To train to heart rate or not?

This is a debate that's regularly being discussed in various circles. 

A few weeks ago I read an article which stated that athletes (in that coaches opinion) should avoid training using heart rate, and he gave some valid points against using heart rate to train with. 

However, whilst I totally agree that using heart rate to train with isn't totally infallible and any number of things can skew the "true" figure of the heart rate, in terms of BPM, for example, if you're ill, fatigued, stressed etc they're all ailments that can (and probably will) affect your heart rate and will often be noticeable through a change in your usual heart rate. However, in my opinion, through regular testing, using the same test parameters and the same environment that the test is undertaken in, I think that fairly accurate heart rate zones can be achieved, especially for running. Training to heart rate can be applied to lots of sports, with varying degrees of accuracy etc. But for the purposes of this post, I'm going to focus on running. 

In the club that I coach at our members carry out varying and specific tests at the end of each 6 week block of training, so that we can tweak HR Zones (specifically for running) and so that we can, over time, gain an accurate interpretation of each members heart rate values. Which we will then use to establish their specific training zones.

Obviously, not all athletes have the latest Garmin etc but for those that have, it can be all too easy to run along the canal, on a long run, with your eyes constantly looking at your watch every 4 steps, making sure that you don't stray from your predetermined training zone. But, I've found that by basing the effort that I want to run a particular set of intervals at, on the zones that I have established for my own training, I can achieve consistent efforts. 

This changes slightly when doing longer runs because we'll all probably experience something called cardiac drift. Cardiac Drift "refers to the natural increase in heart rate that occurs when running with little or no change in pace. Many runners mistakenly assume that if they keep their runs at a consistent pace, their heart rate will remain relatively constant as well" when, in fact, your pace will remain constant, but your heart rate will "drift" upwards. It's a totally natural occurrence, but one that athletes running and training for longer distances need to be aware of. 

I often say to our members that they should try to learn how it "feels" to run at a particular heart rate / zone. They can then use this to gauge how hard they're pushing during a session, without the total reliance on using a hrm. However, where I think using heart rate really helps is if we're doing a, eg. 10 x 800m intervals session at threshold, as we progress through the session and fatigue really kicks in, the mind can play tricks and whilst you think you're running at threshold and still pushing as hard, when we check the data after it's uploaded some people find that they've often dropped off quite a bit. Not just in terms of pace, which is totally understandable, but in terms of effort as well. By keeping one eye on heart rate during the session, you can ensure that you're running at the desired effort for each interval and are, therefore, able to focus on pushing the body in order to improve performances.

A few years ago when a coach first introduced me to training with heart rate, I honestly felt like it transformed my run training. All of a sudden I could actually see a scale of what sort of efforts were required for any particular session and whilst other methods were also used, I've found training with heart rate to be incredibly beneficial.

As I mentioned earlier though, training to heart rate is far from infallible, so I try to use varying methods to gauge my own training, these are (predominantly) heart rate as well as using the borg scale, or RPE (Rate of Perceived Exertion) methods. I'm also playing about with the Jack Daniels VDOT formula as well. That said I think that by carrying out regular testing and combining it with other methods, that training to heart rate has some fantastic benefits. 

Being triathletes and having (for the majority) the desire to have all the latest bits of tech, together with the advances being made in heart rate watches, I think that training to heart rate is something that's going to become more and more prevalent in training sessions, particularly for athletes that are newer to the sport and as long as it's done properly, with regular testing and with a knowledge of how to gauge efforts when not using heart rate, I think it's a fantastic method of training. 

In summary, I think there's absolutely a place for training with heart rate, but it isn't the be all and end all of how to train and it's often a case of an athlete finding what suits them best.

If you'd like to speak more about your goals and ambitions and how I can help you on your triathlon journey, click on the link below which will take you to my coaching Facebook page, where I can be contacted through

Certa Cito Tri Coaching