MAF Method


#41

That is excellent to hear that you are doing well at running.
The other mantra of the MAF method is that when you are finished a run, you should feel like you could run the same run again. It is all about low stress training.
Personally I think this is the most important part, and makes running very enjoyable for me. I tend to get too caught up in numbers (just like macros in keto), and find listening to my body works the best for me.


(ianrobo) #42

yep heart tissue scaring and been some notable proā€™s who have collapsed and in some cases died of heart issues. Now these people are at the top and could be a number of causes - over stress, too many energy drinks and one people never mention which is doping. Not sure any study has been done on it but MAF is based on less stress = good/


(ianrobo) #43

yep at the moment Garmin only do it in watches but expect their next chest strap to do it but if you prefer chest then look at the Wahoo tickr which is compatible with any Garmin decent watch


(ianrobo) #44

HRV - Heart Rate Variability and basically the time in between the beats of your heart. If perfectly at rest this should be the same consistent pattern but the more stressed you are physically (work stress can also impact) then the more this varies and is measured like that.

Garmin measures it on a scale of 0-100 where 0 is perfect and 100 is very highly stressed, the highest reading I have seen is 97 but this was waking up on NYD after a LOT to drink !

So this is me today and can see when I wake up some high stress, see this every day and then ride into work and the impact of that !


(Tim W) #45

Iā€™ll check out the tickr.

I switched to the vivoactive HR a few months ago but it doesnā€™t have the capability to determine HRV, a little frustrating but no big deal, my wife loves it when I buy more fitness electronicsā€¦ :smile:


(ianrobo) #46

Haha i I have the vivoactive 3 and adore it !

the best thing never tell the wife or partner how much it costs !


(Todd Allen) #47

More variability is considered desirable. It shows your heart is flexibly adapting to the moment as needed. In general under stress as the heart rate picks up the variability goes down. Lower variability at rest is typically interpreted as being in an over-trained state with the suggestion to keep exertions moderate until variability recovers.

Myself, I found ambient temperature to be a major factor that must be accounted for to get much meaning from the results. Checking HRV in cooler conditions would give much higher variability and hotter condtions would significantly lower variability.


(ianrobo) #48

so now confused Todd !! The way Garmin report it is as Stress, I presumed high variability was high stress = not good and lower = low stress, good ā€¦ generally my stress levels are decent ā€¦ so you saying I should be more highly ā€˜stressedā€™ at rest or are Garmin doing that calculation for me ?


(Todd Allen) #49

Hereā€™s a fairly detailed explanation
https://elitehrv.com/what-is-heart-rate-variability

My guess if you have been going by a Garmin reported ā€œStressā€ level then all ought to be fine, just that if you look into the details youā€™ll likely find that they are reporting increasing stress with decreasing variability.


(ianrobo) #50

great stuff so I got it the wrong way round but in essence just go by what Garmin says, it does show when I train a lot the stress goes up so I back off and bam back to normal ā€¦


(Tim W) #52

Does the vivo 3 have HRV built in

@brownfat- thanks for adding that intel, good stuff!

I also find that temp plays a large role in my HR (I donā€™t test HRV at this time). When itā€™s cold outside, I can run a little faster and keep HR in the MAF zone, which makes total sense.


(ianrobo) #53

yep that is where my stats are from


(Tim W) #54

K, now I gotta think about a new HR strap or a new deviceā€¦ You are not a garmin salesman are you :smile:


(ianrobo) #55

ha ha nah !! I like Garmin but lnow have Wahoo Bolt bike computer as my garmin ones were frankly unreliable and for HR I use a Scooshe arm strap (can not dochest ones as sweat and hairy too much !!) but Garmin watches are IMHO the best and far better than Apple (as I type on a MAC I am an apple fan). So as long as the devices can share data across platforms then that is good ā€¦ thing with HRV is practically useless ion a chest strap because only measures at rest so need a wrist based one anyway.


(Tim W) #56

I agree about the Garmin watches, Iā€™ve had one for the last 8 years or so. It was a sad day when my old red and silver unit that was the size of a novel stopped taking a charge and I had to start shopping for a replacement.


(ianrobo) #57

What tech u use now ? I have

Wahoo ELEMNT bolt
Scooshe HR
Garmin vivoactive 3
Garmin Vector 2 power
iPhone 8
CycliqPlus fly 12 camera


(Tim W) #58

Iā€™m using the vivoactive and a garmin chest strap, nothing else at this time.

I used the forerunner 305 for many years till the battery died hard.

I upgraded to the forerunner 310XT and broke the screen in a few weeks (bad design).

Iā€™m enjoying the vivoactive. I wore it and the 310xt for about a week and determined that the vivo is as accurate as the older watches.


(ianrobo) #59

of course each one gets better with the generation, tech never stops !! presume you run a lot so you thought of a foot power meter ?


(Tim W) #60

I do run, too cheap to buy a nice bike (I have a 30 dollar POS from craigs list that I ride locally).

Iā€™m not familiar with a food power meter though I have a device that goes on my shoe and is supposed to report a more accurate pace/distance when running on a treadmill, is that the device you mean?


(ianrobo) #61

Like this one

https://www.stryd.com

Also Garmin do one called foot pod and think polar do. Of course place to go to check it out is dc rainmaker