How to use the Karvonen formula for running

 In the last article we talked about how to build an aerobic fitness program. 

    For this one we will deep dive on how to build a goal intensity. This requires a deeper understanding of the overall goal of the workout. Is the goal to go on a long, slow, distance run or to run at a high tempo training at race pace? Or in certain cases are we trying to vary between intensities?

    Why should you pay attention to intensity of aerobic training? Two reasons, one, we want to slowly increase the intensity over time in order to continue to adapt our bodies to training or in a laymen term: Gains. In order to get stronger, you continuously add weight to the bar to increase the intensity. Same with running. Two, on the long, slow distance days or recovery days we want to keep the intensity low to help recover from a higher intensity run or to prepare for a more intense run.

    With the prevalence of smart watches monitoring heart rate is easier than ever. Meaning you can actually do this and have it work. 

    Now the moment y'all (I may have a master's degree but still have southern roots) have been waiting for: The formula.

Are you excited? I bet you are. Nothing gets people fired up like a good formula.

    Ok, here it is:

Age predicted max heart rate (APMHR)=220-age

Heart rate reserve (HRR)=APMHR-Resting heart rate (RHR)

Target heart rate (TRR)=HRR x intensity + RHR

    Looking at the formula you may find that you are missing some variables. Age is self-explanatory, resting heart rate requires a little effort on your part. Find your pulse and set a six second timer. Count your pulse then multiply by ten. Thats your resting heart rate. Intensity is up to you. Do you want to stay within the 60%-70% intensity? or 70%-80%? pick something that fits into your aerobic plan. I'll take myself as an example.

Age=38

RHR=55

Intensity=50%-60%

Let's plug those into the formula

220-38=182

182-55=127

127*.50 and 127*.60=63.5 and 76.2

63.5+50=113.5

76.2+60=136.2

113.5+55=168.5

136.2+55=196.2

To maintain my 50%-60% my heart rate should be between 168.5 to 196.2. With the tenths place it is generally accepted to either round up or round down.

So, final number is 169-196 heart rate is the goal.

Keep in mind that the first stretch of the run it is going to be a challenge to hit the floor heart rate. Don't panic just keep running and your heart rate will catch up.  

   

We took away our kid's electronics.... here are the results

     I get home from work on Saturday to find the boys eating at the bar in our kitchen and wife on the table. Normal behavior until I did a double take and noticed that the boys were not on their tablets. I was a little taken back. Whenever we have the boys by ourselves, we usually give the boys tablets at dinner time to regroup from the day and keep them occupied while we clean up and prepare for the next day. I asked what happened and 

Sarah said, "I took away the boys electronics"

Me: "Even the switch?"

Sarah, "Even the switch"

Me: "Cool"

    We had been debating this move for a while now as we have "lost" our boys to their electronics. They never want to hang out with us, run to the grocery store or pretty much anything. It's all tablets tablets tablets. All the time. We rationalize the behavior by it's been a long weekend, they had a long day at school, etc. 

    Truth is I was too much of coward to pull the cord. Sarah was not.

    I braced for screaming and begging for electronics.

    It was quite the opposite. Our kids were more engaged. Hudson even engaged us in conversation at the dinner table. Take tonight for example, I asked Hudson to build his perfect Thanksgiving plate. He thought about it for a min then replied. Turkey and Pumpkin pie. Hey! good answer. Then he asked, "Mommy, what do you like?" It was really cool moment. After dinner we played a board game called Don't rock the Boat. As in Hudson was engaged in the rules, Noah participated a bit then got bored and played with some of the 3D prints that I made. Still a victory in our book as he did not ask for a tablet. During the game Hudson came up with an idea for another game. We looked at prints to make and set a plan to print them. It was fun to get the creative juices going! 

    Even our nighttime routine went well. Both boys cleaned up the game, cleaned up the playroom and went upstairs to get their jammies on (no arguments either) settling down for the evening.

    Sarah turned to me, "We should have done this a long time ago"

    Yep.

    Our kids our more engaged with us. They want to talk to us, want to play games (non-electronic games).

    This little experiment that we conducted has been a huge success (so far). We have decided to keep the experiment going indefinitely.

    For the parents looking to re-connect with their kids I suggest you take away electronics and limit your own screen time.    

A deeper look at building a aerobic plan

     We were hanging out with friends in the Neiborhood the other day and someone made an offhand comment about starting to run again. I went over a few simple things. Mostly about committing to the craft, buying a decent pair of running shoes then making time to run a few days a week. The conversation led me to research running in more detail.

    Before building a running program a few things to consider.

    1. Mode. 

What kind of cardio are you going to perform? In this case it is running, but it could apply to cycling, swimming or rowing (basically, any type of cardio). For "Mode" it is important to schedule cross training days to break apart the mundane specific activity. For example, a runner could implement swimming or rowing to break apart running activities. Also, since my friend group is older breaking apart pounding the road with days of no impact helps.

