Philip (and others), the 'most important' takeaway is to find out your, actual, 'max' heartrate. This is mentioned right at the beginning of the article. You state your 'theoretical' rate, which is exactly that, theoretical, based on a 'guideline' that is well known, but only a guideline. There may well be scientific research on _actual_ max HR's. I was on a Neilson holiday a few years back, and the gym instructor was doing her science Masters partly on this, and was asking guests to do an exhaustion test on a treadmill, to establish Max HR. (a controlled, and gradual, increase in speed and inclination) I don't have other examples, but mine was 199 for a 39 yr old male.... so a substantial amount higher than 'guide'. I typically find I run at 175, when doing 8min30 pace. Once you have this as a starting point, you can use the percentages with confidence, although I suspect that even there, your 'most suitable' percentage may vary. |
I wouldn't be too hung up by which 'pen' you're allocated to. In 2008, it was not difficult to sidle up (or down) the 'pen', which was more of a corridor of people approx 100 wide and 2000 long... also - don't underestimate the inability to 'run' for the first few miles, due to the volume of people. Certainly not easy to set off too fast.... |
The HR function _is_ pretty accurate when it's working - wet the sensors, as Mr Puffy says, and make sure it is comfortable and stable (my SO has to wedge it under her bra a bit). On a static 'treadmill endurance' test, I got up to 199bpm, so 216 probably isn't impossible for short bursts, but not recommended! |
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