Heart Rate Training for
Runners and Fitness RunnersFrom
PolarUSA
As a runner, you have probably been
programmed to count the miles and live by the stopwatch. This is how runners
have trained for years. The more miles the better and the faster the better.
But the approach to training has been changing over the past several years.
Once you use a heart monitor for running, you will know that it is the only way
for a runner to train. Effective training is based on effort and the only way
to know your effort is to continuously monitor your heart rate.
Athlete turned coach Marcus O'Sullivan, who
has run more sub 4-minute miles than anyone, credits heart rate for prolonging
his career. He was a skeptic like many runners are today. But you can't argue
with success. O'Sullivan now trains his collegiate athletes using the same
Polar heart rate monitor technology that he once resisted and later
adopted.
If you're not using a heart monitor, you
probably know someone that does. You may have resisted until now, and hopefully
that will end here. There are many different thoughts on how to get the most
out of your running. The key to success is variety. Endurance workouts, tempo
runs and AT intervals are at the heart of an effective program. A heart rate
monitor is the one thing that can lead you through each one of those workouts,
and give you the valuable feedback that can help you turn weaknesses into
strengths, improve our fitness, or lose those last few pounds.
For fitness runners, you will benefit the
most by running in a particular zone each day. For weight management, running
in the 60-70% zone will help you burn fat and build endurance. Increase your
fitness by doing tempo runs in the 70-80% zone. A Polar heart rate monitor is
not just for competitive runners. It can help any runner!
To prepare for competition, it's important
that you build endurance, strength and speed. For endurance and recovery
workouts, it paces you so you don't overdo it. For tempo runs, it keeps you on
track. And for interval workouts, it makes sure you go hard enough and you
recover when it's time. Nothing else can guide you that way. It can show you
when you're dehydrating, or running out of nutrition, or not recovered from a
previous days workout. It allows you to analyze workouts and races. Racing
flats are great. But if you're not training right, you might as well be wearing
work boots.
If you're very new to the concept of heart
monitoring, you might be wondering WHAT IS A HEART RATE MONITOR. It
consists of a watch worn on your wrist, and a transmitter that you comfortably
wear against your skin and around your chest. The transmitter picks up the
signals of your heart, and sends them wirelessly to the watch you wear on your
wrist. It's that simple. No wires, no taking your pulse and doing a
multiplication equation. Just look at your wrist and it's there. AND THE
KEY, IT'S DISPLAYED CONTINUOUSLY. The continuous display is what makes it
effective. It's there to guide you during your entire run. Just like a coach
with a clipboard and a bullhorn. Just as effective, but a little more subtle!
Make sure to read
Getting Started With a Polar Heart Rate Monitor
Click here for a wealth of additional information in the
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