The MAF 180 formula is designed to aid people to get the most out of their aerobic training. What is aerobic training? the aerobic system is designed to use oxygen to create ATP to use as energy. The MAF 180 formula helps you find your max heart rate for which you are using the aerobic system. Pushing yourself past that causes you to go into anaerobic training which does not use oxygen for ATP, it uses the stores already found in your muscles. the issue being that there is only so much ATP Stored in your system and can therefore cause exhaustion and increase the potential for injury or over training.

Have you ever wondered where the fat goes? When people say you are burning fat, you are not really burning it off, it has to go somewhere, but where? below is a picture of the chemical makeup of a fat cell and how it is attached in basic chemistry.

One thing fat is most abundant in, as you may notice, is carbon atoms. What is it that we expel when we breath? CO2! When we use the aerobic system, which is oxygen essential, we take in oxygen and expel out carbon dioxide. therefore when we are working in aerobic state we aiding the process of the elimination of fat.

MAF 180 formula:

180-age=maximum aerobic heart rate

ME: 180-27=153 max aerobic HR

there are some exceptions and modifications based on certain situations to keep in mind

1. if you are recovering from any serious illness or injury, taking daily medicine, or have experienced overtraining; subtract another 10 Beats
2. if you are getting back into training, have been inconsistent, experience the flu, colds, or infections twice a year, have asthma, seasonal allergies, or are overweight; subtract another 5 beats
3. if you have been training consistently(4-5 days of the week) for up to two years without any issues from the top no modifications are needed.
4. if you have improved competitively and are without injury; add five beats
5. athletes over the age of 65 need to evaluated
6. athletes under 16 the formula doesn’t apply just yet. their maximum aerobic heart rate should be 165.

I am using this formula in order to aid both my training and my fat-loss. I think this will help me from both getting injured like I have in the past two seasons of the marathon and keep me from overtraining and exhausting myself. I highly suggest looking into this yourself if you are looking for ways to get better at running or if you want look for ways to increase fat-loss. Anyways I hope this blog has been helpful to you! God bless!