Sublime

I began using the heart rate to evaluate all exercising patients, and by the early 1980s developed a formula that anyone could use with their heart monitor to help build an aerobic base. This “180 Formula” enables athletes to find the ideal maximum aerobic heart rate in which to base all aerobic training.

I settled on the final, most effective formula and this is the one in use today: 180 minus a person’s chronological age, which is then adjusted to reflect their physiological age as indicated by fitness and health factors. The use of the number 180 was and is not significant other than as a means to finding the end number. Plus, 180 minus age itsel

Over time, I began piecing together a mathematical formula, taking the optimal heart rates in athletes who had previously been assessed as a guide. Instead of 220 minus the chronological age multiplied by some percentage, I used 180 minus a person’s chronological age, which is then adjusted to reflect their physiological age as indicated by fitness

During the MAF Test, use your maximum aerobic heart rate as determined by the 180 Formula. Using this heart rate, determine some parameter such as pace (minutes per mile), speed (miles per hour), or repetitions (laps in a pool) over time. The test can also be done on stationary equipment measuring watts, for example, if the equipment is accurate. T

Those using the 180 Formula successfully for more than five years needed to adjust their maximum aerobic heart rates down by about two to three beats. They could not keep using the same maximum aerobic heart rate they’d determined years earlier, despite healthier aging. While we age over time chronologically, building fitness and health during the

High intensity anaerobic training produces large amounts of free radicals. But even moderate training intensities above the max aerobic heart rate can produce similar levels of free radicals. Using the 180 Formula as your guide, you can minimize free-radical production. Studies show that training at this efficient intensity is ideal when free-radic

After hundreds of tests and several racing seasons, it was evident that the pace a runner could perform at his or her max aerobic heart rate—the MAF Test—was positively correlated with race pace. I collected more data for 5K and 10K distances and charted this information

Of course, the time to start aerobic training for all athletes is long before competition begins—soon after the conclusion of the previous season is ideal. Measuring progress during this period with a heart-rate monitor is important not only for the athlete, but for the coach, trainer, health-care professional, and others involved in the overall co