Create Your Own Heart Rate Running Zones | Running with Buffalo

Coach Eric Orton is the best selling author of BORN TO RUN 2 and THE COOL IMPOSSIBLE, and coach to runners around the globe.
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Eric is the former Director of Fitness at the University of Colorado Health Sciences Center, World renown Ultra Running/Marathon coach, international author/speaker, and has operated his online coaching business for the last 25 years.
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COROS Heart rate Training Zones Guide:
www.coros.com/stories/coros-m...
#trainwithcoros
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Run Natural In Xero Shoes (Partner/Affiliate Links):
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Born To Run 2: The Ultimate Training Guide
www.borntorun.world
Eric's Personal Online Run Coaching, Camps, Run Form Consulting, and Training Plans:
www.runningwitheric.com
Eric's book, The Cool Impossible:
www.amazon.com/Cool-Impossibl...
Eric's Drills:
• YOU can get FASTER and...

[@philipong8881]

Love the video coach! What a beatiful place to run! A little summary for my own reference. One mile field test Warm up phase 1. 10-15 minutes easy 2. 4x 30" pick-ups 3. 5 minutes slowly building up to your perceived test effort One mile time trial 1. One mile as fast and steady as you can. Collect Average Heart rate and Max heart rate 95% of the average heart rate = lactate threshold. Analyse gap between One-mile average heart rate and Max heart rate. If gap is large (>4 beats) then endurance issue, need more base building, else if gap is small (

[@BornToRunCoach]

I would say 4-5 beat gap is good, getting much less would be hard. Once you get there, you then continue to look for speed improvements, more than a shift in HR.

[@GoatPeak]

Awesome stuff...I was struggling trying to get accurate numbers with formulas as a 61 yo athlete...this will be amazing...Thanks!

[@carinjakobson5802]

just stunning, thanks so much for sharing.

[@miketitus3592]

Great video and awesome info clearly communicated. Just subscribed and looking forward to more. THX!

[@TrailrunnerTroy]

Coros rocks, Coach! Great great video. Thank you!

[@meerir5754]

Love your videos Eric, my favourite running channel. And this one is very timely as I just ordered a Coros watch couple of days ago 😊

[@trailblader]

Love the video! Jackson Hole looks like an epic place to run!

[@TimLines]

Nice, I’m going to have to get a heart rate monitor to apply these tips. Thank you.

[@robertburpee9473]

Fantastic Vlog, what a place that you live and run it, simply breath taking! I've run using HR ever since I bought you book The Cool Impossible, in late 2013 and very quickly I realised that wrist based HR monitoring was just too hit and miss so I've always used a chest strap. Though I'm now seeing arm based HR straps from many brands but in particular Coros and they are getting lots of feed back and from what I've seen on line people are saying their arm based HR straps are very comfortable and accurate. I still use the charts you put together in the Cool Impossible for HR and Speed zones and find them super accurate. As I understand it, the issue with wrist based HR monitoring is 2 fold, firstly the number of bones and the structure of the wrist can make it difficult for a watch to pickup an accurate HR on a consistent basis and secondly again due to the wrists structure it is very easy for the laser light that detects your HR to escape and not be returned to the watch so again giving an inaccurate or inconsistent reading. This being the case has Coros developed technology to counter these issues therefore improving wrist base HR monitoring? As always thank you for taking the time to put this together, Run Strong Eric

[@willcalder3461]

another excellent video eric. This is exactly the information I needed, I’ve been wanting to focus on my HR zones to dial in my training for long distances this summer. Just got my first HR strap in the mail yesterday and am super stoked to be using that and information in this video to improve. Thanks dude!

[@BornToRunCoach]

Right on, thanks for the note. Run strong!!

[@nilesdelta8636]

Hey Coach , great advice I’m going to try this out. Beauty surroundings . Thanks for keeping us all motivated

[@BornToRunCoach]

Right on. Hope the test goes well and keep running strong!

[@shannonjohnson8608]

Awesome video Eric. Thanks! I love my Coros Vertix. Thank you! I will do the test!

[@BornToRunCoach]

You are a master at the test

[@AWashedUpLocal]

Very much appreciated. I don't have a track nearby so I'll be using a flat section of gravel trail to run the test.

[@BornToRunCoach]

Cool. Just be sure to always test in the same spot/section.

