Use THIS Low Heart Rate Training Method to Improve Running Performance | Dr Phil Maffetone

[@TeaParty45]

I am a bit frustrated. I am 75 and have been running since I was 18. I never really had any training and just assumed that I had to push 80%? of race speed during training to get faster (and not get slower). At 70, I was burned out from that and was not looking forward to my running anymore. My brother told me about Dr. Maffetone and I started trying to follow that method. My best times, in my youth, were 3 mile (17:15), one great 10 miler (59:55) and marathon (3:07) - all of these were at or before age of 26. When I burned out at 70 I was running 3 miles at about 10-11 minutes per mile (wasn’t doing races anymore). I finally got a good heart rate monitoring system (Garmin chest strap and watch) and followed the MAF method (180-72, etc.) and was improving. 17:50 minutes per mile at the start and about 1.5 years later, I was down to the low to mid 15 minutes per mile and occasionally in 45 degree temps, into the high 14 minutes/mile. Then last February I hiked 93 days and 814 miles on the Appalachian Trail (backpacking, sleeping in a tent every night, etc.). I got back last June and since then my running rates have been all over the place! I expected that at first but I run about 5.5 miles four times a week and my last 5 run average mile times have been 17:48, 17:40, 16:16, 16:11 and 16:40. Temperatures outside were 59-71 degrees. My heart rate averages for those runs were: 115,116,114,113 and 113. I already am walking about half the time, or more, to get my heart rate that low but should I walk even more to get it to 110 (180-75=105 but he said you can add 5 if you have been running a long time and are healthy). It gets hard for us old folks to run at such a low heart rate! I feel like I will never be able to slow jog a whole run again using that formula?

[@TruthFactsLM57]

Been doing and sharing the 180 formula since 1987 . Now age 67 I'm healthy and I cannot , nor do I want to get my HR up . Putting less wear and tear on the heart muscle is like wanting a car with less miles on it . 4 former male Hawaii Ironman champions have had open heart surgery , 2 this past summer . Both few yrs older than myself . Glad I didn't turn pro triathlete back in 1988 . " Fine line between fitness and health " Dr Phil Maffetone from his book In Fitness and in Health 1994 . Better to run slow and smart than hard or not at all .

[@gabriellamcvay347]

This was awesome

[@DrProfX]

One criticism I have is that it’s not such dichotomy, but rather a continuum, because even when you’re running a tempo you’re still working your aerobic system… even VO2max touches on aerobic system at least for a fraction of a workout… so, it’s hard to argue that every run has to be slow… Also, I’d say that people who activate their fast-twitch fibers absolutely improve their speed…

[@GameKeyModSquad-hr4ln]

Not every run... most of run..

[@gendij]

@@GameKeyModSquad-hr4lnyes not all runs have to be slow. One misconception that MAF consists only slow runs. Dr Maffetone recommends speed session up to 20%.

[@bmp713]

I wish people would talk more about how important the heart and vascular system are for improving aerobic fitness with MAF. You can be highly fat adapted and have horrendous aerobic fitness if you don't have the heart to pump enough oxygen to the muscles. Does anyone know of experts and YT interviews that focus more on the heart and vascular adaptations?

[@carminecarannante3590]

Hi Can I ask you a question? I started to run 65/70 % of my weekly runs on zone 2 when I started my HR on zone 2 was 110 to 120 now is up to 130 what does mean? Thank you

[@photosmithy]

Is this safe to do post heart attack and how does the max heart rate work when on beta blockers? thank you :)

[@DrProfX]

Obviously you should check with your cardiologist, but cardiovascular exercise has been part of post-MI recovery programs for quite some time. Also, some studies have shown that moderate intensity exercise (6-8 x 20 mins/day up to 10 hrs/week) can improve coronary collateral flow significantly, which obviously is beneficial for your heart health… You’d likely benefit even if you were just brisk walking on daily basis…

[@JoeMac1983]

Not convinced. I took a year off of running after 25 years. When I got back into it, I did the low heart rate thing for 6 months. I didn't do any fast running at all. I signed up for a 5k and ran the second slowest 5k of my life -- with the slowest one being my first 5k back in 10th grade.

[@bradsimpson4899]

I would assume that if you had taken a full year off after 25 years of straight running you should expect the "slowest" 5k of your life. The fact that you ran the second slowest is pretty good. Also, If your goal is to race 5k's, strictly training on the base "portion" of the MAF system is not the best choice. What the MAF system says is that you should do a period of more "race specific" training after you have stopped seeing gains in the base period. Since 5ks usually take less than 20 minutes (middle distance events are highly anaerobic), and since (assuming ) you stopped seeing gains in the base period, and chose a distance that isn't necessarily an aerobic activity (assuming 15-18 minutes), you definitely need to do a couple of months of anaerobic training. My advice is that if you are only doing middle distance stuff (800 - 5000: I'm placing 5000 in there since we know that human potential (world record) sets it at around a 4:01 per mile pace (12:35 time) which is going to be pretty close to 50/50 aerobic/anaerobic ) you definitely should spend some time in the speed period of the MAF method. It sounds more like you might have just mistaken "low heart-rate training" for Dr. Maffetone's "MAF" method. Those are two very different forms of training. Good luck and hope you are able to get back to form!

[@bradsimpson4899]

I'd also be curious to know what your best time was in the year before you stopped training and what course it was on? Do you have race results you would be willing to share along with the race results/course you tested on? I'm genuinely interested in seeing what the results of just the base portion of the MAF system look like on a 5K test.

[@jjjjames5824]

​@@bradsimpson489912 mins isn't even close to 50/50 aerobic/anaerobic. It's more like 90 seconds. Even a mile all out is 80 per cent aerobic

[@GameKeyModSquad-hr4ln]

did you do easy run.... + 1 speed/ tempo + 1 long run per week?

[@GameKeyModSquad-hr4ln]

He is suggesting 6 months of low intensity low heart rate for athletes who over trains anaerobic antivity