Equipment 411: Part Two--Your Heart Rate Monitor

So, in my last post, I covered how I considered the Personal Heart Rate Monitor (HRM) to be, perhaps, the biggest (legal) leap forward in the fitness world in the 20th century. For anyone looking to take their training up a notch, this is the place to start. Do Not think about skipping ahead to the gizmos with full-on GPS/mood indicating/multi-task-enforcing protocols. You will be overwhelmed and won't know where to start...so listen up:

1. Get an HRM and start to use it;
2. Test yourself (see below); and
3. Use the training zones to shape your workouts.

Sounds easy enough, I know...but it's important to remember that even doing the three steps I outlined above, just those three, was enough to have you burned at the proverbial fitness stake a few years ago.

The Self TestsThere are different types of tests for different athletes for different reasons...it can be really confusing. You should rest assured, however, that doing a test on yourself and using that data is lightyears better than just using some formula from a book! I prefer tests for the bike and run that aren't (A) too hard or (B) too confusing. So the protocol is the same:

1. Warm up for 15-30 minutes, building easy to steady effort.
2. Include 3x30 seconds at a hard effort/fast pace in the last 5 minutes of your warm up.
3. Stop and stretch a second if you'd like, and grab some H2O.
4. Start a 30-minute time trial. Goal effort is one that you can sustain for about 30 minutes and give-or-take a few seconds. Do not start slow and sprint at the end; do not start at a gallop and finish at a crawl. The key is even, steady pacing.
5. When you hit the 10-minutes done / 20-minutes to go part of your test, hit the "lap" or "split" button on your HRM. The goal here is to capture the average HR for the last 20 minutes of your test.
6. Finish strong and cool down well.

Equipment:

• Bike and associated gear OR run shoes;
• Flat, safe area where you can go all out...and hopefully repeat in 6-8 weeks; and
• An HRM that can give you average HR info for laps (think Polar S210 and above).

Anazlyzing the DataOnce you've finished the test--and cleaned up and had a bit to drink--you can crunch the numbers. Remember that it will take 1-3 repeats of the test until you learn enough about your body as to where it is on the work spectrum during this test.

To analyze your data, you will want to take the Avg HR from your test and find it on the main line...in the PTS HR Zones Chart (originally created by Joe Friel). You can download your copy of the chart here: HR Zones. Armed with this data, you now have the foundation of your training set into firm concrete. For more info about each zone, download this HR Zone Overview. It's definitely worth it to continue your testing every 6-8 weeks...preferraby at the end of a recovery week so your testing data isn't skewed by fatigue or lack of sleep.

Whatever you do, make sure you save your zones somewhere prominent so that you won't forget once you are out the door!!! :)

Good luck and happy training! ~Patrick

PS: Stay tuned for the next piece on the computrainer!