Strong Endurance A+A Training, what HR zone?

[offwidth]

@offwidth, if you'll forgive what may be a naive question: My max heart rate was easy to determine - it might be low, but since it's already a lot higher than what all the formulas predict, I'm content with it. How would a person determine, if at all, their own values for AeT and AnT?

I found this: Heart Rate Drift: A Functional Measure of Aerobic Fitness

and

DIY Anaerobic Threshold Test

This at-home Anaerobic Threshold test will help you determine your Anaerobic Threshold (AnT) heart rate, which will be useful when it comes to controlling

uphillathlete.com

I wouldn't mind a review/discussion of these are related terms - I confess I find them confusing. In my own training, my only metrics for heart rate are my memory of what my Polar H10 told me are the tops of my Zone 1 - 107 - and Zone 2 - 127, which are based, I assume, on my actual max of 179 because I put in that number after seeing it a couple of times when I used to monitor my swing sessions. Since I do my resistance training without paying attention to my heart rate, the only times I look at my HR are occasionally when I'm out walking, and invariably I'm below 127 so I'm content.

-S-

Yep. The AnT method I would use is Uphill Athlete method that you provided a link to.

As far as AeT goes (can be somewhat DIY) is a blood lactate test. One of course needs a blood lactate meter and test strips, but after that it’s pretty straightforward. Some endurance coaches offer this service for a small fee. (Also sometimes a training group will go in together on a meter; they aren’t all that expensive)
The other method is a Gas Exchange test, but that is out of most people’s reach, as it requires expensive lab equipment.

The good thing is that for most of us ‘close enough’ is going to be good enough. This is why MAF and the Talk Test are so often used as surrogates for AeT.

If you are a professional athlete, or just one of us ‘regular’ folks who just really want to know exactly… then the AeT test is the way to go.

 

[Justin_M]

HR is affected by so many things that i dont believe its a good guide for intensity.

Why is it do you suppose that so many of the worlds top locomotive endurance athletes use HR training zones?

I believe both have their place. I think it takes a little experimenting to find the appropriate RPE based on HR zones. Then, I find I can use HR as a guide to stress level in order to adjust volume. If running for example, I use initial HR zones to develop certain paces I focus on more so than HR. Then, if my HR for a session at those paces is higher or lower than usual, I adjust duration accordingly to compensate for the multifactorial variability of HR.