The idea of "zone 2 training" that is peddled sometimes on social media makes no sense if you're not running consistent mileage and actively looking to run faster. At that point, the idea is that you're minimizing injury risk in between 2+ hard efforts per week, while still getting in the miles.
Also running extremely hard for a good distance for me at least, became mentally a lot less enjoyable
Not really going anywhere unless you step into tempo/threshold/VO2 max training.
Assuming you've had yourself checked up, and do not have any medical conditions, then maybe you are just aerobically deficient (https://uphillathlete.com/aerobic-training/aerobic-deficienc...). Start slower, doesn't matter if you are walking. In fact, if you are doing 3x45 mins of zone 2 each week, start doing 2x45mins of brisk walking to keep your heart rate at zone 2. After about 4-6 weeks, you should find that you can start jogging again and hopefully (!) your heart rate doesn't peak so fast.
(I'm assuming a lot of things here, namely that you know what your LT1/LT2 are so that you can accurately calculate your 5 zones; https://www.trainingpeaks.com/learn/articles/joe-friel-s-qui...)
"HRmax was univariately explained by the formula 211 − 0.64·age, and we found no evidence of interaction with gender, physical activity, VO2max level, or BMI groups. ... Previously suggested prediction equations underestimated measured HRmax in subjects older than 30 years."
https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/j.1600-0838....
https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/physiology/articles/10....
"HRmax predicted by age alone may be practically convenient for various groups, although a standard error of 10.8 beats/min must be taken into account."
Shall we say 150—190 95% CI for me? (Rarely do I make enough effort to reach 155bpm.)
I've done a good session if I push to 155 bpm. I don't need to worry about finger-sticks for lactate accuracy, because there's no-risk I'll do twice-a-day twice-a-week threshold sessions.
If I'm not even in the low-end of that huge bpm range, I quit and take a recovery day.
https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=43083815
:so please explain why I haven't :-)
Exactly.
My guess is that neither are most other readers and commenters here. (Any evidence to the contrary?)
Meanwhile, what do those error bars tell use about "training based on heart rate percentages." :-)
> someone doing serious training
Care to say what you mean?
Let's say it again — "suggesting it could be used".
And "A simple formula predicting HRmax based on age only may be used when the exact HRmax is not needed or is difficult to obtain."
For me the difference between 202.5 − 0.53·age and 211 − 0.64·age is less than 2 bpm!
Tl;Dr - I got a basic thing that told me my pace (this was pre-smartphones but basic wearables existed) and turned out what I thought was relatively gentle and reasonable speed was actually a really fast pace and totally unsustainable.
When I knew what my pace actually was, I could stick to a much more sustainable (for me) ~5:30 min/km pace and it felt soooo slow and embarrassing and like I was barely even moving in comparison! But this was a much more realistic pace for a tubby software engineer. And for a long time I had to keep checking the pace as the speed would creep up during a run and it took discipline to "stay slow".
I use the runkeeper app that has the option to do pace read outs through your headphones every few minutes. I'd recommend trying something like that, and perhaps try to begin with a pace of like 6 or 7 min/km for 10-15 mins runs and stick to it and see if that helps, before starting to extend duration and speed after you've built some endurance. I've found fitness and condition improves fairly rapidly - O(weeks). Good luck.
Perhaps right now your fitness levels mean all you can do is a brisk walk for 10 mins? That's totally fine. Don't try and think you have to be following some workout plan by doing some sort of "zone" thing or some "interval" thing for X minutes. Listen to your body and take it slow.
I prefer a lactate test, rather than max HR, because it’s “easier” for me to induce. Basically, run a 30 minute, even paced, maximal effort. You then calculate your LT by removing 5% off the pace and HR averages you got.
The important part is the pace must be reasonably even and also maximum effort. So, it’ll feel easy to start and by the end you’ll want to vomit. If you’re lucky enough to live near a Park Run, you can do this a few times instead to learn your max effort pacing and work out Z2 from that.
I’m still slow when running, but then my goal is just to be able to run and not get injured. I built from 5k, to 10k and now can complete half marathon races on trails, which is a lot of fun. I’m a big advocate for minimal footwear and building strong feet. We are born to run, but modern footwear is silly.
Personally I feel like it started to feel better only when I built some strength in the whole legs and core muscle areas, such that they would all work together to make me move. It's hard to describe. But if I run after sitting a lot when everything is tight and seized up, I'll go back to feeling like a beginner.
https://www.ntnu.edu/cerg/hrmax
— and a Fitness Calculator —
https://www.ntnu.edu/cerg/vo2max
— based on treadmill VO2max tests of thousands of Norwegians.
Check your scores.
2) You say your heart-rate shoots-up fast. Does your heart-rate drop-down fast when you stop exercise?
At-rest maybe 50, warmup-jog maybe 100, then it depends on the ambient temperature. If it's 85F then HR drifts up to 140 and flattens. If it's 50F then HR drifts to 110 and flattens. Then it depends on effort. If it's 85F and hard then 155; if it's 50F and hard then 135.
Last-time I looked my calculated HRmax was 170.
3) I'm not offering medical advice. In my understanding HRmax does not mean something bad will happen if heart rate goes higher. HRmax means heart rate is unlikely to go higher.
Maybe trust your cardiologists?
Ignore the zone 2 messaging for now. Zone 2 training is basically useless for getting better at running when you're just starting because a new runner staying in zone 2 is just walking. You need to run to get better at running. For now, just ignore heart rate and focus on how you feel. Do run/walk and gradually work on increasing the time you run before you stop to walk.
PS.
"Zone 2", “80/20" and the like is advice that's really meant for intermediate runners starting to train more seriously and it basically just means "it's better to run easy most of the time so you can run more, and so when you do run hard you can get full benefit because you're not already exhausted. "
It is good advice in context but has been spouted without context by so many running youtubers and influencers that it has probably done more harm than good.
EDIT: what my training looks like: zone 2 training with a chest strap monitor. 30-45 min sessions, barely breaking out of walking speed, 2-3 days a week for months altogether, mixing it up with interval runs some times. I've done this many times over in my life, never seeing any improvement. Even today, the smallest of jogs will take me to max HR within 10-15 min