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  • Heather: We're individuals. We run at different speeds. We have different levels of fitness.

  • Despite all of that, could there be a perfect heart rate for running? Is there a number

  • that we should all be aspiring to? Well, I'm going to be rewinding and covering the basics

  • of running to heart rate and then do my best to answer that question.

  • [music] Our heart rate reflects the effort that we're

  • putting in. The harder we work, the more oxygen that our muscles demand. To react to that,

  • we'll start to increase our breathing rate and our heart rate at the same time, but it's

  • worth pointing out before we go any further that there is a lag in your heart rate increase

  • that reflects your effort level. Once you start working harder, it's going to take a

  • few seconds or more depending on that effort level.

  • Obviously, we're all different as to how quickly your heart rate will catch up, and the same

  • goes at the other end of the spectrum. When you stop exercising, your heart rate is going

  • to take longer to go back down to normal than your effort level will. Imagine if you're

  • running for the bus. For example, you get on the bus, sit down, and you can probably

  • feel your heart rate racing even though you stop moving.

  • [music] We need to cover some of the variations between

  • person to person before we can go on and answer this question. There's factors such as your

  • age, your fitness level, the air temperature, caffeine, stress, any medication you might

  • be on, the terrain that you're running on, the list goes on. To be able to compensate

  • for all of those differences, we need to work out what is normal for you. A good starting

  • point is by working out your maximum heart rate. Now, there's a really old-school rough

  • calculation you might have heard of before, which is 220 minus your age.

  • Say you're 30 years old, that would mean, in theory, your maximum heart rate would be

  • 190, but that is a rough guide at best. If you do want to have something that's more

  • accurate, you're going to need to do a heart rate running test, which admittedly is hard

  • work, but it'll give you a really nice accurate number that you can work from. For more details

  • on that, I'd recommend checking out our GTN video on how to run to heart rate. Now, I'm

  • not sure if you guys can see right now, but it's pouring down outside. I think we're going

  • to have to move in to finish the rest of this video.

  • [music] Okay, we've escaped the rain. I've got my

  • coffee. It is time to crack on with the rest of this video. Hopefully, you've got that

  • magic number. We can now start to turn our focus towards heart rate zones. We are actually

  • still getting closer to answering that question of whether there is a perfect heart rate for

  • running. Heart rate zones, when it comes to running, are usually divided into five.

  • That reflects how hard you're working. You'll find that some watches will automatically

  • actually tell you what zone you're running in often using a color. They'll work this

  • out by seeing how hard you normally run and guessing or estimating your maximum heart

  • rate. It's quite typical for Zone 3 to come up as green. You'll often see, that's kind

  • of the zone you'll quite often find yourself in.

  • Whereas, for example, Zone 5, quite often is reflected as red because it just shows

  • that you're working extremely hard. If you don't have a smartwatch or you want to work

  • out your zones manually, it can be done. Just have to hope that you're quite good at math

  • because there's some percentages that needed here. Zone 1 is between 50% and 60% of your

  • maximum heart rate. Zone 2 is 60% to 70%. Zone 3, 70% to 80%. Zone 4, 80% to 90%. Yes,

  • you guessed it. Zone 5 is 90% to 100% of your maximum heart rate.

  • I expect you're starting to see that the thought of having an exact perfect heart rate for

  • running is looking a little bit like a myth. There are so many variables that can affect

  • your heart rate by just a few beats per minute from day to day, from activity, from temperature.

  • You get the picture. If you went out and did exactly the same run two days in a row at

  • the same time of day you ran at the same pace, I would still be really surprised if your

  • heart rate was exactly the same. That's where zones come in handy because they're

  • going to give you an indication of the fact you're running at the same intensity but leaving

  • room for those slight variables that happen normally. Well, with all of that in mind,

  • I thought I probably need to reword the question and ask, is there a perfect heart rate zone

  • for running? Well, it's complicated. There is no exact answer still. Were you really

  • expecting it to be a black and white, yes or no? If it was, it would have been a rather

  • short video. [music]

  • Each heart rate zone has different benefits and is used depending on what you're training

  • for and what your purpose of running is. If you take someone who's running purely to lose

  • weight, well, they're going to be training in a very different zone and a different program

  • to someone who, say, is trying to run a fast 5K. I'm going to break it down and look at

  • each zone and what's happening physiologically when you're running at that heart rate.

