Many of our players use heart rate (HR) monitors to evaluate their response to daily training programs. Here is a common question many parents ask when they find out we are using HR monitors in our training sessions.
“What is the concept of monitoring (to improve) your fitness, and why/how is the monitor used to achieve the goals.”
The problem with HR training is that many athletes who purchase a HR monitor are expecting to be led through a training program that improves their fitness. But what they don’t know is that the companies that manufacture the products are not in the training business (creating programs and solutions for their customers). Instead, these manufactures are in the business of product (not protocol) development. They spend all of their time and resources to create a better product for the user (easier to use, more applications, feedback, etc.). This is where the disconnect usually occurs. I get athletes emailing me all the time with questions like, “I just purchased a HR monitor to help with my training… What do I do now?”
At AthleteFIT (and at our sport specific academies), we work with many manufactures of various products to create programming and educational material designed to help with questions like this. We are kicking off this series of articles with some basic set up programs that will help the user understand the “concept” of HR training, and how to get started with your new monitor.
After setting up the watch (information usually found in the manual that came with your product). You will want to get some baseline information. On of the most important pieces of information you will want to collect is your maximum heart rate.
Determining you max heart rate:
There are several ways we can do this. The most common formula is to simply take 220 – your age. If you are a 16 year old athlete your age determined max heart rate will be 220-16=204. For a 37 year old athlete your max heart rate will be 220-37=183. While this is a very easy way to get started, it is not always the most accurate. Many players will have heart rates that are well above or below this predicted max. It is not uncommon for some of our soccer players to see numbers in the 212 range during fitness sessions, and at 37 years old, I have seen 192 in a 3 minute on 1 minute off interval training session, which is 9 beats per minute (BPM) above my age predicted number.
The harder you train, the harder you will be able to push yourself, and the higher your heart rate may go. Here are a few ways we can determine max heart rate:
- Monitor your heart rate during fitness sessions, practice and interval runs. See what it is when you are at a 10 on (on a scale of 1-10 in a perceived rate of exertion test). Record this number and use it as your max.
- Perform the Soccer FITness Interval Test (but do this without the 30 second rest break between levels – just keep decreasing the time / increasing the speed until you cannot get back to the start in time, or until you cannot go any further).
- Graded Treadmill Test (start off walking on a treadmill and every minute increase the speed by .5 mph and every 2 minutes increase the incline by 1).
- HR Creep Test (see below)
HR Drift Test:
As you will soon find out, your heart rate will creep (or drift) up as you perform multiple intervals in a training session. Even if you are running the same distance at the same speed/cadence, from set to set you will see your heart rate begin to elevate. This drift is influenced by several factors including: fitness level, weather, hydration, etc. Here is a workout, designed to push this drift up so that we can identify a max heart rate.
Begin with a run (on a treadmill, Woodway Curve, Cybex Arc Trainer or outside on your local track). Run at whatever pace you feel comfortable with until your heart rate hits 75% of your age predicted max (let’s assume a 20 year old athlete with an age predicted max of 200 BPM for easy numbers). In this situation the HR would hit 150 BPM. At this point decelerate to a walking pace and look at your watch… You will notice that your heart rate will continue to go up even though you have stopped. Usually creeping up 2-3 BMP (150, 151, 152, 153…) and then it will come back down. As it comes back down to 75% (150 BPM in our example) you will start to run (again choosing a pace somewhere between running and sprinting).
When you see the number your heart rate drifted to (153 BPM in this example), you will again slow down to a walking pace and look at your watch… You will notice the heart rate will begin to creep up even higher (153, 154, 155, 156…) and then it will come back down. When it hits the number you started this interval with (153 BPM in this example) you will start your next interval run, running at a faster pace/cadence until the heart rate hits the number it crept to (156 in this example). You will then slow down to a walking pace, look at your watch, and see your heart rate creep up even higher (157, 158, 159, 160…) and then it will come back down.
Repeat this process of running to the highest number you saw, resting to the starting number of each interval. As the workout progresses you will notice that it is becoming harder and harder to hit your target. And at some point, you will be fatigued and not feel that you can push it any higher. This value will be recorded as your new max heart rate.
Below is an example of a training program using the same general HR drift protocol, with the only exception being that this athlete let his HR come back down to 75% after each interval and then proceeded to try and hit the number he saw his HR drift to during the rest break. This would be an example of cardiovascular strength training, which we will highlight in a future post.
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