2. Training frequency

    For more serious runners or athletes the time of season typically dictates the frequency of exercise. This requires more forward planning. Planning training around a race is the best way to ensure progression and prevent injuries. Breaking training down into blocks such as offseason, preseason, in season and postseason will aid in narrowing down intensities, and duration.

3. Training intensity

    We will call this the "Goldi locks principle" training has to be at an intensity that is just right. Too little intensity does not create aerobic adaptations, and too much intensity too soon could lead to more days off to recover or in more serious cases lead to injuries. Ideally, you want to use Vo2 max and lactate threshold. Since most of us do have access to a Labatory that can accurately measure this data then next best thing or convergent validity would be to use heart rate or rate of perceived exertion (RPE). Heart rate is the most frequently is method to track intensity. With more and more folks having smart watches that can track that data it is easily tracked. One can use the Karvonen formula to measure heart rate and intensity (more on that later). RPE can be used but know that many factors such as environment (hot, cold, humid, altitude, etc.), music, external feedback such as cheering or having a pacer. Another way and if you work out with CrossFit personal then you have surely heard of METS or metabolic equivalents. 1 MET equals 3.5 ml/kg/min or amount of oxygen prescribed at rest. That means that a MET of 7 is 7x the oxygen used at rest. Various activities at different intensities use different METS. To use METS, you must first know the maximum oxygen uptake which typically requires a lab. In terms of the best way to measure intensity use heart rate, followed by RPE then METS. 

4. Duration

    This one depends on how you're running. A faster run is shorter than a slower run performed at less intensity. Training history dictates duration. A more experienced, trained runner will hit a duration ceiling and intensity must be manipulated in order to create an adaptation. Duration also depends on time allocation to training. Very few of us workout for a living so we have jobs, hobbies, class, kids, etc. so that will dictate how long to train. Weather is the biggest factor depending on the season. Summertime could be a smaller window depending on where you are in the country or the fall/winter when it gets dark earlier in the afternoon. 

5. Progression

    Typically, a runner will increase 10% on either frequency, intensity or duration. Smaller, steady gains is better than a sudden jump due to overtraining or injuries. Once a certain level of fitness is reached then running two times a week at a high enough intensity is fine to maintain fitness levels. Keep in mind that incorporating active recovery, or rest day before or after hard training sessions will boast your more intense training days.    

  

 

       

A Veterans take on Veterans day

        My Veterans Day started last Thursday when my wife said, "Hey....don't be mad, but I volunteered you to talk at Noah's school on Monday. Oh, and can you be in uniform?"

"You already confirm with the teacher?

"Yes, but its only for 15 minutes and its right before lunch."

"Sure"

    Not only would I have to entertain a bunch of six-year-olds for 15 minutes. I would have to be in uniform. I would have to shave on a day off. As an active-duty guy, I make it a point not to shave on days off. When I first started AGR another Motor Sergeant said his hobby during time off was to grow a beard. I thought he was nuts, but being "New boots" (slang term for new guy in Army speak) I went along with it. Ten years later he was right. He was like Obi Won describing the force to Luke Skywalker on Tatooine. Now, I can't grow a beard to save my life but that's not the point.

    Back to the story. I had a bigger problem. How do I entertain six-year-olds? My instructor background consisted of calling my students mouth breathers turn a wrench, so that doesn't help. 

    After thinking it over. I had an idea.

I don't have to entertain them. 

I just need to distract them.

Genius.

    I decided to use my 3D printer and print off a bunch of stuff for them to play with. I found a working tank, a bunch of Army guys, grenade and went to work printing them off. I also found a toy gator to print as well (The school mascot is the gators).

 I packed them up along with my Drill Sergeant campaign hat, ACH and hoped for the best.

    Noah opened the door, and his face lit up, "Hi daddy!"

Ok, off to a good start

    I introduced myself and told the kids I am in the Army and that today is Veterans Day. The kids seemed generally interested in seeing an actual Solider. That lasted two seconds before I could see them getting bored.

    Time to bust out show and tell.

    I told them I have some gifts. I passed around the campaign hat, the ACH then busted out the 3D prints. They loved them. They played with the tank, and the Army guys and my various hats. Before I knew it, it was lunch time for the kids.

Whew! I made it through

    I stayed for lunch with both of the boys. Each kid brought one of their friends over to hang out during lunch. We talked, laughed (I even told a few dad jokes). On the way out the kids saluted me on the way out and waved. It was a cool feeling. 

    For something that I initially did not want to do. It ended up being a cool event.   

  

 

What my autistic son and Ice Cube have in common

   Running errands with an autistic child is a role of the dice. 

    Some days you end up with snake eyes and it's a miserable day. The outbursts over a tablet, the tantrums, standing by the door watching it open and close for 10 min, riding the elevator 20 times. 

A normal trip has the protentional to double the amount of time that you allocated 

Today, however was different

To paraphrase Ice Cube, "Today was a good day"

    Noah wanted to go to the library and the gym today-more specifically the kids center and play. No problem, you don't have to twist my arm to go to the gym.

    First stop was the library.

