[Bhh21]

Hi all,

Recent heart rate drift tests indicate my AeT is now 15 BPM higher than when I initially set up my training zones earlier this winter. So, the training worked!

I assume I should now adjust my zones to account for this increase going forward. I did not, however, find a clear answer on this point in Training for the Uphill Athlete or this forum. I apologize if I overlooked this point somehow, but I would appreciate it if someone could confirm my understanding is correct.

For what it’s worth, I am conducting my heart rate drift tests on very level ground outdoors (a path along the shore) using a chest strap heart HRM and GPS watch, and am getting pretty consistent results.

Thanks!

Topic

[Jane Mackay]

Jane Mackay on March 3, 2023 at 3:47 am #76072

Bhh21,
Congratulations! That’s great progress! Yes, every time your AeT increases, adjust your zones accordingly and then work within the new zones.

Have you done the AnT test yet (linked below)? Once your AeT gets close to being within 10% of AnT, you’ll want to shift to doing more zone 1 training and less zone 2, because regardless of how metabolically efficient you are, maintaining a heart rate that’s closer to your max heart rate places more stress on the body.

DIY Anaerobic Threshold Test

[Bhh21]

Bhh21 on March 3, 2023 at 4:27 pm #76094

Jane,

Thanks for the quick response, much appreciated. I have done an AnT test, and am now down to a 10.2% difference between AnT and AeT, which is really encouraging. I can totally see that a lot of Zone 2 work is going to take a toll once I adjust my zones, so I will plan on shifting upcoming training to more Zone 1 work.

[jthedges93]

jthedges93 on March 5, 2023 at 4:15 am #76111

Hi all,

I’d like to jump in here to try and get some clarification on how we want our AeT to change as we progress in training. Before this post, I was thinking AeT should go down as I get more aerobically fit. My AeT is 163 and my AnT is 188 (I did the HR drift tests with a chest strap and the training peaks hr:pace ratio). I understand that having your AeT and AnT within 10% is where we want to be, but is an AeT of, say, 140 better than 160?

I know the idea is that you hold the same heart rate for slow runs and your pace/mile decreases, but will my AeT always be as high as 163, or will that come down too?

Thanks,

Jared

[slowandsteady]

slowandsteady on March 13, 2023 at 6:08 am #76293

Jared, I believe the closet your aet is to your ant, the more aerobically fit you are. So your aet, in general, increases as you get fitter