Just Say No To Heart Rate Training

They have become the bane of our endurance training existence. Those incessant beep, beep, beeps as they pass me on the trail drive me crazy.

The heart rate monitor.

If you have been sedentary, are unfamiliar with exercise, or have no understanding of physical exertion, then the use of a heart rate monitor might prove helpful. Let’s allow you to have a 3 month window to use it to help establish a relationship between exertion and self-awareness during activity.

Then sell it on Craigslist. And get on with training.

You mean it’s not the gold standard to my endurance training success?

If you make the assumption that the cardiovascular system is the limiter of endurance sport performance, then it makes perfect sense why a coach might want you to use a heart rate monitor and establish some heart rate training zones.

But that would be circa 1990.

Heart rate training zones are inherently flawed. They are calculated based on a projected maximum heart rate. We’re now talking about a pretty significant factor of error, and a pretty large moving target. Oh, and if it is higher than about 65 degrees outside, or you are dehydrated (as 60% of the population is), then the numbers are skewed even further.

Even if the numbers weren’t skewed at all, would they be relevant?

I once watched a 5K on the track in which a participant was constantly checking their heart rate monitor. My curiosity got the better of me after the first 400 meters. Does checking your heart rate 12 times PER LAP give you any relevant data?

The sports science labs may measure heart rate, but they will always use rating of perceived exertion (RPE) as their gold standard. Why? Because it gives a “big picture” view. Assessing a training response is not just limited to how fast or slow the heart is beating.

The common complaint is that the RPE is a subjective assessment. But rating of perceived exertion is a very consistent measure. RPE gives a much better overview of all systems, including the primary limiter of performance – the central nervous system. RPE becomes even more powerful when used in conjunction with pace.

The solution? Throw out your heart rate zones. Learn to be self-aware and understand your level of exertion. Use pace and intensity … how fast am I moving, and how hard am I working. Micromanaging with irrelevant heart rate data my cause you to spend far more time and effort looking at the numbers than actually training.

Photo credits: vlauria