---
title: "The Maffetone Test: a great tool to measure progress"
published: 2016-03-15
updated: 2026-08-04
category: "Consejos para competir mejor"
source: "https://dev-abp.massivoai.com/en/articles/el-test-de-maffetone-una-gran-herramienta-para-medir-el-progreso"
---

# The Maffetone Test: a great tool to measure progress

**This is one of the best training tricks, and one of the most motivating as well. It was the early eighties when a guy named Mark Allen was taking his first steps in triathlon. His strong sport had been swimming, which at that time was governed by the principle of "No pain, no gain".**

So in every training session Allen would push to the limit of his abilities and end up exhausted. Soon he realized that this strategy didn't work for triathlon, he suffered several injuries and was almost always on the verge of collapsing from fatigue.

Then he met researcher Phil Maffetone, who had studied heart rate-based training for years. Maffetone told him: for the next few months, train always below 155 beats per minute. To achieve this Allen had to limit himself to a boring (for him) pace of 5:08 minutes per kilometer.

After 4 months of training under this limit, he could already run at 4:30 minutes per kilometer (still without exceeding 155 beats per minute); and a year after training almost exclusively under this limit, Allen could comfortably run at 3:19 minutes per kilometer without going over the famous 155 beats per minute that Maffetone had prescribed.

**—RELATED: **[**THE ART OF EASY-PACE RUNNING**](https://www.abuenpaso.cr/New/detail/86/el-arte-de-correr-a-ritmo-suave)

What's the trick here? Allen was a super-athlete, but he didn't have the ability to use fat as his primary fuel (this is the explanation Maffetone gives). By limiting the intensity of his training, his body learned to use fat as fuel, and over time he was able to run comfortably at speeds that previously caused him great stress and effort. Allen continued using this strategy for at least three months of the year throughout his career, won six Ironman world championships, and is considered by many to be the best triathlete of the twentieth century.

**How to apply the test?**

The Maffetone test is one of the best ways to monitor aerobic progress and know how efficient your training is being. It can be done every week or every two weeks or every month. The first thing you need to do is define your maximum aerobic heart rate (MAHR), which, according to Maffetone, is calculated like this:

From 180, subtract your age.

If you have asthma, allergies, have been injured recently, or catch a cold more than twice a year, subtract 5 more from the number you got.

If you have trained consistently over the last two years, without interruptions, and have improved in competitions, then add 5 to the number you got.

For example, a 30-year-old person who has trained consistently over the last two years would have a MAHR of 155 (180-30+5).

Done. Once you define your MAHR, choose a route (as flat as possible) that measures between 3 and 8 kilometers and run as fast as you can WITHOUT EXCEEDING your MAHR. Write down your final time, your average heart rate, and of course the date. If your training is being effective, you should be able to run that same route faster each time, always staying below your established MAHR.

**—RELATED: **[**TEN SIGNS THAT YOU'RE TRAINING TOO HARD**](https://www.abuenpaso.cr/New/detail/64/10-sintomas-de-que-estas-entrenando-demasiado)

And this is great to compare not just week after week, but year after year. If you've improved, it will show in the test. Of course, you have to keep the same route, at the same time, and try to eat the same thing before the test.

The only possible problem with this test is the formula for determining MAHR. There are many cases where the formula doesn't apply. How do you know? When you run at your MAHR you should feel it "comfortably hard", that is, it's a hard intensity but without losing control. If it feels too easy or too difficult, you should adjust your MAHR subjectively, and once you define it, don't change it anymore.

Allen set aside about three months of each year to train only below his MAHR. When he no longer improved in the test, it was time to start with more intense training. Then he reached his peak performance, competed, and rested. After the rest, a year later, he would apply Maffetone's method again. You can do the test whenever you want, but it's recommended in the first months of the season when you're generally looking to improve your aerobic condition.

**—RELATED: **[**THE GREAT BENEFITS OF EASY-PACE RUNNING**](https://www.abuenpaso.cr/New/detail/42/los-grandes-beneficios-de-correr-a-ritmo-suave)

A Buen Paso uses [Massivo](https://massivoai.com), the event-registration platform that powers this article.