[@Kelly_Ben]

After hearing so many of our UK runners talk about getting lab testing, I looked into it... in the US, unless you have a boatload of disposable income, or are a sick/ injured athlete covered by insurance, forget it! I loved the "train, not strain". I'll be using that while I train for my first 100k. I'll do this test, as well, since the formulas are so far off for me. I always come away from your videos with a couple golden nuggets that make me a better runner. Thanks Coach!

[@BornToRunCoach]

Thanks Kelly. Love that you catch the golden nuggets, as that is my main mission with the channel. Keep us posted on the 100k training!

[@Ultralexander300]

As I get older I should get a heart rate thing, I left the watch on road when I came to mountains

[@laurajoyce7857]

That's an absolutely excellent video! You answer so many questions I'd been asking myself. And I love seeing all the wildlife. I've also been wondering if it's normal for HR to go up when running downhill (when it's easier) and is there a less frustrating way to keep HR in zone than stop'ngo? Most definitely a video I'm going to come back to and looking forward to the other ones!

[@BornToRunCoach]

Hey there Laura. Glad to like this one. It was a special day with the sun and all the bison!! HR is best for steady consistent efforts, so I have never heard about HR going up on downhills. UNLESS, you are getting some HR lag where it is still elevating from the UPHILL, as you start to descend. Therefore, it takes some time to drop on the downhill - if that makes sense. This sometimes happens at the track, when an athlete is running fast, high HR effort intervals. And when they stop, the HR continues to elevate a little due to the HR lag. But this should not last long, as long as your effort is reduced. Running hills and rolling courses is a great time to use WATTS, which I will cover in a future video.

[@aliciavalentyn5889]

The moose & bison probably recognize you since you run there often. Great video!!! 🏃‍♀️

[@laurajoyce7857]

That does make sense! Thank you coach!

[@lisarunsfast7368]

Great content as always Eric! Are you going to tryout the Coros arm HR monitor.? I currently have a newer Garmin watch, but still use a chest strap if I want tue accuracy. I’ve noticed most watches give “ballpark” readings due to a slight delay of several seconds. Newer versions are definitely getting better.

[@BornToRunCoach]

Yes I have the arm band also. Love it and fits great. AND, with my old chest straps, there was a place near home on my usual route that would give me electrical interference (everytime) for about half a mile. Not with the arm band - so all good. Bring on Arizona!!

[@lisarunsfast7368]

@@BornToRunCoachlooking forward to it!! 😊😊😊 so excited!

[@wojtekkos341]

What a great wildlife and epic views you have there Eric ! Regarding questions related to HR zones, I would like to ask if you could describe the differences between Coros 6 zones and your 8 zones.

[@BornToRunCoach]

Having more zones with shorter HR ranges just allows me more flexibility when writing and assigning workouts. For example, I may assign a trail run with 3 zones, to accommodate trail specific efforts. Whereas that same kind of workout on the road is much more steady, therefore easier to use one zone. So just allows more manipulation of the effort based on the purpose. And I also use zones to correspond to race specific efforts, that requires a narrower HR range. For example, my zone 4 is marathon training effort. A major key to marathon efforts is to be as focused and as steady as possible and why there is only 4 beats in the zone for training.

[@maryannjohnson5410]

Thanks for the video and scenery. I'm new to running and just started your book The Cool Impossible. Is it possible to do the field test anywhere you can measure a mile or is it best on a track? Looking forward to the next video.

[@BornToRunCoach]

It is best on a track just for consistency of terrain and consistency test to test. But this is most important for the speed part of the test data. If you can't use a track, just try to use the same course test after test.

[@8860mheal]

Love this coach. Both content and beautiful surroundings are inspirational! Quick question regarding delta between max and average HR for 1 mile time trial: wouldn’t you attribute most of that to the naturally lower HR at the beginning of the run while the heart is ramping up and expect are very narrow gap during steady state?

[@BornToRunCoach]

Absolutely. However the ability to get effort up to speed quickly and hold it, goes into the analysis I talk about. And the warm up plays a key role in establishing an elevated HR to help. Also, keep in mind that seeing 26 years of tests goes into seeing strength and weakness as well. Seeing a "good test" from athletes I have been working for many many years versus working with a newer athletes helps seeing good and bad - trends begin to become apparent across the board.

[@Pavsaund]

Great video and tips, thank you for sharing! Do you have a preference to how well rested you should be before taking the test? And would you do the test in combination to other planned activities? Ie: take the test on a long / easy run day, and do a shorter run afterwards? Thanks again!

