Heart Rate Training Zones

Heart Rate Training Zones & Lactate Threshold
From Triathlete Magazine Website & Total Heart Rate Training by Joe Friel

The heart is not a machine, but a muscle. Training by heart rate can be very effective, but remember that your heart rate will be affected by a number of different external factors, including stress, hormones, climate, residual training fatigue and diet.

Try this:
Consider testing for your lactic threshold. This is the heart rate above which you begin to work anaerobically (i.e. start feeling the burn and getting short on breath). A good field test to establish your lactic threshold is to warm up then run for 30 minutes at the hardest pace you can maintain for the entire session. Take your average heart rate for the last 20 minutes of the run. Despite the fact that this is a hard effort, try to pace yourself; don’t start with a sprint and finish with a bonk.

Your Training Zones:
Use your heart rate as a guide to ensure that you are training in the correct zone. Listing training zones as 1-5 provides a good indicator for output to help you quantify your effort. Zones 1-2 are the easiest, used for recovery and warm-up; zone 5 is above your anaerobic threshold, similar to running all out on the track for 400-800 meters. Endurance athletes spend most of their training time below zone 5, since working out at these intensities can be highly taxing on the body and too much work in this area leads to breakdown and over training. Finally, pay attention not only to your heart rate as you train but also to your own sense of perceived effort for each day.

Heart-rate training zones:

Zone 1: lactate threshold minus 15-22% (50-60% of Max HR, RPE Zone is 1-2)
Active Recovery – this is the lowest and easiest of the zones. Its purpose is to actively recover from previous hard training – duration is limited only by sleep.

Zone 2: lactate threshold minus 9-14% (60-70% of Max HR, RPE Zone is 3-4)
Aerobic Threshold (also called the fat-burning/temperate zone) – Its purpose is to improve your aerobic endurance without a huge requirement for recovery afterward. Involves long, steady efforts up to 12 hours in duration.

Zone 3: lactate threshold minus 4-8% (70-80% of Max HR, RPE Zone is 5)
Tempo – More Challenging Aerobic Zone – Its purpose is to challenge the aerobic system. Involves long, steady efforts or intervals up to 8 hours in duration.

Zone 4: lactate threshold plus/minus 3% (80-90% of Max HR, RPE Zone is 6-7)
This is the zone you should be in for a 10K run or 40km time trial on the bike.
Anaerobic Threshold (Sub-Lactate Threshold) – the intensity that most athletes gravitate to in steady-state competitions lasting from a few minutes up to about 3 hours. At this level, acid production is significant but the body copes with it well. Purpose is to improve acid tolerance for long endurance.

Zone 5: lactate threshold plus 4-8% (90-100% of Max HR, Redline Zone, RPE 8-10)

Zone 5a – Lactate Threshold – (RPE 8) At this level of intensity acid is beginning to accumulate in your muscles, in body fluids surrounding your muscles, and in your blood. Training here is very effective for developing endurance fitness
& build LT performance. Duration is less than 1 hour.

Zone 5b – Aerobic Capacity – (RPE 9) Here you are exercising well above LT – the highest level of intensity at which your aerobic system is fully functioning. This sort of training should be done infrequently. This is done as intervals, generally with equally long work and recovery intervals. Duration is less than 20 minutes.

Zone 5c – Anaerobic Capacity (RPE 10) This is the extreme upper end of your heart rate training zones and where your max heart rate may be found. Maximally challenge anaerobic system. Duration is less than 2 minutes.