📌Running 🏃🏻♂️ is one of the most demanding forms of endurance exercise in terms of energy spent/minute. Let’s see how Maximum Aerobic Function (MAF) training helps runners in building an endurance.
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Before that, to understand how endurance is core part of marathon training, read/save my precious thread here:
https://twitter.com/pgodhani/status/1511181708887932938
➡️What if you’re asked to chose between a chopper 🚁 Vs turbo jet engine aircraft 🛫 to make fastest circles around the earth? Obviously a wise human would choose the turbojet aircraft, right? MAF is all about building the bigger aerobic engine to enable us run faster 💨
🟦 While running, body uses 2 energy sources:
☝️The faster Anaerobic (without oxygen) - where energy is produced from carbs. Our body can store only a limited amount of carbs and this source is useful for short intervals n drills (1-3 min). This storage can not be increased.
☝️The faster Anaerobic (without oxygen) - where energy is produced from carbs. Our body can store only a limited amount of carbs and this source is useful for short intervals n drills (1-3 min). This storage can not be increased.
✌️The slower Aerobic (requires oxygen) where energy is produced from fats. Body has enough fats but the process is too slow that it can not meet the energy demand while running a race!
✅ Good news: Heart rate based training can help body learn how to use fat effectivelfy!✅
✅ Good news: Heart rate based training can help body learn how to use fat effectivelfy!✅
🟦That’s what MAF do.
📌Running below the max aerobic HR, the body will learn how to use fat as a fuel for leg muscles to run.
🔹 This is the biggest physical factor to build the strong aerobic engine. Better the body’s ability to burn fat as fuel, bigger the aerobic engine!
📌Running below the max aerobic HR, the body will learn how to use fat as a fuel for leg muscles to run.
🔹 This is the biggest physical factor to build the strong aerobic engine. Better the body’s ability to burn fat as fuel, bigger the aerobic engine!
🟦 Well, Aerobic running is one of the 8 core principles of MAF as per reknown Dr Phil Maffetone, the founder of MAF method. Dr Maffetone (before you ask, His surname and MAF are just coincidence, ok) believes “everyone is an athlete”. 
🟦How MAF works?
It makes 3 changes:
1️⃣More capillary counts meaning more blood pipelines in muscles to receive more fuel
2️⃣ More mitochondria - the power factories to produce energy required to keep us going 🏃♀️
3️⃣ More Myoglobin - more myoglobin means more oxygen to burn fats.
It makes 3 changes:
1️⃣More capillary counts meaning more blood pipelines in muscles to receive more fuel
2️⃣ More mitochondria - the power factories to produce energy required to keep us going 🏃♀️
3️⃣ More Myoglobin - more myoglobin means more oxygen to burn fats.
🚀 How to get started? 🚀
1️⃣💓Calculate your MAF HR: Dr Maffetone has made it very simple with 180 Formula: Subtract your age from 180 and you get your Max HR. Eg: For an athlete of age 35 yrs , Max Aerobic HR would be 145.
2️⃣Further, correct the formula as follows:
1️⃣💓Calculate your MAF HR: Dr Maffetone has made it very simple with 180 Formula: Subtract your age from 180 and you get your Max HR. Eg: For an athlete of age 35 yrs , Max Aerobic HR would be 145.
2️⃣Further, correct the formula as follows:
🔹If you do not workout, subtract 5 beats.
🔹If you workout only 1-2 days a week, subtract 2 or 3 beats.
🔹If you workout 3-6 times a week no change required
🔹If you workout 7 or more times a week over a year, add 5 beats.
📌THIS NUMBER IS YOUR Max. HR for MAF TRAINING.
🔹If you workout only 1-2 days a week, subtract 2 or 3 beats.
🔹If you workout 3-6 times a week no change required
🔹If you workout 7 or more times a week over a year, add 5 beats.
📌THIS NUMBER IS YOUR Max. HR for MAF TRAINING.
🟦 MAF Training duration:
➡️If you’re doing MAF for the first time, 4-6 months(60 hours of running) of base building would be a great start, which means all your runs are in aerobic HR zone and continue monitoring your progress through monthly MAF test runs.
➡️If you’re doing MAF for the first time, 4-6 months(60 hours of running) of base building would be a great start, which means all your runs are in aerobic HR zone and continue monitoring your progress through monthly MAF test runs.
➡️ During run, your HR shall be in range of 10 beats below the max aerobic HR. This means really slowing down at pace of 🐌 or even walking faster on inclines! It could be frustrating but that’s alright, it’s going to be worth it!
🛑 When to finish MAF training: Once you reach the plateau (which means no substantial gains in monthly MAF tests), you can include 20% of speed sessions & cont. 80% aerobic runs (weekly). This can be continued during race prep as well. Listen to your coach, if you have one.
🟦Check list during MAF training:
✅ Any other activities to be done only in aerobic zone, moderate stretching and no heavy lifting which makes you sore.
✅ Nasal breathing durin 🏃♀️, engage your belly
✅ Natural good fat food
❌ No speed sessions
❌ No sugary, processed food
✅ Any other activities to be done only in aerobic zone, moderate stretching and no heavy lifting which makes you sore.
✅ Nasal breathing durin 🏃♀️, engage your belly
✅ Natural good fat food
❌ No speed sessions
❌ No sugary, processed food
🟦 MAF Benefits
A good aerobic base helps you…
🔹Run Faster at the same Heart Rate
🔹 Burn fats efficiently
🔹Increase performance during upcoming speed sessions
🔹Build endurance &
🔹Reduces injury & physical stress
A good aerobic base helps you…
🔹Run Faster at the same Heart Rate
🔹 Burn fats efficiently
🔹Increase performance during upcoming speed sessions
🔹Build endurance &
🔹Reduces injury & physical stress
Understanding MAF might be easy but it requires patience and ability to put your ego aside during the training. We need to understand that to build the endurance, our runs doesn’t have to fall under “No pain, No gain” credo (that’s for tempo n intervals)!
Thousands of runners, triathletes & sports persons have benefitted through MAF training. It is challenging indeed but the benefits makes it worth it!
If you find this thread on MAF Running helpful, kindly retweet the first tweet to share with your running buddies & groups. Bookmark it to refer again in future. Do comment your questions, thoughts & ideas. #Running #Marathon #Ukrunchat #Fitness #Runchat
Typo error: Read “precious” as “previous”. Damn autocorrect 🙈
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