[@BornToRunCoach]

Great question. I would definitely go into the test "recovered". I will typically assign a test for my athletes near the end of their recovery week. And I think you could tack on some running afterwards, but not much, or certainly some foot core or strength skills.

[@80lives]

Hi Eric, I have a biiiig doubt. When I run in Gear 2 (following the table in the book), my heart rate goes way above Zone 2, so what should I do? Persevere in Gear 2 following the program or slow down to keep my heart rate in the aerobic zone? Thank you so much for all your videos

[@CSRunner7]

Great instructional video. I looked at my similar length reps I’ve done recently and had a gap over 10 seconds which probably confirms I always thought my endurance not great. Would you suggest just lots of easy low HR runs and maybe longer Tempo type intervals more then shorter fast reps for a while?

[@BornToRunCoach]

do you mean 10 bpm rather than seconds? I think it is always good to change things up if you have been doing the same thing for a while. And always good to go back to foundational basics of some easy zone 2 runs, maybe adding more volume for a spike in endurance capabilities.

[@CSRunner7]

@@BornToRunCoach Yes sorry 10 bpm! Thanks. I think increasing volume could work well.

[@drdan9158]

Great video. Do you advocate using a treadmill for this test? If so electric or manual?

[@BornToRunCoach]

Ideally you do it outside so it is as real as possible. But if you do most of your running on treadmill, that is fine. The key is to be consistent with where you test.

[@mikehickey2]

How often should athletes be doing the 1 mile diagnostic?

[@billfisken9401]

Really useful information and advice as always Eric. So if your average HR from the one mile test was 150 bpm then zone 2 aerobic endurance (80% - 90%) would be 120 - 135 bpm and zone 3 aerobic power (90% - 95%) would be 135 - 142 bpm?

[@BornToRunCoach]

Hi Bill. The video details finding your THRESHOLD HR to use in whatever "zone" system you use. So in your example, 150 x .95 = 142 threshold HR. So use 142 as your threshold.

[@philipbarrett3151]

Jackson Hole looks lovely & cool. But how do you maintain Zone 3 in hot & humid climates when a good percentage of your HR is working to keep the body temps down, especially if you're an older runner with a lower overall Max HR to start with?

[@BornToRunCoach]

Be sure you are (re)testing during the high temps so you are capturing data that directly represents the environment you normally run in...and that so help. In other words, retest every change of seasons. Then your zones should correlate. Same with speed, speeds will be slower in hotter temps. It can also help to do shorter running intervals to keep HR in zone. Or stop and walk, to keep HR in check, and then start running again so HR never goes above desired zone. Your body will adapt and become more efficient this way.

[@thuggoe]

i thought u were going to give us some runs so we can decide our own zones

[@joeccriscuola]

Do we want the max HR to improve on the test as well?

[@BornToRunCoach]

It might shift a little depending on your experience/level of fitness, but main focus should be on shifting the avg.

[@kozepz]

Hello Eric, after not being able to run for three-quarters of a year, but being able to cycle and mountain bike, I slowly started with short trainings last week. Yesterday, I went hiking for 2.5 hours in an area with short, fairly steep hills. I noticed that during the short climbs, my heart rate quickly rose from around 110 to over 150, even though I tried to ascend the hills calmly. However, once at the top, my heart rate quickly returned to a low level. What would you recommend addressing first? An additional complication is that I have been dealing with a permanent drop foot for ten years, and I notice that I am trying to compensate with my right leg again. The advantage is that I have been running on natural running shoes for ten years to still feel some response in my feet.

[@BornToRunCoach]

Not sure I follow your question? Keep in mind that everything I talk about in the video refers to the TEST, nothing else. But quick HR recovery is always a good thing. Thanks for watching.

[@kozepz]

@@BornToRunCoach Thanks, yeah sorry, the question wasn't related to the video👍

[@BornToRunCoach]

@@kozepz got it. Sonif you were asking about how to start more running? I would keep it as easy and as fun as possible while you get consistent. Less, more often is best. Then there is a ton of stuff on the channel or books and training plans with great programs to pull it all together. But, the key is to have a goal or purpose. A lot of my skills and drills should help the drop foot. Hope this helps.

[@kozepz]

@@BornToRunCoach Thanks Eric! I'll look into the drills, which I have seen before but never took the time to introduce them into the training schedule. Now seems like a good time!