Intensity levels and doubts

[Sam Gentsch]

A heart rate monitor is handy but not the only way to get it done

I know there is a blog about this on PM but i cannot find this morning …

I found this for running but it works
Level 1: effort can comfortably be sustained all but the final 10 to 5 minutes of a workout, it should cause one to sweat and speech should be limited to one sentence at a time.

Level 2: effort can comfortable be sustained for 50 % of a workout, speech is limited one or two words at a time.

Level 3: effort can only be sustained for 25% of the total workout, no speech, somewhat similar to 5k race pace.

Level 4: effort can only be sustained 5 to 10 minutes max, again no speech, in between ones fastest mile speed and 400m speed.

Level 5: all out sprint for 100m.

The best way to message your coach is to click the cartoon talk box/chat on the upper right just right of the search icon.

I know Larry said the comments for articles are not alerting them so they do not always see !

Yell if i can help #NotACoachJustAFan

[Larry Cain, Paddle Monster Head Coach]

Hi Marco,

First off, let me apologize to you for not replying to you sooner. For some reason I don’t always get alerts about questions here in the forums which is why I ask people to just send me a message with their question in the messages (or what we call the “coach’s convos”). If you send me messages there I see them immediately and will respond to you the same day in most circumstances. Feel free to ask me questions about anything there.

Sam did a decent job of describing the intensity levels but you can also think of them in this way:

Level 1: very easy. Less than 60% effort and HR below 60% of your max (I’ll explain more about using HR for your training zones below). The only time you’ll every see me prescribe this work is for recovery. It just isn’t a level we do any work in it is so easy.

Level 2. Consider this to be 60 to 70% effort level and heart rate. It is easy and you can carry on a conversation with the person you might be training with. We do a lot of this. Interestingly, this is great for developing aerobic fitness. Even at this level adaptations occur in the muscle fibers that allow them to use oxygen more effectively to produce ATP (which is the energy source for muscle contraction). You just need to do the level 2 work long enough.

Level 3. This is harder but still very clearly aerobic. By definition it is between 70 and 80% effort but I consider the “sweet spot” for level 3 to be 75% effort or HR. Again, it is base work and results in the type of adaptations described for level 2

Level 4. This is hard work. 80% effort/HR minimum up to just below 90% for a very aggressive level 4. This is threshold or higher training. You’ll be breathing very hard and won’t be able to talk to your training partner like in level 2 and 3.

Level 5. Very hard. 90 to 100% effort. If I want you to go 100% I will always indicate that the work is done “all out”. Otherwise, I expect level 5 to be 90-95%. This is anaerobic work and so there are limits to how long you’ll be able to sustain this level of effort for.

Now, if you are using a HR monitor and want to train using HR zones, here is how I suggest you calculate your zones using the “heart rate reserve” method. I find that this provides you with better, more accurate training zones than simply using percentage of max HR. Here is how it works:

The calculation of a zone value, X%, is performed in the following way:

Subtract your HRrestfrom your HRmax, giving us your reserve heart rate (HRreserve)
Calculate the required X% on the HRreserve giving us “Z”
Add “Z” and your HRrest together to give us the final value

Example: The athlete’s HRmax is 180, and their HRrest is 60 – determine the 70% value

HRmax – HRrest = 180 – 60 = 120
70% of 120 = 84
84 + HRrest = 84 + 60 = 144 bpm

Basically, we have two ways to determine our intensity levels – using HR or “perceived exertion”. I suggest using both if you have a HR monitor. Cross referencing your perceived exertion with HR allows you to better understand how hard you are working and eventually be able to do your work very accurately without using an HR monitor.

I hope this answered your question and makes things more clear. Please let me know in the messages if if hasn’t. Looking forward to working with you there.

larry

[Marco Teodósio]

Thanks a lot for all your help

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