Secret to Running Faster with a Low Heart Rate

if you've ever tried heart rate training to improve your running you'll know that one of the hardest things about running with heart rate is when you're trying to run with a low heart rate keeping the pace slow effort low and heart rate firmly in your aerobic training Zone can be a real challenge especially when you're just getting started with heart rate training but of course these long low heart rate runs are the key to improving your endurance as a runner allowing you to run faster for longer without getting so tired so it's an essential skill to work on whether you're using heart rate to keep your long runs slow and steady or your intermaphro tone training to build your aerobic base there are a few tips that I want to share with you which will help you get comfortable with running with a low heart rate firstly try to avoid running in the hottest parts of the day in fact if you can run either early in the morning or later in the evening when the environment is cooler it'll help your body regulate its core temperature more effectively because as soon as your body begins to overheat your heart has to work harder in pumping more blood around the system as blood vessels beneath your skin dilate in an effort to dissipate the heat through your skin as you sweat of course if you plan your runs so that you don't run in these hotter periods of the day this simply won't be a factor that you need to worry about dehydration is another factor that can cause your heart rate to increase while you're running when you get dehydrated your blood volume decreases slightly so your heart has to compensate by pumping the blood around your body faster so that exercising muscles can get the oxygen that they need so when it comes to running with a low heart rate you need to make sure that you're well hydrated before your run and the longer runs make sure that you take adequate fluids out on the run with you we're all slightly different but as a Rough Guide you should aim to drink about four to six ounces of fluids every 20 minutes during your longer runs remember if you wait until you're thirsty before you start drinking you're already dehydrated the hormone that causes that thirsty feeling is released when your body notices that you're dehydrated but if you keep on top of your hydration it'll be easier for you to keep your heart rate low while you're running while we're talking about drinks here's one for the coffee lovers there's nothing wrong with having a coffee in the morning before you run but just remember that caffeine is a stimulant and depending on how sensitive you are to it and how much you drink of it it will have an effect on your heart rate so if you're a runner who struggles to keep your heart rate low and you consume a lot of caffeine perhaps consider experimenting with a few runs where you stay clear of caffeine for a good few hours before you put on your running shoes and head out of the door once you're out and running have a think about how you're breathing if you have a tendency to breathe shallow and fast and you feel like you're breathing into your upper chest rather than getting a full inhale of air with each breath take a moment to slow the pace down consciously slow your breathing rate and focus on belly breathing to get a full breath of air with each inhalation this slow controlled belly breathing approach will help to slow your heart rate and Aid you in maintaining control of your heart rate as you run if after everything so far you're still struggling to keep a low heart rate while you run there's absolutely nothing wrong with adopting a run walk run strategy for your running you can use short intentionally planned walk breaks to allow your heart rate to drop back into your aerobic training zone between each of the running sections if you're finding it hard to keep your heart rate low perhaps begin with a three minute run one minute walk pattern then over time you increase the duration of those run blocks up to a point where step by step you build towards a nine minute run one minute walk pattern so even if your heart rate is creeping up with each running block you have a one minute walk between each running section to allow it to come back down and under control before you start running again plenty of successful runners use this type of run walk approach it's just a case of burying the ego listening to your body and trusting in the process similarly running up hills can cause your heart rate to suddenly Spike even if you've been trying to keep the pace super slow the problem is once you spiked your heart rate on a hill it can be really difficult to get your heart rate to lower back to the same level that you are running at before the hill can't avoid Hills on your easy runs and you're trying to run with a low heart rate your best bet is in fact to walk up the hills trust me your Aerobic System does not understand the difference between running and walking it only understands intensity so you'll be getting just as good of a workout if not better because you'll be keeping your heart rate right where it needs to be to get the most out of your heart rate training knowing your max heart rate and threshold heart rate will really help you accurately set your heart rate training zones and train at the correct intensity in an Ideal World you'd find out your maximum heart rate as part of a VO2 max test in an exercise physiologist's lab they put you on a treadmill and have you run what's known as a ramp test and a similar but different process called an obla test involves pinpricks of blood being taken as you run at increasing intensities on the treadmill to determine when your blood lactate begins to accumulate the exercise physiologist can then use this data to determine your threshold heart rate and figure out your training zones that's all great but we don't all have access to an exercise physiologist's lab so here's how you can work out your maximum heart rate and threshold heart rate with just a running watch a heart rate monitor now with that chest strap monitors are the most accurate rather than wrist-based Optical sensors and of course a flat running route let's start with maximum heart rate your maximum heart rate is the fastest your heart is capable of beating the highest beats per minute whilst effectively pumping blood around your system so with that in mind we know that to get you up to your maximum heart rate you're going to need to work really hard during this test the good news is that the hard part is actually over fairly quickly after a gradual warm-up of at least 15 minutes progressing from light jogging to 5K race pace and some dynamic stretches you'll be ready for the main test for the test you need either a running track or a flat running route run for two minutes as hard as you can then walk for one minute to recover before the next set repeat this four times so that's four sets of two minutes running hard with 60 seconds recovery between each set when I say run as hard as you can it's not a Sprint but the fastest Pace you could possibly sustain for two minutes when you look back at your heart rate data for the four sets you'll see where your heart rate Peaks you'll be able to identify the highest beats per minute your heart rate reaches and use that figure as your maximum heart rate you don't need to do this test very often at all as your maximum heart rate doesn't change much over time although it does get lower with age performing this test once per year is more than frequently enough in comparison your lactate threshold heart rate is more likely to change as a result of your training and is actually a good indicator of changes in your running Fitness if your threshold heart rate increases over time as a result of your training it means that you're able to maintain higher intensities of sustained running before your blood lactate levels begin to rise significantly meaning that you'll be able to run harder for longer before those heavy legs kick in one way of testing your threshold heart rate is to do a 30 minute threshold test it's not as high intensity as the max heart rate test but the effort does last for longer again after a 15 minute Progressive warm-up the test is a 30 minute run where you run as hard as you possibly can manage for 30 minutes for most people that will be slightly faster than 10K race Pace it's not a Sprint but you need to be working hard right from the start review the heart rate data from the run and take two measurements your heart rate at 10 minutes into the test and your heart rate at the end of the 30 minutes add those two heart rate figures together and divide the sum by two to get an average figure this average figure is your lactate threshold heart rate that you can use to determine your training zones

Channel: James Dunne

Views: 281,028

Keywords: running, how to run faster, heart rate, low heart rate running, low heart rate training, running tips, marathon training, maffetone method, heart rate training, james dunne, heart rate zones, run slow to run faster, running slow to run faster, kineticrev, how to keep your heart rate low when running, how to lower heart rate while running

Id: e5wgoTuJuF8

Length: 8min 35sec (515 seconds)

Published: Fri Feb 17 2023