I did the running heart rate test this weekend on my treadmill. Here’s how you do the test, according to Gale Bernhardt’s book:
You will need a treadmill with a top speed of at least 10mph, heart rate monitor, and an assistant, who will operate the treadmill during the test and write down your speed and heart rate.
- Warm up for 10-15 minutes on the treadmill.
- Begin the test at 6mph on a level treadmill.
- Every minute, the assistant increases the speed by 0.2 mph.
- Just before each speed increase, the assistant records your heart rate and the speed in mph.
- both you you should pay close attention to your breathing. Your assistant should make a note when your breathing is labored for the first time, i.e., when alot of air is being moved through your lungs. That is your VT, or ventilatory threshold heart rate.
- The test stops when you decide that you have had enough.
- create an XY graph, where the x-axis is your speed cubed, and the y-axis is your heart rate.
- If there is a point where the graph deflects or bends sharply, that is your LT, or lactate threshold heart rate.
- Compare the LT point above with the VT noted during the test. It should be similar.
- The book also talks about noting rate of perceived effort. I skipped that part.
The test wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be…only the last two minutes felt really difficult. See my xy plot below. There are three dips in my graph, one at a heart rate of 163 and one at a heart rate of 170. The VT that my husband noted was at 175, so I guess I’ll go with 170 as my LT.
Once you have your LT, you look up your training zones in a chart like this one.
