I was going to borrow some workout ideas from http://www.trifuel.com/triathlon/ironman-workouts. However, they all use a % of your HR to determine intensity. I think there's a few different theories on how to calculate those things, so I thought I'd see how he does it. The link to the FAQ that explains this is broken http://www.trifuel.com/triathlon/ironman-workouts/glossary.htm#HRM. Click on "Calculating Heart Rates."

My guess is I run 100m up a hill 4 times (jogging down each time) and whatever my max HR is, is my max HR. Makes sense so far. To find 80% of my max HR, I take my resting HR when I wake up in the morning, subtract that from max HR, multiply by .8, then add my resting HR back in. Or do I just multiply my max HR by .8 and forget about the resting HR?

Let me know what you understand to be the most accepted way of determining a % of max HR.