Find your max using real world testing. 3-4 mile repeats seem to do it for me (approx. 204). I'd venture a guess that 152ish is pretty close to your aerobic threshhold, the level you want to stay under for pure aerobic training.

The jump to 220 is probably due to interference (power lines or something).

The sensors on the chest strap should be wet, try spitting or putting some KY jelly on them

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Striving to have sex more than 66 times per year

How do you do real world testing specifically. Do I just warm up, and then run as fast as I can for 3/4 of a mile?

yes but it will probably take more than one, maybe 3-4, with a very short recovery. Other methods are (1) find a hill that takes you at least 60 seconds to run up, and do it about 5 times in a row, really sprinting as you near the top, then jogging back down between every one. Your HR should get successively higher through at least the 4th one. (2) run a 5k.

Your true max might be a couple of beats higher than you get with either of these or the 3/4 or mile repeats, but you'll get awfully close.

I do 4x1 mile repeats with 2-3 minutes of rest between. These are done after a good 15-20 minute jog to warm up. Build your intensity with each interval so that on the 4th one you're going all out (like, scared that your heart might explode for the last 200 meters of the last interval).

Sounds fun, huh?

The problem with using shorter sprints is that there's about 60-90 lag time in your HR response. I like using mile repeats because I can gauge my effort level very easily by focussing on 1/4 mile splits (always get faster with each 1/4) and there's plenty of time to pin your HR at its max.

I suggest hill repeats as well and be sure to warm up really well! Keep an eye on your monitor and go with the highest number you see. I tested mine this way and have a max of 200. Don't go by any of those bogus max hrt formulas - my max is a good 20 bpm higher than the '220 - your age' formula. Oops - did I just tell everyone how old I am??

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A lie can travel half way around the world while the truth is just putting on its shoes.
- Mark Twain

I am a newbie in this area but here is the advice I followed from the Training Bible:

"To find your lactate threshold heart rate (LTHR) for either the bike or run complete a 30-minute time trial as follows. Find a course which is relatively flat. A track is perfect, if you have one available. Warm-up as you would before a short race and then begin the time trial. Start your heart rate monitor immediately. This should be one with an average heart rate mode. The effort of this time trial should be racelike--give it all you have. Ten minutes into the time trial (20 minutes to go) hit the 'lap' button on your heart rate monitor so that when you finish you have your average heart rate for the last 20 minutes. This number is an approximation of your LTHR. The more times you complete this test and observe your heart rate relative to breathing in workouts, the more refined your LTHR will become. "



My LTHR was 177

My Zones came out to be (For Running - about 5-10 beats less for bike):

Zone 1: <151

Zone 2: 151-160

Zone 3: 161-169

Zone 4: 170-176

Zone 5a: 177-180

Zone 5b: 181-187

Zone 5c: 188+



A lot of good information in the following:

Going Long

Training Plans for Multisport Athletes

Traithletes Training Bible



Hope this helps



John

I do the exact same thing that you do and train to those zones for the bike and run.

I find that my bike LTHR is only about 4 beats less than my run LTHR but that is just me.

jaretj

Thanks for the info.

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Striving to have sex more than 66 times per year

Somebody else already posted Joe Friel's instructions for testing your LT HR. His method seems to be a much safer and more useful test than trying to find your max HR for two reasons:

1)A good test of your max HR is going to knock you out for at least a day and probably more

2)your max HR really doesn't change, but your LTHR does change with training.

So there's a definite benefit to retesting your LTHR every 8 or 12 weeks and using the new results to rejigger your training zones in order to continue to see gains. Nonetheless, the zone 1 - zone 2 training you do during your base period for a race like an ironman is going to feel pretty damn easy. Just keep thinking "I'm not training to go hard, I'm training to go long." As a marathon runner your LTHR for running might not change all that much, but you'll see changes in your cycling LTHR for sure! If your runs still feel too easy, try riding for an hour first. :-)

As for HRM jelly, try "buh-bump" which is specifically designed for HR monitors. Personally, I sweat like a pig so I haven't had much trouble.

Lee Silverman
JackRabbit Sports
Park Slope, Brooklyn

Amen to the above posts. Why do you need to know your Max HR? Do the test to find your LTHR and you can get really close approximate values for zone work.

Oh, and without good wet contact a split-second loss of cantact can trick your monitor into mis-calculating your HR giving you a random 220 or something like that. Even the curvature of some chest straps can cuase a short loss of contact that will mess up the HR. Also, in a race or training with other athletes, some HRmonitors will pick up signals from other monitors. check to see if your is coded or not.