Knowing your heart rate by heart isn’t quite possible, but bettering your knowledge in that area in order to know when to slow down and when to push harder is in fact an essential asset that can significantly improve your running routine.
The first thing you need to do is get a heart rate monitor and measure your maximum heart rate (MHR). Just bare in mind that the numbers are not fixed, our human bodies and their abilities are inconstant and may vary all the time. Therefore, it is recommended to re-test your MHR every month or two. Your heart rate will always be susceptible to the weather, your level of fitness at that particular moment, your diet and fatigue.
If you’re feeling under the weather, you should lower your heart rate training zones by 15 percent. Never underestimate the power of listening to your body’s signals during a mental fatigue. Another thing you need to be careful about is not to set the high and the low rate zones too close, for you’ll find it is hard to remain in the zone and it will do you no good motivation wise. Heart rate zones can prevent over-training and producing too much lactic acid. If you are sensing certain performance drop, just lower your low zone by 5 percent and stick to it for a few days, or until you feel the need to go back to what’s normal for you.
Staying hydrated is probably the best hing you can do to assure that your heart rate won’t change drastically when you least need it. Dehydration causes the thickening of the blood and forces your body to work harder, so whenever you’re feel that it’s getting hard to keep up the pace, make sure you’re not dehydrated.
Individuality is a very important aspect when training with a heart rate monitor. Don’t compare yourself to others and don’t trust general heart rates according to age. Remember that you lead a unique life and have a unique body, so individual approach is the only way to go in order to get the most of your training. Furthermore, the terrain and the time will also affect your performance every single time, so you can use your heart rate monitor as a feedback machine or a personal coach that after a while will let you know what suits your body and what doesn’t.
Finally, a heart rate monitor is an extremely useful tool and a clear indicator of the abilities of your cardiovascular system; a safe guide for proper physical activity.
