Mini Episode - Heart Rate Zones For Low Carb Athletes

Training for long-distance events requires a solid foundation, and to build a foundation that you can rely upon, you are going to have to put in the effort required to stimulate change in your body.

Luckily, this change occurs by unconventionally slowing down your running speed, not necessarily increasing it. There is a heart rate range where your body burns a large amount of fat for fuel, and little amounts of sugar (also known as muscle glycogen). Understanding this range will help you tap into your fat stores and save your glycogen reserves for the tail end of your run.

If you don’t have a device that can detect your heart rate whilst running (like a Garmin, Fitbit etc), then you can simply train at a pace that you could easily talk to a running partner at, without any heavy breathing or panting.

If you DO have a heart rate monitor, then read on.

For long and some medium runs, you are going to be using the following zone to build your aerobic capacity and endurance level. This zone is called the MAF zone, which was developed by Phil Maffetone. It stands for Maximum Aerobic Function, and you must be running below this number to acheive maximum endruance:

180 – [YOUR AGE] = AEROBIC HEART RATE

The following calculation is simple, but there are a few things to consider:

1. If you have been sick more than 2 times in the past year, or a taking any medication, subtract 5 from that number.

2. If you have been training consistently with progression in your training for the past 2 years without injury, add 5 to that number.