#122 Heart Rate Expert Andrejs Birjukovs

In this episode of The Marathon Podcast, Andrejs Birjukov is the guest. He is a heart rate expert and a former professional athlete. He is now into running and is training for the Boston Marathon 2026.In this episode, we are mainly discussing how heart rate should be used as part of your training. Time stamps:00:00:00 — Welcome to The Marathon Podcast with Andrejs Birjukovs00:02:40 — From Professional Sprint Kayaker to Endurance Athlete00:09:58 — Lessons from High-Intensity Sprint Kayaking Training00:17:28 — Andrejs's Quarter-Life Crisis and Becoming a Heart Rate Expert00:27:32 — The 5-Zone Heart Rate Model for Optimal Training00:38:28 — How Elite Athletes Use Heart Rate for Performance and Recovery00:56:42 — Building Training Load and Perfecting Running Form01:14:13 — Why Nutrition and Recovery Drive Training Adaptation01:17:50 — Practical Tips for Fuelling and Estimating Heart Rate Zones01:27:56 — Andrejs's Book “The Resilient Athlete” and Podcast FarewellZone calculator: https://theathleteblog.com/heart-rate-zone-calculator/Andrejs on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/andrejsbirjukovsGet 20% off a STRAVA annual subscription with code KRISTIANSave on FlexBeam using this link or code WARWICKRUNS:⁠⁠https://rechargehealthas.sjv.io/55GAPb⁠⁠Start your free Musicbed trial:⁠⁠https://fm.pxf.io/kristianwarwick⁠⁠🎥 Full episodes + the Boston 2025 documentary:⁠⁠https://www.youtube.com/@Warwickruns⁠⁠📸 Follow my training journey on Instagram: @warwick.runs🎶 Music from Musicbed: MB01XPYH8ZYENVAMB0133EV2TCQFZY