intensity is for amateurs, consistency is for pros.
– Josh Hillis
This is another article in my love and hate relationship with running.
Running is just another tool that is useful to have in your fitness toolbox. And actually, running is actually a whole set of tools because there are just so many ways to run.
By definition exercise is exertion. So with respect to running for performance it’s good to understand exertion and have some level of measuring it. There are a few main ways to approach this. One is via heart rate, another is via respiration, and a third is through a ‘perceived rate of exertion’.
Heart rates are usually grouped into zones. I basically follow the 5 zone system for simplicity. I know that some people have more or less and sub-zones, but I will stick with 5. The thing with zones is that they work for everybody (more or less) because they are based on a percentage of your Maximum Heart Rate (MHR). So the catch is that in order for you to use this you need to figure out what that is. There are many ways to do that. There is the old standard 220- age. This may be statistically close over a wide enough population distribution, but at the same time it could be woefully inaccurate for you. There is the Maffetone method… Which is really conservative in my opinion. Or you can always go and get a full blown stress test, which will be most accurate, but is complicated and possibly expensive.
If you want to train this way then you also need to be able to monitor your heart rate during exercise. You can use a stopwatch and your finger, but having a fancy electronic gizmo will be more convenient and accurate.
The zones work based on a percentage of your MHR. The Zone ranges I subscribe to are as follows:
Zone 1 55% – 75%
Zone 2 75% – 80%
Zone 3 80% – 90%
Zone 4 90% – 95%
Zone 5 Not relevant
And guess what…? Harder is not necessarily better. I target the vast majority of aerobic training in Zone 1. Now that is only because a lot of what I train for requires all day endurance. Things like alpine climbing for instance. That type of endurance is best suited by training at what is known as the Aerobic Threshold. That point is approximately at the transition point between Zones 1 and 2. Elite athletes or those who have great depth in their endurance can reasonably be expected to have this point a bit higher than the rest of us. Besides using your pulse you can also use your respiration as a simple marker. This would be where you stop nose breathing and are required to breathe through your mouth.
There are also a variety of Perceived Exertion Scales. Some are on a scale of 1 to 10, others on a scale of 6 to 20. They can be correlated somewhat to the aforementioned heart rate zones:
Zone 1 Fairly light, Easy breathing, through the nose. should be able to speak in full sentences
Zone 2 Medium to somewhat hard, mouth breathing begins
Zone 3 Hard, but not desperate, verging on uncomfortable, possible to only speak in short sentences
Zone 4 Very hard, pretty much the hardest you have ever felt, unable to talk
Zone 5 Maximum effort, don’t train this hard.
If you engage in long sub-maximal efforts such as alpine climbing or ultra-marathons then the Zone 1 to 2 transition is the sweet spot you will want to be able to maintain for hours on end.
Training here also builds a solid, unassailable foundation for all other aerobic and anaerobic endeavours. This is an interesting and oddly difficult type of training. The situation that many people; myself included, find themselves in is this however: For the most part you typically find that the perceived exertion is just too damn low to be giving you any benefit. You may actually have to force yourself to go slow just to stay in the zone. So while it may feel you aren’t getting any training effect, you are. Lots in fact. Duration or volume of aerobic training is what builds endurance, and that all important base for intensity. Instead of the usual distance and pace, concern yourself with how much time you are in Zone 1.
Don’t get me wrong. Intensity training is not ‘bad’. It is in fact really important, but for many pursuits is only needed in small doses, or at specific times. It is especially important in activities or events that require relatively short bursts of speed or power. Think obstacle course racing maybe. Or occasions in climbing where you really need to motor past some objective hazard. So there is a time and place for all of those other zones.
This type of training philosophy dovetails very nicely with periodization training; where you train in phases or cycle through various protocols and intensities throughout the season or year.
For the most part however training and workouts should give you something and not take things away. They should leave you refreshed and energized not shattered. I said for the most part, because as I said before there are times when you need to train to exhaustion.