Figuring out Aerobic Threshold

Hi,

Based on the following article Heart Rate Drift your HR drift is above 5% hence the pulse you start the test with; is not your AeT pulse in my opinion.

I don’t know how you found the initial HR of 135 for another test, but in my case I used MAF calculation as the starting point for the test (180 minus your age) as I had Aerobic Deficiency. This number may or may not be your AeT HR but it helped me to minimize the number of tests (although AeT HR is not fix and can change from day to day and will move upwards with training so the need to repeat the test in the upcoming weeks is a necessity also).

My take is to take another test with a lower starting pulse (definitely lower than 147) and try to stay under 5% drift

More experienced participants may have other tips as well, hope this helps

First off, I’m incredibly impressed with this site. I’m also interested in one of the training programs and have been skimming some of the Forum threads. Out of curiosity, I conducted the AeT today on the treadmill. Here’s how I did it. Not sure my results are accurate, but welcome feedback on how I executed the test or if I should re-do.
Background: I’m 42, 5’11’’, 185lbs and have not worked out consistently for over 3 years. I have previous triathlon experience/training background and competed as a swimmer in college. I am a weekend hiker/MTB rider and occasional climber. 15-18 yrs ago, I routinely climbed in the Cascades while living in Seattle. Summited Rainier several times, Mt. Baker, Shuksan, etc. I have 3 kids and work 70+ hours a week. Finding time to work out is difficult, but I’m looking to carve out time to maintain my health.
I was in a fasted state (hadn’t eaten in 7 hours) and used a Garmin Instinct watch with wrist HR (pretty sure this is what made the results inaccurate.
Test:
Treadmill at 10% incline for 10 min at 2.8 HR pretty steady at 105
For next 5 min (10-15 min total) I increased the speed to 3.0 – HR remained at 105-106.
I breathed through the nose for the entire test.
For next 15 min (15-30 min total), I increased .1-.2 mph every 3 min. HR rose steadily to about 130-131. At which point I was at 4.1 mph and breathing was noisy and uncomfortable. I slowed to 3.9 mph and the HR shot up 154 and then fluctuated between 148-154 as I maintained 3.9 mph for the next 12-13 min (42-43 min total).
Should I use 150 at the upper end of Zone 2? That would be a little high I think as the MAF calc would be 138 (180-age).
Thoughts?

Thanks.

@Vic;

Thanks for writing in with your question. To be sure that someone catches your inquiry It’ll be best to start your own thread. Otherwise your post might get buried down here.

You must use a HR monitor with a chest strap for any exercise HR monitoring. We work with many athletes sponsored by the big HR monitor/GPS watch companies. These athletes get the latest and most expensive products to test. To date, NONE of the wrist based monitors work well enough to use for exercise. This includes the $800 models with option for both wrist and chest.

Without good HR data you can’t do this HR drift test.
Scott

Yes the wrist monitor sucks. The last few days I was convinced my Suunto Smart Sensor strap was broken because of the erratic readings (it kept saying I hit 200 bpm, which is above my max, and I was doing a Z2 workout!)

It turns out the battery died, and my watch was using the optical sensor. Ooops. Btw, I find the Suunto smart sensor more comfortable than the Polar H10 but really both are great straps. The only time I trust the wrist HR is at night for overnight HR averages (and that’s because it shows a trend over time).