The Maffetone Method: The Holistic, Low-Stress, No-Pain Way to Exceptional Fitness

Lots of low-intensity aerobic exercise is probably more important to your long, healthy, happy, life and Dr. Phil Maffetone will get you there. The book is easy to follow and this book can benefit anyone and everyone, including performance athletes. I first heard above the Maffetone method—MAF—via Kofuzi. While he's a self-described non-elite runner, he still runs quicker than 8-minute miles. So, I picked up the book thinking I would need to adapt a marathon training system for my slow jogging and slow running style. Nope. It's not a running method, it's an aerobic-training method and it has nothing to do with absolute speed, it has to do with putting and keeping your body into your own personal range for as long as you can after you've generously warmed up your body and prepared your heart and before you spend a lot of time cooling down your heart before stopping. So, in a nutshell, let's say I have an hour to go running. With MAF, I would spend my first 20-minutes walking or slow-jogging to give my body some times to warm up, moving my body from resting heartrate to my personal lower end of my MAF range, 105 bpm, and then spend 30-minutes keeping my heartrate between 105-115 bpm, and then, cool down with active recovery and cooldown for another 10-15 minutes. So, like sleeping, which doesn't include the falling asleep and the waking up part in how many hours you've slept: I go to bed at 9 pm and then get up at 7 am but my Fitbit doesn't tell me I slept for 10 hours, it tells me I slept for 7 or 8 hours. Fitbit doesn't include the going to sleep or the getting up at night or the waking up or the halflight of and halfsleep of waking up. So, too, with MAF: I spent an hour out but I really have only run for 30-minutes, at least, though I will take credit for all 60-minutes on Strave. The thing is, there's no stretching just the warming up and the cooling down, to not shock the heart. That's an important reminder for me. I know the 105-115 bpm aerobic range is pretty low but I explain it here" Maffetone is the perfect addition to Slow Jogging. The focus on sustainability, the focus on remaining for as long as possible within my MAF zone, and the focus on warming up and cooling down was a very important learning for me—and it can be mapped and used with any type of athleticism or training or sport or passtime you can imagine, as long as that thing is aerobic: swimming, walking, biking, rowing, erging, running, the treadmill, and the stationary bike. While it does not encourage power-10s or power pieces, it does suggest that it's much better to walk or slow jog or slow run for three hours than it does kill yourself with fartleks and tempo paces for 15-30-minutes. Plus, there's an easy way to test your progress, though only once-a-week. And, like slow jogging and keeping the Niko Niko pace, you'll not always been slow. It's not about remaining slow, it only means that you should never redline your vehicle. As I train at 105-115 bpm, over months and years, my pace and speed—my ability to take load on my frame, on my engine, and on my drivetrain, and on my intake—will improve. So, I might start at an 18-minute-mile pace at first to keep my heartrate below 115 bpm; however, over time, my same 105-115 bpm range will decrease to 17, 16, 15, 14, 13, 12, 11, 10, 9, and maybe even an 8-minute-mile pace, maintaining the same Niko Niko, easy smile, ability to chat or sing to myself, pace. It's brilliant.

He makes claims that strongly disagree with a book which DOES have extensive references, How Not to Die (not running specific but nutrition specific). If you make claims that are going to disagree with what someone who has done significant research has to say, you should be backing them up with scientific literature, or saying why you don't do so.I know this guy has a good reputation, but to me, if your "Doctorate" is in Chiropracter (Quackery? I'm not sure but it might be) you need to back up some of your claims or provide some background.I'm still going through this book because I've heard of the guy but the claims he makes such as "you shouldn't drink water with your meals because it may interfere with digestion" and references to things like adrenal syndromes (which I believe are both examples of claims/topics not agreed with or accepted by "real medicine") may need to be viewed with skepticism.If I eventually change my mind I'll update this review, but for now, I will consider it non-scientific until I see evidence otherwise.edit: I should note that the kindle book has a list references, but his claims do not get mapped to specific references. if this is a kindle specific issue then Amazon needs to fix that.