    Our local library has a kids center with all sorts of toys, helicopters, trains, blocks, all sorts of toys. We get there and Noah starts playing with a helicopter adjacent to a baby. Noah has a thing with babies. Sometimes he is over the top with affection towards a baby and we have to warn him to not get so close or touch a baby without asking. Noah walked up said, "Hi baby. I'm Noah. Do you want to play?" In Noah speak he means I'm here to play by myself, but I wanted to say hi. I tell the dad that he is autistic and does not know social cues. We strike up a conversation and start talking football and traveling. He is from Boston, so the conversation bounces from football to living in Mass. It is a really good conversation. Another dad comes over with his daughter and we spend the next 30 or so minutes talking football. The kids are playing really well together and are really receptive to Noah. 

    Noah is building a train track and gets frustrated because he can't complete the track. Instead of throwing a fit-he calmy asked for help. I was able to find the right pieces to complete the track

 Crises averted

    We end up staying for another hour. Noah playing with trains and me talking with the other dads.

"Dad, I want to go to the gym now"

    Heading out we notice an art gallery across the street. We go in and check it out. They had an arts and crafts section with painting. We end up painting an apple together and Noah notices the theatre.

 "Dad, I want to watch a movie", 

"Noah, its closed buddy"

"I want to go in!"

"Noah, its closed. Let's go to the gym"

I can see him getting frustrated. It gets silent for moment. I brace for impact.

"I go to gym now"  

Crises number two averted

    Driving to the gym Noah repeats, "I want to go to kids' area" over and over. We pull up, get checked in only to find out that the kids' area is closed. Noah starts to pout. "Noah, let's go play basketball" "OK!" outside of bowling he loves basketball.

Crises number three averted

    We made our way to the court only to find out that indoor soccer is going on. Noah sits down and I can see the blow up about to happen. "Noah, lets to play tag on the track (gym has indoor track). "Ok, I go play tag!" 

Crises number four avoided

    We play tag upstairs. Noah is happy.

     Noah wants to "exercise" on the equipment. We find a quiet corner where he gets on the treadmill, the elliptical, the stair stepper then starts to play with one of those exercise balls. A guy walks in and starts working out next to us. This guy could not have been cooler about Noah. He incorporates Noah into his routine, and we talk video games while Noah plays. 

Noah is super happy.

    Getting home, Noah gets on the tablet only to find out that its dead and needs a charger. Normally, he flips out, throws a fit, and makes a huge deal about it. 

Today, for some crazy reason he goes upstairs, gets the charger and calmy asks for help plugging it in.

Crises number five avoided.

Ice Cube said it best, "I gotta say, it was a good day"     

 

Open letter to the YMCA

 To whom it may concern,

I went to the Chester YMCA pool with my two children tonight (1 Nov) at 1800 (6pm). My kids are 6 and 9 years old. Upon arrival at the pool, we were greeted by a lifeguard to go over a quick rundown of swim tests for the kids and to let us know that we could not bring a pool noodle into the pool. My youngest got upset and started to cry. I let the lifeguard know that he is autistic, and I'll handle him, and it was not her fault. The initial conversation was fine as we are new and do not know the lay of the land per say. 

What proceeded to happen was completely and utterly unacceptable. We got in the water, and I say we were because I was next to them. My kids were talked to multiple times over small actions. The actions included jumping in the pool too far into the water then too close to the wall, swimming underneath the ladder to reach the jet (while one was in the middle of the ladder) Both lifeguards failed to articulate the specific rule that they were supposably "breaking".  I could not determine from their explanation how the kids could jump into the pool. The attitude shown by both lifeguards was progressively worse and showed borderline anger towards me and the kids. The pool had a handle full of kids and none of the other kids were talked to by the lifeguards even though at least one other kid was jumping in the water.  Since at least one of the lifeguards knew about one of my kids being autistic I felt they were unfairly being targeted because of their disabilities. At one point another kid took my kids toy and the lifeguards said nothing. That act further shows the difference in treatment. At one point my youngest looked down at the water at his reflection, and again the lifeguards talked to him citing "safety" Keep in mind that I was in the water with both kids at all times. 

I checked the rules and read where lifeguards can enforce safety precautions. That is an ambiguous statement that a young teenage lifeguard can abuse and exploit at their whim. As a middle-aged man in the military who is well versed in safety in life and death situations their actions were over the top. Additionally, what certifications/training would a lifeguard have in handling special needs kids?

The tipping point came when we were drying off. I gave the kids towels and was returning a toy that we had borrowed. I was walking towards the box where the toys were kept, and the lifeguard abandoned her station (kids were in the water by the way) to take the toy. Her behavior was a slap in the face in terms of not believing that I would return a cheap water toy that I have the capability to buy on my own.

Actions by both lifeguards on duty has me seriously questioning our membership. The sole reason we became members of the YMCA was to enjoy the indoor pool during the fall and winter months. We can't enjoy the pool if the lifeguards are going to exploit and bend the rules to target kids with special needs. 

If you would like to have a face-to-face conversation about tonight, then please feel free to contact me.