  • [music] Zone 1, this is very light. It's super easy-feeling.

  • You should feel that you could run at this pace all day and quite happily have a conversation.

  • This zone is perfect. If you've got a recovery run at your door, you simply want to go for

  • a social run. Zone 2, this is light. It's still easy and conversational, but you might

  • find that your sentences are maybe just a little bit shorter and your body is going

  • to be working aerobically here. This is a very low intensity, so it doesn't

  • actually mean that your body can convert fat and use that as fuel. It does sometimes get

  • referred to as the fat-burning zone, not to be confused with the best weight-loss zone

  • because that's purely about the amount of calories that you're burning. This is just

  • using a different type of fuel to fuel your run. Because it is such a nice low intensity,

  • it means you can hopefully stay in this zone for quite a long time.

  • It's great for building that aerobic base, which you can then do your faster work on

  • top of. The natural factor relevant of what distance or speed you're training for, Zone

  • 2 is often recommended to make up about 80% of your training intensity. Okay, that 80%

  • figure was probably a little bit of a giveaway. Zone 2 is actually the closest you're going

  • to get to the perfect running zone, but we're going to come back to that one once we've

  • covered the final three zones. Zone 3, this is a medium level of effort.

  • You're very conscious that you'll be working at this intensity and you can only maintain

  • this pace for somewhere between 30 and 45 minutes. It's still going to be predominantly

  • aerobic and it's greater boosting that aerobic capacity. It's often termed as a "tempo pace."

  • Zone 4, you're working hard at this zone. Think of running to your 5K PB pace, that

  • really uncomfortable yet you know you're really going for. It's a mixture of aerobic and anaerobic

  • work, but your body is going to be predominantly still using carbohydrate as fuel in this zone.

  • Working in Zone 4 is great for doing some intervals at race pace and just boosting that

  • aerobic threshold. Zone 5, this is really pushing it. It's basically a max effort. Think

  • sprint finish at the end of a race. Really, though, you're not going to be spending very

  • much time in Zone 5, especially in your training, unless, say, you're a sprinter or maybe you

  • do team sports which involves lots of short sprinting intervals. When you do find yourself

  • in Zone 5, you're not going to be able to stay there very long. If you are using it

  • at the finish of a race, make sure you don't go for it too soon.

  • [music] I touched on that magic zone a moment ago,

  • but it could be a little bit confusing. You might think, well, you want to run a 5K PB

  • and the majority of your 5K race is going to be in Zone 4. Yes, it is, but that doesn't

  • mean you need to do all of your training in Zone 4 as you would simply burnout. In actual

  • fact, you need to do the majority of your training for 5K in Zone 2. You're building

  • that aerobic base and then you add in spikes of more intense work, and then also a little

  • bit in Zone 1 when you're doing some recovery, and then you could be someone who's trying

  • to lose weight. Well, Zone 2 is the fat-burning zone as I

  • mentioned. That doesn't mean you have to stay purely in Zone 2. That's just a way that your

  • body is using fat as fuel. If you want to do some shorter, sharper intensity efforts,

  • that will burn more calories and will help with the balance in a shorter period of time,

  • and also help keep your running more interesting. I think to conclude, you have realized that

  • there is no such thing as a perfect heart rate or even a perfect zone to do all of your

  • running in. That said, I would say Zone 2 is that magic

  • zone that you do want to spend most of your time in as it just has that wonderful ability

  • to build a base, and then you can add in bits around that. Remember, when it comes to running,

  • you want to keep your body stimulated with changes of pace, but also that mental stimulation

  • so you keep interest and you keep enjoying your running. Well, hopefully, this has slightly

  • answered that question and made things a little bit more clear as to what intensity you should

  • do your running at. Give us a like if you have enjoyed it. Remember, you can check out

  • our social media channels and follow us there and you can also subscribe to us here on YouTube.

  • [00:09:11] [END OF AUDIO]

Heather: We're individuals. We run at different speeds. We have different levels of fitness.

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