I'm someone who has long thought that more is better. And as such I have constantly struggled with plateaus and set backs and feeling like I'm not getting into better shape really -- just grinding myself harder.E.g. I reduced my time on a (hilly) 6.1 mile course from 1:07 to :49. Yes, lost some weight and all, but really felt like I was on the raggedy edge -- stiff and sore and wondering "how many more of these runs do I have in me?"Most of my gains came from just having a better idea of how hard to push and when and just getting better at sucking it up.This book has given me some fresh ideas about how to train in a way that will actually make me healthier and fitter, and not just more of a grinder.The CW always talks about what Maffetone calls the aerobic zone as the "weight loss zone". Well I was never really overweight, so I wasn't too interested in that.Maffetone explains that it is much more than that, it is the zone where your aerobic system can actually improve, thus improving your endurance and work capacity.Having it put in those functional, fitness related terms makes me suddenly willing to work in that zone, and hopefully get the functional gains that I am after.Also, I really had never had anyone articulate the distinction between fit and healthy. I've been that fit/unhealthy person at times, and just couldn't articulate where I was. He expresses the concept very well.The issue I have is that I am a big believer in strength training and want to maintain that part of my training. That will be trick to integrate I think, but the concepts he offers here I think make it possible.So this will obviously require patience to show results. Hopefully I can demonstrate that. The fact that these workouts are not grueling will make that more likely!

As others have said in their reviews I have now adopted the author's approach to exercise and I am about a month in, having been over-training and injured every few months to now where I am admittedly not finding this new approach totally to my liking but no longer feeling knackered most of the time. I am 55 so my aerobic training zone is 115 - 125 bpm. My running regime has changed to a mixture of slow jog / walk / slow jog as I train my body and build a solid aerobic core. The author says this will take 3+ months and I am hoping as the weeks go by I will be slow jogging more and walking less. Psychologically it makes sense to me to train at these slow speeds, and then for example run a parkrun like a greyhound springing out of the trap at the start of a race! I am also embracing the letting go of "no pain, no gain" and actually walking say 3 miles around the fields at a more casual pace, rather than walking like I'm being followed by someone with a gun, fast and not really enjoying the sights and sounds and smells of outdoors, so conscious of "having to" (i thought) keep my heart pumping, even when walking. This book is easy to read and there is plenty to learn and digest and consider. Recommended and thanks for reading.

OK, as an avid indoor rower I have to admit I was very sceptical. How could slowing down, make me fitter? But, there is a world of really good information in this book. Most of it makes sense, especially the bits about exercise stress and the effect on your body. So, I've now been training at MAF rate for 10 weeks and I FEEL so much better. I sleep better, I have more energy. I've taken the pace down but increased volume effortlessly. I've been able to add jogging to my rowing routine as my body recovers much quicker. Probably the most insightful book I've read for ages.

If you can ignore the American style of presentation, with a bit too much waffle and odd boxes filled with "real life" examples, then you have here the essential truth of endurance training. To go faster, you have to train to be more efficient and produce more power at sustainable physiological (for which read heart-rate) levels. There is lots of detail in here, not just the 180-formula. But you have to sometimes read carefully before you actually understand what he means, for example about detecting the symptoms of over-training. There is plenty of explanation about thresholds and energy systems here, which are accessible and showcase Phil's medical understanding, but perhaps the essential message of training your aerobic system is lost slightly in the telling.Overall, though, this should be your training bible - it is mine.

My health and fitness, aches and pains are so much more manageable since reading this book. Exercise is easy and enjoyable now and my diet has changed for the better. I feel and look so much better too. I highly recommend this book for anyone who has reached the end of the line and given up on being fit and healthy.

The basic ideas are correct train within your limits whilst building fitness I’ve seen this work but this book suggests general concepts and ideas then fails to go that extra useful stepShame I was expecting more