Question about Maffetone training

After a quick glance at your logs I wouldn't recommend the Maffetone method for you. Typically anything that uses a number minus your age is a WAG and you will be better served by doing some field tests. I think the Maffetone method can be useful to obtain a number for athletes who are not trained to the point of being able to do a 30'TT to use as a HR ceiling until they are fit enough to do a field test, however in your case it would appear that you have more than enough training to complete a 30'TT.

So, if I were you I would take a rest day or two and (provided you are sufficiently recovered from your injuries) do the 30'TT. Check out Mike Ricci's thread on 220-age for details on the test if you haven't already.

Once you have an LT for the run, you can set your training zones and use this build your running strength. If you are looking to improve on the run your biggest gains are probably going to come from building volume through consistency and frequency - which will be accomplished through low intensity (zone 1 and 2) running.

If you join as a silver or gold member there is a new run focused off season plan that would probably fit very well with your goals.

Shane

I have used the Maffetone method in the past. I will start up again in a week or two. It did help me increase volume. I experience no injuries while running, I don't attribute that to Maffetone. I train barefoot when I can. I only lift a couple of times a week. I don't see that being a problem. I do try to keep all workouts under my MAF. There was a huge thread on www.coolrunning.com about Maffetone. I don't know if it still exists but there maybe some others there that can offer more insight.

I am part of that Cool Running thread.

Yes the whole run is supposed to be under your maf number not just the average. When your heart rate goes above maf for more than a few seconds you are supposed to slow down. Your average heart rate should be a couple of beats below your maf number, if you average is your maf number then you spent too much time above your target heart rate.

Dr. Maffetone is a weird duck, and does recommend not lifting weights as it will raise your heart rate above his target. He has other weird ideas about diet too.

Most of us at cool running lift anyway and have not noticed any adverse affects.

As Bruce Lee used to say, "Absorb that which is useful, reject the rest".

His maf training has allowed me to vastly increase my mileage, without injury and I was able to set several personal records this year. His methods worked for me, but that is not to say that another method may have worked even better.

Edited by Cashmason 2006-11-23 12:59 PM

I generally agree with gsmacloed. I put down my general thoughts in an article here:

http://steelcityendurance.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=vie...

THe maffetone method is probably a good substitute if you can't do a field test or have your metabolic profile tested in a lab, but mostly because it seems to estimate a fairly low maximum aerobic heart rate. TO be honest, I don't know a TON about what he recommends, but any systematic starting place is better than guessing.

The beauty of the Maffetone method is it's simplicity. I'm giving it a go for the second time (first try was this time last year). I completely agree that the 180-age is a stupid, base-less formula to create a target. I'm pretty sure the point is to do base work for a long time at a *very* easy intensity.

Truth be told, my MAF corresponds pretty close to other well-respected methods (Lydiard 70% maxHR, Gordo's Aet 30-40 bpm below 30' TT LT, etc) base building recommendations.

As a followup to this I decided to do the TT this morning. Here are the results:

Max HR during the TT: 182
Avg HR during the TT: 175

So from reading Mikes article, 175 would be my LT correct? This would put my TTT zones at:

Z1: 116-148
Z2: 149-158

Which would mean that I should be able to work up to 158 and still be aerobic enough to gain benefit right?

Nope, the 175 was the average for the last piece. Up to that point I was in the 140 range.

Understood, the system I was using said to run 20-30 minutes easy and then go all out for 1.5mi. I covered the 1.5mi in around 9:40 at the heart rate below and it was a max effort for me so I figured the numbers would be useful for what I was trying to get to.

Thanks for the article, I have seen that one before as well.

I think for now I am just going to stick with Maffetone for the winter and see what happens. If Gordo can use it, so can I .

Then I can use Mikes test to see where I am and what I need to do going forward.

Like Derek pointed out, the test the you did will probably predict your LT too high - there are formulas available to estimate from shorter efforts, however I've found the 30'TT to be much more reliable.

As for sticking with Maffetone, there is no reason that it won't provide results for you, as most runners will benefit from increasing their volume and keeping your HR at the Maffetone level should allow you to increase training volume while minimzing the time needed for recovery. However, you would probably have even better results if you were to estimate your LT and go from there as you appear to already have developed a decent level of fitness.

If you do stick with Maffetone, make sure that you mix up your paces - don't run everytime at a pace that will allow you to be right at your ceiling HR - run at a variety of paces for a variety of times so that you are providing your body with some different stresses to adapt to.

Good luck,

Shane

If you use a % of "LT" to determine your zones, you would use the top of zone 1 as your MAF #.

All of your workouts should be below that HR.

My knowledge of his methods is second hand from a coach I had who was coached by him at one time. Ironically, like another poster on this thread, my MAF #, AeT #, and top of zone 1 (via LT testing) are all within 5 beats of each other.

scott