Interval Training Questions
I received an email from a college coach who had watched my Interval Training DVD.
After watching, there were still more questions so I figured this might be a better way to answer them.
1. What is the best way to calculate max heartrate?
I think the best way to calculate max heartrate is to not calculate it. When you have athletes you can look at heartrates at the end of some type of maximum effort test. We do a five mile AirDyne test and get our max heartrates from that. Assume that max is 5-10 beats higher than the highest heartrate achieved and you will be safe.
2. What is the best procedure for taking accurate resting HRs?
The best way to get resting heartrates is to ask the athletes to get them first thing in the morning right out of bed. I don't think this is realistic so I just had my guys lay down on the floor with their heartrate monitors on and try to consciously get their heartrates as low as possible. The lowest number achieved was considered to be the resting heartrate.
3. We have had some players who I felt are fit had a hard time getting down to a Hr of 120 or took a really long time. Any advice?
Yes, athletes who have trouble hitting what we are calling the “theoretical 60%” usually have done too much steady work and not enough interval work. Generally these will be athletes who prefer long runs or long rides. They have not been training their heart to recover. The solution for these kids is more interval work. They are not in hockey shape.
4. Do you do anything different with your goaltenders?
We've covered this a number of times on StrengthCoach.com . I don't do anything different with goalies because hockey is a team sport. Nothing creates bad feelings more than a hard workout that some players don't have to participate in. Our goalies tend to do the worst in our fitness tests so I don't worry about overworking them.
5. I would like to get some more information regarding interval training and wondered what else may be out there. Any additional DVD's or websites that talk about it.
There a bunch of articles that I have written that are at http://www.strengthcoach.com and, we have developed another site //www.prohockeystrength.com that deals specifically with hockey. Also, you can hear me expand on this topic in Episode 63 of the Strength Coach Podcast. (http://www.StrengthCoachPodcast.com)
Hope these answers help.
