runs, speed work, and long slow distance. Incorporating workouts of varying difficulties teaches your body to more efficiently use its aerobic and anaerobic systems.
There are five training zones that can help you dictate your exertion level based on your BPM. So rather than training at a specific pace that feels hard or easy enough, you let your heart rate determine the speed.
Following are examples of each zone where MHR is the max heart rate you’ll calculate below (this DOES NOT apply to Low Heart Rate Training).
Zone 1: Very Light – 50 to 60 percent of MHR
Reserve Zone 1 for your warm up and recovery days. Running in this zone feels like you could keep going for hours.
Zone 2: Light – 60 to 70 percent of MHR
Your long runs should fall in Zone 2. You can go for several hours and maintain a conversational pace throughout. These runs build your endurance.
Zone 3: Moderate – 70 to 80 percent of MHR
This is your tempo run pace, used to develop speed and strength and provide the most cardiovascular benefit. Runs in Zone 3 should last about 30-45 minutes. The pace is comfortably hard; conversations are limited to a word or two at a time.
Zone 4: Intervals or Fartleks, 80 to 90 percent of MHR,
Zone 4 teaches your body to run at its lactate threshold. This is the effort where your body relies on carbs for energy. Think 5K or mile repeat pace.
Zone 5: 400 repeats or finishing a race, 90 to 100 percent of MHR
This is your maximum effort and should last under five minutes per session. You would use this pace as you near the finish line of a race or during shorter speed workouts, like 200- and 400-meter repeats.
What is a Good Running Heart Rate?
The average heart rate varies from person to person and is based on a number of factors, including:
- Age
- Fitness level
- Medications
- Stress levels
- Gender
- Genetics
- Caffeine intake
Research has also shown that dehydration, temperature, altitude, and even time of day can affect heart rate by up to 20 percent.
What that means is that heart rate can change from one day to the next, so take an average of your heart rate in the beginning so you can learn more about how your body reacts to different stress.
What is Resting Heart Rate?
Before getting deep into running heart rate, you first have to know your resting heart rate. This is quite literally your average heart rate while at rest.
- The most accurate measurement is first thing in the morning just after you have woken up and before you get out of bed.
- Many phones have a built in app that will record your heart rate using the fingerprint sensor, otherwise, you can go old school and use your fingers and a timer.
- With the first two index fingers, find the pulse on your wrist or your carotid artery on your neck and count the number of heart beats over 10 seconds. Multiply that number by 6 to get your resting heart rate.
For the average person, resting heart rate ranges between 60 and 100 beats per minute (bpm).
Seasoned runners and elite athletes tend to have lower heart rates, sometimes as low as 40 bpm. This is because their muscles are in top condition and their heart doesn’t have to work as hard to pump blood to the body.
How to Calculate Maximum Heart Rate?
Everyone has both a maximum and minimum heart rate. Knowing both will help you get the most from your training by targeting heart rates that fall in between your minimum and maximum heart rate.
Now that you know your resting heart rate, it’s time to calculate your maximum heart rate. There are a few different calculations you can use. For the math, we’ll use a 40-year-old woman as an example.
The most common method is the Fox formula: 220 – age = MHR of 180.
Tanaka formula: 208 – (age x 0.7) = 180
Gulati formula: 206 – (age x .88) = MHR 170.8
Women may find more accurate results using the Gulati formula. Other formulas are derived from research on men, and seem to overestimate the max heart rate for women.
These calculations are great for getting estimates, but do not always provide the closest answer. It’s not uncommon for runners to exceed that number. This doesn’t mean that your heart is going to burst out of your chest, rather it means that the calculated number isn’t your true maximum heart rate.
Tests to Find Max Heart Rate
1. The best way to find out your max heart rate is on a treadmill at a lab, but if that is not accessible to you, then you can simulate your own test at the track using a heart rate monitor.
2. Start with a one to two-mile warm up, then run a mile at tempo pace, then 400m faster, and then a final 400m as fast as you can go. The highest recorded number is your max heart rate.
3. Another way to find out your max heart rate is to run a 5k all out. Go as fast as you can sustain over the course. Your highest reading, likely toward the end of the race, will be your max.
How to Use Heart Rate for Training Training
There are two main methods of training according to your heart rate: the Maffetone Method and Heart Rate Zones. Both will help train your body to run more efficiently, but in very different ways.
Low Heart Rate Training/The Maffetone Method
My preferred method of training because it forces more runners to build a quality base is LHR.
- This method trains your body to burn more stored fat for energy and perform endurance activities faster over time while remaining at the same heart rate.
- The goal during training is to never exceed that heart rate.
- In the beginning, running may feel excruciatingly slow, but trust that you will get faster over time.
- After you build a solid base and are no longer progressing using just your MAX hr, you can start to add in speed work again for 20% of your weekly run time.
To calculate your maximum heart rate for low heart rate training, use his 180 formula:
180 – age = maximum HR for all workouts
There are nuances after that, but that’s the overall basic formula. I’ve written many articles about low heart rate training. Start here to get a full understanding of how and why it works.
What Happens When Your Heart Rate is Too High?
Exceeding your maximum heart rate for long periods of time can cause health problems such as:
- Arrhythmia
- Chest pain
- Over training
- Discomfort (leading to not consistently running)
Furthermore, it will only hinder, not help, your running. Training consistently at a high heart rate won’t teach your body to burn fat for energy over long periods of time. More importantly training at 75% of your MHR or higher won’t allow your body to recover or train the lactic threshold system.
Overtraining will likely lead to injury, burnout, and plateau during races.
Signs that your heart rate is too high include:
- Dizziness
- Difficulty breathing
- Inability to talk
- Cannot catch breath
If you find yourself pushing too hard during a training run or race, slow down, walking if necessary, and focus on your breathing until your heart has reached a slower rate.
Slowing down may feel counter intuitive, but remember, there’s a benefit to going hard on hard days and taking your recovery days easy peasy.
Measuring Your BPM with a Heart Rate Monitor
A heart rate monitor is a wearable device that measures and displays your bpm to another device such as a watch or phone. Most importantly, they give you actionable data to learn if you’re pushing too hard, or not enough during your training.
Do you really need one to train? No. Do you really need one to train with accuracy in order to achieve your running goals? Probably.
Click here for Part 2: Looking at the Best Heart Rate Monitor for Running – Comparing straps, watches and more.
Do you run based on your bpm?
How has your running improved by learning about your running heart rate?
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Alexis
Most runners overlook the importance of heart rate zones in training, until they get frustrated that they aren’t making progress. The reality is, if you’re frustrated, you’re probably running too fast, too often with your heart rate in “no man’s land” in a zone that does you no good. When I started training using Matt Fitzgerald’s 80/20 method, I noticed HUGE gains in my fitness: https://runningmybestlife.com/80-20-running/. I’m guilty of creeping my speed too high as well, and after getting my VO2 Max tested this week, I’m refocusing on hitting the right zones in marathon training!
Ann
Thank you so much for sharing such quality content. The info you provide is remarkable. I’m so happy I discovered your fantastic blog a couple months ago. I’ll be coming around often.
amanda
OH thanks Ann, that’s so kind!!